Max Anderson

[bugboy]

I have no experience with black Hairstreak eggs (plenty with Brown Hairstreak which by comparison are like shooting fish in a barrel) but what I do know about them is that you did really well finding that many!

[Max Anderson]

I have no experience with black Hairstreak eggs (plenty with Brown Hairstreak which by comparison are like shooting fish in a barrel) but what I do know about them is that you did really well finding that many!

Thank you! It's difficult to know whether I'm missing something or whether I could be improving my methods without gathering the observations experiences of others..

[Max Anderson]

We're up and running with white-letter hairstreaks! One of the eight eggs I'm monitoring hatched last overnight. I checked four eggs yesterday evening, and again today at 13:00. Looking forward to following the development closely over the next few weeks and months!

26/2/2021

27/2/2021

27/2/2021

27/2/2021

[Max Anderson]

I saw that Guy Padfield had managed to capture a shot of a freshly emerged WLH cat on Sunday, though he didn''t realise this until he got home ahd checked his images. I was determied to get my own shots if I had some luck! Today, I headed back out to check on some other eggs on my lunch break. First egg I checked I found an emerging caterpillar! I spent 13 minutes minutes closely watching the emergence, as it slowly made its way to the nearest bud and slipped deep inside.

Delighted to capture this, and I'm looking forward to further observations at later stages.

[Maximus]

Great sequence of shots of the emerging WLH larva, and in your lunchbreak too

[Max Anderson]

Great sequence of shots of the emerging WLH larva, and in your lunchbreak too

Thank you! Yes, I was very fortunate with my timings..

[Max Anderson]

Time-lapse footage of white-letter hairstreak larva emergence - https://youtu.be/3dWRh7oSS_I

Some context:

Last week, I came across some arborists working on some roadside elm trees and asked if I could check some of the tree-top branches for any eggs. They kindly obliged and after 30 minutes of searching, I managed to find a single egg, laid on a second year scar. I kept the branch on my balcony in the hope that I would be able to closely monitor its emergence and development.

Arborists in action

Yesterday afternoon, after I had returned from checking the eggs in my local patch and managed to get some nice shots of an emerging caterpillar, I noticed that the balcony egg had begun to emerge. I quickly set up my camera for long-period interval shooting and got back to work. When I reviewed the footage later on, the caterpillar was actively working on creating a hole from which it would emerge from at least 13:14 until 14:42. I can’t be certain, but to my eye, it appeared to be working in a clockwise direction. At 14:42, the caterpillar stopped, and took to rest until 09:14 the next morning. At which point it returned to work on creating a larger hole. Finally, it began to surface at 09:40 and completed its emergence at 10:26.

Cat. on its way back down the twig

Initially, it headed upwards, but then turned back and headed down the stem in search of a bud. For this particular branch I had rescued, the forks were some considerable distance apart compared with those that I have been observing on lower-hanging branches. It may be possible if the caterpillar fails to find a fork or bud after a certain amount of time spent moving, then it U-turns. Logically, if you head down the branch, you’re more likely to reach a fork than if you head to the tip, however the optimal buds may be closer to the tip of the branch, rather than those nearer to the trunk, and this may be a compromise. Eventually, after a long journey, the caterpillar disappeared into a bud at 11:34.

I particularly enjoyed the moment it finally dives into the bud, where its rear end is flailing around..

[Padfield]

Brilliant, Max! I shall be comparing notes as your cats grow up. Last year I followed about 8 through to fourth instar, when they all disappeared. I've still got one or two shots left at the egg emergence but I don't think I'll be able to equal your amazing sequence.

Guy

[trevor]

Amazing, Max. .

[Benjamin]

Hi Max - brilliantly done!

You may have a better method than me, but in the past I’ve found it difficult to keep cut foodplant fresh enough to maintain flower bud development - larvae may reject anything substandard and go looking for something better, at which point they become extremely hard to relocate! Obviously growing foodplant is ideal but not always possible.

Anyway - looking forward to reading about further progress!

[Max Anderson]

Thanks all. Delighted to have captured this!

