Pauline

[Wurzel]

Congrats on the Blue Badge Coppers Good idea about asking Mike to do a lucky Mock-up, I'll ask for a Swallowtail I think

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

You do some lovely photo's Pauline and wouldn't I just love to see a Brown Hair Streak, hope fully next year , I said that at the beginning of this year but still I was in the wrong place again at the wrong time not too worry I'll get there yet

I hope the Rabbit's doing well Pauline, you deserve a medal for what you've done, but I couldn't leave any thing injured either,( keep us informed about it's progress) Goldie

[Pauline]

Thank you Wurzel. I hope you have as much luck with your Swallowtail

You are very kind Goldie. Lucky is continuing to make progress, putting on weight but still on a lot of medication. Here she is relaxing in the garden:

As a result, most recent outings have been short and sweet. I was pleased to see my first ever Wasp spider:

At home the Red Admiral cats have pupated, frustratingly on the roof of the cage and some of the moth cats are also looking to pupate. This Pebble Prominent:

has recently turned into this:

A few more cat shots:

[Maximus]

Hi Pauline, nice to see Lucky looking chilled in the garden

[Paul Harfield]

Hi Pauline

Just catching up with your diary. A very nice collection of larvae there
Strangely I too saw my first Wasp Spider at the weekend! I am not too hot on spiders, Is that just coincidence or a sign of something more significant Maybe they are taking over

[Goldie M]

Hi! Pauline glad Lucky is doing so well, it will take time for him to get over the shock of the accident , that 's the killer some times , he looks to be well on his way to feeling better.Goldie,
PS Can't stand spiders, I'd a run in with a Tarantula when I was in Haiti, when I say run I mean it I found out they can jump 9ft, I did just that

[Pauline]

Thank you Mike – fingers crossed she is on the mend as she is costing me a small fortune .

Thank you too Paul – I bet you can hazard a good guess where I was and who I was with .... but the other set of photos are much better quality than mine . I’m feeling fairly safe as I think all the Wasp spiders are in your part of the county .

I’m definitely with you on that one Goldie – terrified of spiders (even tiny ones) so don’t even mention tarantulas.


It is that time of the year when butterfly activity slows down a little and allows me to reflect on the season, what I have done, seen, and what I have learned.

For several weeks I have intended to produce this review/summary but I was undecided how best to present it photographically, until I saw the amazing summary that Mike produced in his diary. With a little help and advice from Mike I have produced the accompanying photographic record which is similar to his own but grouped in a different way. My summary is not chronological and does not include every species I have photographed but rather groups together those shots which are related in some way, and/or have a special memory or meaning for me. Only the immature stages are labelled.

For me, the season started off at a fairly slow pace as I had my poorly cat to care for which resulted in missing a couple of species, including the Glanville (no regrets tho’). Nevertheless, I didn’t do too badly and overall I was able to see and photograph 49 species. I was also able to meet my personal objective of visiting a couple of new sites, namely Rewell Wood for PBF and the beautiful Lulworth Cove for Lulworth Skippers. I was able to see species I have never seen before and probably never will again, including the impressive European Swallowtail, the fact that it had been reared not detracting from its beauty. The highlight for me would have to be seeing and recording the Map ovi-posting especially as Butterfly Conservation HQ subsequently confirmed to me by email that it was indeed the first time it had been recorded in the wild in the UK and I was able to photograph the whole event. Other memorable moments include seeing my first ever mating pair of Brimstones as well as stumbling across a number of Silver-washed Fritillary all ovi-posting on the same tree. Seeing the 2nd brood Duke of Burgundy for the 3rd time in recent years is also worthy of note.

I have tried to pay more attention to the behaviour of butterflies this season and in doing so I have probably seen far more ovi-posting by more species than I ever have before. The size and shape of the various eggs has been a surprise – it often seems that there is little correlation between the size of the egg and the size of the butterfly. The Green Hairstreak eggs I saw being laid at Paulsgrove were tiny whilst the Small Skipper eggs ovi-posted near my pond were relatively large.
I have had some limited experience of rearing butterflies this season including Purple Hairstreaks and Brown Hairstreaks which I considered ‘rescues’ but they ignited my interest into the immature stages of all butterflies.

