Nick Broomer

[Nick Broomer]

18.6,2011 083_1_1.jpg

Male Silver-Washed Fritillary

19.6,2011 020_1.jpg

Male Small Skipper

19.6,2011 055_1.jpg

Red Admiral

19.6,2011 082_1.jpg

This is the only photo i managed of a White Admiral last year, so i will have to
do better this year.

19.6,2011 138_1.jpg

Another male Silver-washed Fritillary. All the above photos were taken at C.W.

[Nick Broomer]

IMG_8476-1_1.jpg

I took this photo at 17.55. on the 2.6.2010 as these beautiful insects were going to roost.
On the male at the bottom left of the photo there is a spot missing in the cell of the forewing
and two spots missing on the hindwing, so is this an aberration?

IMG_8507-1_1.jpg

This photo was taken at 18.06.on the same day.

[Nick Broomer]

april 11 otips 020-1_1.jpg

This picture of a male Orange Tip was photographed using a sigma 70-300 macro lens
as were the two Common Blue pictures above.

29.4.2011 g.s w.w.g.h. d.s 007_1.jpg

I took this photo of this Grizzled Skipper simply because
i like the cobweb on the dead Hardhead flower.

3.6,2011 009-1_1.jpg

2011 was the first time i had seen a Silver-Studded Blue, what a beautiful butterfly.

7.5.2011 044-1_1.jpg

I have only seen Green hairstreaks on flowers on a couple of occasions, so was quite
pleased to get this photo.

[Nick Broomer]

IMG_9236-1_1.jpg

I had just got home from work, and nipped out for an hour before dinner,
and found this female Common Blue posing nicely on this colourful plant.

30.5,2011 014-1_1.jpg

When the weather is cold and overcast you can quite often find a Dingy Skipper
at rest with their wings wrapped around their chosen resting place.This one
wisely choosing this flower, so he/she can nectar at will.

20.6,2011 031_1.jpg

The Small Tortoiseshell is becoming rather scarce in my neck of the woods so
i was glad to find this one.When i was a child they were common place,
seeing a dozen or more at a time feeding on various plants in the garden.

IMG_0422-2_1.jpg

I was very surprised, but privileged to see this dormouse in the middle of
this track at C.W.at 9.15 in the morning. What a adorable creature.

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Nick,

Some more lovely images.

Strange as it may seem, my favourite so far is the Red Admiral so wonderfully camouflaged on the decaying tree stump.

Keep them coming.

Kind regards. Mark

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Mark,

thankyou for your kind comments, appreciated.

As you like the Red Admiral on the decaying tree stump so much, here is another
shot i took from the front of the same butterfly.

15,5,2011 189_1.jpg

All the best,

Nick.

[Padfield]

These are really lovely photos, Hideandseek! I particularly like the dormouse - a species I have yet to see despite one having appeared regularly at a friend's bird table a few years ago.

To answer a question you asked - yes, the common blue without a cell spot is a recognised form, icarinus. I don't know what the frequency of this form is but it is generally found in a rather small percentage of individuals.

And to answer one you didn't ask - that small skipper is a female. Although it has a dirty black splodge, this is not a sex brand. The sex brand would be in the middle of the wing.

Guy

[David M]

I was very surprised, but privileged to see this dormouse in the middle of
this track at C.W.at 9.15 in the morning. What a adorable creature.

You lucky soul!

A couple of years ago I got lost in Croes Robert Wood in Gwent and hacked my way through the forest cover in an attempt to find my way back to the track. I came across several Dormouse boxes and I opened a few to see if there were any inside. Sadly, there weren't, but I remain hopeful that one day I'll chance upon this most supremely cute mammal.

[Nick Broomer]

Hi Guy,

Thankyou for your really nice comment on my photos. The Dormouse is the only one i have ever seen, but i count myself lucky to have seen one at all.

Also thanks for the information on the male Common Blue, its very kind of you.

On the Small Skipper, my identification was based on the antenna, [not the black splodge] the females antenna is totally differrent to that of the males.

Here are two photos to show you what i mean, and how i came to the conclusion that i think the photo in question is a male.

23. 7. 2011 female Small Skipper.jpg

Female Small skipper.

19.6,2011 male Small Skipper.jpg

Male Small Skipper

19.6,2011 male Small Skipper-1.jpg

Photo in question.

Thanks again Guy,

all the best,

Nick.

[millerd]

I thought it was a male because of a) the large eye size (there was a thread about this a while ago), and b) the tuft at the end of the abdomen appears to stick out beyond the line of the hindwings. But that was just my instant appraisal...

Dave

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Nick,

I've just looked at your picture of the Small Skipper. I feel it's definitely a male. We are of course looking at the underside of the left forewing (which I didn't at first realise when looking at the image earlier) and, if you look really close, you can just make out what I believe to be the sex brand on the dorsal surface to the right of the upper black mark. The eye is also rather large, another key indicator of sex in this species.

That's a great shot of the female on the bracken.

Keep them coming.

Kind regards. Mark

[Padfield]

My apologies! I had seen that as the upperside of the right forewing and stand corrected. I thought it was anomalous that the apical grey should be showing through but it is not at all anomalous given that it's the underside.