Ben - Yes, I have a real concern about the longevity of the cutting, I doubt it will be suitable for much longer, and I anticipate this will cause problems within a week. Relocating the larva to a fresh branch is a possibility, though it would rely on me being able to keep track of the larva. I will most likely attempt a relocation to a nearby elm tree within the next few days, as I think this will be the most reasonable option to maximise chances of survival, while still enabling me to keep track of its development. There's not much more I can do with a 2x1m balcony unfortunately!

[Neil Hulme]

Great stuff, Max; brilliantly captured! It's amazing to think that many millions of these miniature miracles are going on around us, in most cases unseen by the human eye.
BWs, Neil

[Wurzel]

Flipping cracking stuff Max

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Time-lapse footage of white-letter hairstreak larva emergence - https://youtu.be/3dWRh7oSS_I

Absolutely amazing footage, Max. Thanks for sharing.

I was intrigued by all those tiny, pale creatures that were moving around by the ovum whilst the larva was emerging. Great to see the moment when the caterpillar finally dropped itself into the unfolding bud, where it will no doubt be much safer.

I wish you every success going forward with these insects.

[Max Anderson]

Thanks all.

I was intrigued by all those tiny, pale creatures that were moving around by the ovum whilst the larva was emerging. Great to see the moment when the caterpillar finally dropped itself into the unfolding bud, where it will no doubt be much safer.

I was also intrigued. I believe some of these were twospotted spider mites, Tetranychus urticae. They appeared to be particularly fond of the WLH ovum, while the larva was making its exit, circling a few times and making occasional refuge in the miniscule amount of space underneath.

[David M]

Yes, I think you're right, Max. It was interesting to see how attracted they were to that small space under the left side of the ovum. At one stage, I thought they were going to attack the newly emerged larva but it seems that they are plant feeders, so no danger was present.

[Max Anderson]

I've been incredibly busy for the last few months, and I'm only just finding some time to get out and chase butterflies. As others have already highlighted; it's clear that the cold and dry weather has had quite a noticeable impact on emergences and activity, with timings delayed by a week or two compared with last year.

I'm sad to say that all 5 of the white-letter hairstreak larvae that I was following have disappeared, however I did manage to capture the remnants of a black hairstreak emergence towards the end of March.

Black hairstreak egg hatched (see also larval feeding damage on the bud)

I spent an early morning last weekend wandering through some wet meadows in East Sussex, looking for roosting orange-tips. They are surprisingly difficult to find, and on multiple occasions I found myself mistaking the dense network of flower stalks on some cuckooflowers for the mottled 'green' pattern on the underwing. Eventually I found a roosting female. Always a delight to find.

This morning, I took a gamble on the weather and headed to Rewell wood to catch up with the pearl-bordered fritillaries, and also to look at the progress made in habitat management. I'm very impressed with the work that's been done here. The widened rides, coppicing and clearing will provide a substantially greater network of connected habitat for PBF and many other species. I was fortunate to have 15 minutes of sunshine, which triggered around 10 individuals to become active.

[Wurzel]

Seeking out Orange-tips does lead to you seeing things Max you did brilliantly to find that one Lovely PBFs as well - really well marked they're a great species and should come with the instructions "to see - just add sun"

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

..This morning, I took a gamble on the weather and headed to Rewell wood to catch up with the pearl-bordered fritillaries, and also to look at the progress made in habitat management. I'm very impressed with the work that's been done here. The widened rides, coppicing and clearing will provide a substantially greater network of connected habitat for PBF and many other species. I was fortunate to have 15 minutes of sunshine, which triggered around 10 individuals to become active.

This species does seem to appear from nowhere when the sun emerges, Max. Glad you got that little window amidst this cold and largely grey period.

Nice to see some context too with your habitat shots. Rewell does indeed look very promising for this species with those wide and scrubby rides.

[Benjamin]

Great report Max - really enjoying your mix of close ups and shots showing your subject in context.

Following immature stages in the field often feels like a thankless task - the necessary investment of time is huge and the rewards are often hard to appreciate. You have to get used to missing all the key moments, and failing to achieve your goals for reasons out of your control. The hope, of course, is that behind all these failures and disappointments you gradually build a wider understanding of a species that you can’t achieve through isolating it from its environment and captive rearing. It’s a bit like the difference between the close up and context shots in your diary - both styles have great value of course (as does captive rearing), but are worlds apart.

Keep at it - when you get the time!