These were followed by the Black hairstreaks (a gift), and then the Peacocks, Orange-tips, Small White (accidental), White Admiral and Small Copper (from choice and interest) and lastly the Comma and Red Admiral which appeared of their own accord. Sadly the Comma had been parasitized, the ‘writhing sac’ which burst from the caterpillar leaving it an empty shell. I can't imagine that I shall ever tire of seeing a brand new butterfly emerge from the pupa. It is a truly wonderful and remarkable sight and very exciting and rewarding:

My newly acquired interest in caterpillars eventually expanded into the moth larvae leading to the rearing of Puss moth cat, Alder Moth and Pebble Prominent which are currently all in the pupal stage. This was followed by Sallow Kitten and Poplar Kitten.

With the help of experts on this site I feel I have learned a great deal this season and have had some brand new experiences, combined with seeing new places and meeting some smashing new people. I am hoping my photography skills have improved but I recognise I still have a long way to go there. However, I have thoroughly enjoyed the season and although I had intended to keep my diary going this year, other activities are now strongly completing for priority, so time will tell. In the meantime, a few more of my favourite shots from 2014.

[badgerbob]

Fantastic stuff Pauline. My favourite montage from these is the Moth Larvae as there are many there I haven't seen but would love to!!

[David M]

Excellent presentation, Pauline. There doesn't appear to be much wrong with your photography skills (albeit to my untrained eye). Well done!

[Maximus]

Great presentation of your 2014 work Pauline and your photos are stunning, as always

[MikeOxon]

Lots of beautiful photos and you have clearly thought quite a lot about the layout, too. Superb

Mike

[Wurzel]

A stunning sequence Pauline But the looking back doesn't mean that you're heading off for hibernation does it?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

Great photo's Pauline, try to keep your diary going please, Winter months are long and boring, it would be great to see some of your photo's, weather, animals, birds, etc.Goldie

[PhilBJohnson]

Hi Pauline,
Excellent montages and interesting how you fitted them together in portrait. Sometimes I have a "Mr Bean" moment and am scared to turn my camera through 90 in case my pictures are all downloaded needing to be rotated!
Best Wishes,
Philip

[Pauline]

I appreciate all the support and interest that has been shown in my diary this season. It is reassuring to know that whatever the issue - an ID, technical problem, photography question - there are folk out there who are able and willing to help. Thank you all for your kind comments. I could not have produced the above without guidance from Mike. I cannot promise to keep my diary going Goldie as things are manic here with 2 poorly foxes but I shall try to fit it in as and when I can. I don't think it will be a total hibernation Wurzel tho' I could do with a good sleep as I have spent too many nights in the kennels recently! I resisted the 'moth' thing for an awful long time Bob as they tend to overwhelm me but I have some good mentors and I am now hooked - you can expect more of the same. Thank you too David, Mike and Phil - your comments are always appreciated.

Yesterday was probably one of the worst days weather-wise that we have had for quite some time and it was also the day that my first Red Admiral chose to emerge. I did not witness the event - I was not even expecting it as lack of sleep has turned me into a zombie with no track of time It was not until later in the day that I noticed it hanging forlornly from the roof of the cage with some damage to an antennae sadly. I provided B&B and today, in lovely sunshine, she made her way off before I could even get an open-winged shot. I hope she'll be back and I shall try to keep a closer eye on the other one.

[Wurzel]

Glad to hear that you'll still be around Pauline Those Red Admiral shots are lush and the second one almost seems to jump out of the screen Looking forward to the Social now, hope to see you there.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Maximus]

Lovely Red Admiral shots Pauline from 'our' experience a damaged or missing antenna does not seem to be a problem.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline, some lovely Red Admiral images there

I agree with Mike about a missing antenna not seeming to be too much of a problem, I have seen a couple like that this year and they were behaving perfectly normally.

All the best,

Neil.

[David M]

Quality shots of Red Admirals are not normally given too much attention, but at this time of year, they perfectly reflect the situation that we are all in.

Everything is dying back right now and in 6 weeks very few of us will be posting any butterfly images at all, so we should all profit while we can before the frost sets in and we all have to suspend our favourite pastime until the first mild days of early March.

[Padfield]

I agree with all the comments - you've caught the colours of the red admiral underside just perfectly, Pauline.

What's happened to your white admiral caterpillars? Are they still sitting around on the protuding mid-veins of leaves like my wild ones or have they made their hibernacula yet?

Guy