Yes, most certainly a male.

Guy

[David M]

I had seen that as the upperside of the right forewing and stand corrected.

You're not the only one, Guy.

[Nick Broomer]

Thanks Guy, but it seems you were not the only one. [A misleading photo]

Hi Mark and Dave,

Many thanks for your input on the id of the Small Skipper.

Mark you are of course right, it is the underside view of the Skippers wing. There is not a lot of difference in the eye size, and is very hard to see unless you have a photo of both the male and female in the same picture, and sitting at the same angle.

Dave you are also right about the abdomen. But i think the best way for identification is the antenna, especially when the wings are closed, you can`t go wrong.

Thankyou for your kind comment on the female Small Skipper Mark.

Thank you all again,

Nick.

I have just seen Lee hurrell`s photo of the small Skippers mating, and you can clearly see the
difference in eye size, well done Lee.

+

[Nick Broomer]

Hi David,

I was very surprised, but privileged to see this dormouse in the middle of
this track at C.W.at 9.15 in the morning. What a adorable creature.

You lucky soul!

A couple of years ago I got lost in Croes Robert Wood in Gwent and hacked my way through the forest cover in an attempt to find my way back to the track. I came across several Dormouse boxes and I opened a few to see if there were any inside. Sadly, there weren't, but I remain hopeful that one day I'll chance upon this most supremely cute mammal.

I am lucky indeed, especially as it just sat there whilst i took a couple of pictures. I was talking to Neil [sussex kipper] about it, and he informed me that he had seen one in the same place the day before, [or the day after] that makes two lucky blokes.

I also knew of some Dormouse boxes some years ago, and checked them regularly, no luck, just a couple of Blue Tits nests.

All the best,

Nick.

[Nick Broomer]

As in my previous post distinguishing the male from the female Small Skipper by the
antenna, the same applies to the Large skipper as depicted in the pictures below. I
know the majority of you will know this, [if not all of you] but for beginners this method
of identification for the Small and Large Skippers is simple and easy, especially when
the butterfly is sitting with their wings closed.I used this form of ID when i first started
butterflying, and still do for these two species.

IMG_8688 male Large Skipper.jpg

Male Large Skipper

IMG_072l female Large Skipper 2.jpg

Female Large Skipper

29.5,2011 male Large Skipper.jpg

Male Large Skipper

IMG_9556 female Large Skipper.jpg

Female Large Skipper

IMG_9741 mating Large Skippers.jpg

Large Skippers mating, male on the left, female on the right.

[David M]

It's amazing just how different the two sets of antennae are, not to mention the difference in the size of the eyes. I've never seen this referenced in any book on butterflies (and I've probably read 30+ in my lifetime).

[Nick Broomer]

Hi David,

If you look on the species specific forum, favourite photo, Silver-Spotted Skipper, you will find that Neil [Sussex Kipper]and myself both made references to this subject.

All the best,

Nick.

[Nick Broomer]

On my last post i was talking about the differences between the male and females antenna of the Large Skipper.

Now i will turn my attentions to the eyes of the Wood White, the males being larger than that of the female.

14. 7. 2011 2nd brood W.W..jpg

This photo was taken [2011] in the evening sun, which rather spoils the picture. But clearly shows you the difference in eye size. The male being the Wood White at the bottom, female at the top.

IMG_2556 17,7,2010 2nd brood W.W..jpg

In this photo not only are the males eyes bigger, but also a different colour to that of the female, the females being a shade of green, the males blue.Where as in the first picture the eyes of both sexes are blue.

IMG_1658 2nd brood W.W..jpg

In this photo again the the females eyes are smaller, and a different colour to that of the males, but also there is a lack of hair around the top of the legs as in the top two photos.[The top three photos all depict 2nd brood butterflies]Now i found the naked tops of the legs quite unusual as i had never seen this in the 1st brood, but all 2nd brood Wood Whites i saw in 2010 were like this.

IMG_1551 13,7,2010 2nd brood W.W..jpg

Here is another 2nd brood W.W. again hairless on top of the legs. So now i thought this was the norm with the 2nd brood.

31. 7. 2011 2nd brood W.W..jpg

Until i took this picture last year, [2011] which as you can see is quite normal, also 2nd brood.

13. 7. 2011 2nd brood W.W..jpg

And again this one [also taken in 2011, and again a 2nd brood W.W.] is normal, apart from the eyes, which are a different colour, this time they are purple.

Why the males have larger eyes to that of the females is easy to answer. The males need larger eyes in order to find/hunt down the females for mating/reproducing. But why some Wood Whites differ in eye colour, and some 2nd brood W.W.have hair on the tops of their legs and some do not, i have no answers .

[Nick Broomer]

This picture below depicts three 1st brood Wood White males taking in salts to replenish
their energy levels after copulation.

2. 5. 2011 1st brood W.W..jpg

Mating takes a lot of the male butterflies energy,and that is why you will often see them
taking in salts from various sources such as animal droppings, burnt wood and damp soil etc.
Chalkhill and Adonis Blues are seen after mating in quite large numbers on dog poo, which
is a common sight in late July and August.

IMG_7067-1_1_1.jpg

Here is another 1st brood W.W. male taking in salt from this damp vegetation.