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Cheers David That WA was possibly my favourite find this year
Cheers Trevor That moment is made even worse by the fear that someone will push their luck and approach too quickly.
Cheers Goldie Hopefully the weather will be better this year
Cheers Nick That was one of my only 'should I shouldn't I post moments. I did make a second visit and spent more time on the aberrants but I don't know if I'll get time to post those shots.
Cheers Neil I was spoilt a year or so ago with a January sighting you see and now I just expect it

Introducing Bob...

Well actually this is Bob V.1. Bob was collected from the drive way behind little L’s friends’ house. The mum of L’s friend had mentioned to my wife that there were these horrible caterpillars on the path leading to their garden one of which reared up and looked like it was going to attack snake style. As soon as my wife had relayed this piece of info to me I knew exactly what she was referring too. As the caterpillars were down on the ground beetling around I reasoned that they were nearing the end of the larval stage of their lifecycle and would pupate shortly.

I thought about getting some shots and the mum gave me permission to see if they were still there the next morning before work. So Bob v.1 was collected in an ‘almost dawn raid’. When I got there I could only see one caterpillar immobile in the middle of the drive. When I approached and gently teased a grass stem over its dorsal side it still remained immobile so I collected it into a some tissue and placed it in a Waitrose coffee cup.
Once at work I moved it to a plastic pot so that I could take some photos of Bob and he/she was then placed in the glass box that I’d used before for rearing moths. Bob then took to walking round and round but didn’t go anywhere near the foodstuffs that it was offered. The next morning Bob wasn’t a caterpillar, Bob was a pupae. A few weeks later I moved Bob from work to my courtyard and placed him/her on some soil in our butler sink flower bed and protected the pupae with a net pop up laundry ‘basket’. Unfortunately Bob didn’t emerge the following spring...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Wurzel, that's so sad, at least you tried, what kind of moth would it have been? I'm not too well up on Moth Caterpillars, Goldie

Hi Wurzel,
Do you have any pictures of Bob as a pupae? I don't think I have seen an Elephant Hawk Moth pupae.

Cheers Goldie It was an Elephant Hawk Moth cat - but I think something had gotten at it despite being protected by a bright pink Taz laundry net.
Cheers Nick See below

Bob Continued...

...And that was that for a while until this September when the Nancy our Technician mentioned there were snake like caterpillars munching through her flower bed. She was concerned not really for her flowers but for the caterpillars as there was very little Fuscia left in her garden. The next day she brought in the sole remaining caterpillar that she’d found clinging to the final leaf – the others I assume had gone down to pupate.
We collected some Willow and Bob v2 munched away for the day. The fact that Bob was feeding I thought meant that I would be able to get some photos on Monday. When I got in however I had lessons all day and Bob had stopped eating. The following day I didn’t get round to checking Bob until the afternoon and when I did Bob was clearly preparing to pupate and he’d/she’d made a tent in readiness but sticking together various leaves and twigs with silk. It amused Nancy that Bob had not just incorporated one of his lumps of poo but also some Blue tack. Getting shots was very tricky as on the room facing side Bob was hidden behind his tent and on the other side I had to focus through the glass and Bob’s woven silk but you can just make out Bob’s face as the tent is completed. I tried to give Bob some peace and quiet over the next few weeks and checked in on him (from now on I’ll use the male pronoun) a month later. By now he was happily ensconced in his tent and was encased in his pupa. Pupils often asked where Bob had gotten too and at first I would just point out that he was still in there. Then I would very carefully turn the ‘rearing case’ around so that they could see the leaf tent he’d constructed from the other side. And that’s where Bob is currently at. When the colder weather hits and the heating finally comes on at work then I might move him outside – there’s on old paint store which should protect the rearing case from the elements whilst being at ambient environmental temperatures? (This was written some time ago and that is indeed where Bob now resides)

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi! Wurzel, I'm has bad as the kids I'm impatient to see what he's like when he comes out Goldie

Sorry Goldie you'll have a bit of a wait - a couple more months at least Should Bob emerge it will be worth the wait though

February 2016

Good job it's the shortest month a it's often the most horrible weather wise!
Have a goodun

Wurzel

Your right about February being the coldest month Wurzel, It's my Birthday month. I was born in a snow storm, married in one, had my daughter in February, guess what! Snow storm This year even has 29days as well ( and to cap all that, one of my Grandson's was also born in February)
By the way Pauline has just sent a photo to my Diary you must see Goldie

That was a great photo of Pauline's Goldie

Fritillaries 21 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, 30-05-2015

It seems a shame to start with this species as it was later emerging and also was down in numbers from what I have seen in previous years. Mind you I did visit at the very start of its emergence again and again I somehow confined myself to the Eastern Clearance. I’m sure there are plenty more Small Pearls out there so next year I need to check out more of the wood as well as some of the smaller woods nearby. Mind you I suppose seeing a second brood in August in the Czech Republic might count as getting around a bit 22 Pearl-bordered Fritillary, 03-05 Bentley Wood

Normally the Pearls are the first sign of things really kicking off and if things are running late then so to do the Pearls. This year however, whilst most species were dragging their tarsi the Pearls actually emerged at pretty much the same time as last year. When Philzoid and I visited Bentley Wood there seemed to be fewer Pearls flying than last year. However from checking the book it seemed that they’d only just started emerging a couple of days before and so we’d arrived very early in their flight period whilst last year (2014) we were actually quite late and individuals were already ovipositing. So to see as many as we did so early in their flight led me to believe that at Bentley they had a reasonable year – although still nowhere near the high numbers a few years back they hadn’t declined any further. They were still around a month later when I went looking for my Small Pearls. 23 Dark Green Fritillary, 01-07-2015 Larkhill

I saw my first DGF a little over a fortnight later this year compared to last. This however could have been because I didn’t get to Martin Down this year for my usual ‘fix’ of DGFs early in the season. Not only did this have an impact on how accurately I could compare their emergence times this year but it also meant that judging how well they did would be difficult and if I was to go by numbers alone then I would have to say that they had a poor showing. That being said again this could be because I didn’t visit Martin Down and so had no direct comparison available. An alternative way to judge how good a season they had would be to look at the range of sites at which I saw them. Most years I can see DGFs at Martin Down and down at Lulworth if I’m lucky as well as possibly a couple at The Devenish. This year The Devenish held none and my only early trip to Lulworth was too early for them – so things still aren’t looking good for the poor old DGF. But hold on there seems to be an upturn in their fortunes as not only did I see them at Larkhill for the first time ever but I also found a couple in Bentley, 5 or 6 in Grovely Wood, good numbers at Broughton Down and eventually a couple at Laverstock and a further couple at my Duke Site. Of these all apart from Bentley Wood were ‘firsts’ for the site and so on this basis I judge the DGF to have a pretty successful year. 24 Silver-washed Fritillary, 05-07-2015 Grovely

As I only made the one trip to Bentley Wood at around the same time as the Silver Washed were out it is difficult again for me to judge how well they did as I have no point of comparison. So I can only judge how well they did by thinking back at which sites I saw them at – Bentley Wood, Studland and my Duke site as well as Shipton Bellinger. This may seem a nice wide range but I’ve seen them at a similar range before and I feel that they were slightly down in numbers.
One thing I did notice was that certainly hung around and my last one was at Shipton Bellinger whilst looking for Brostreaks and was almost into September. Whether this is a usual occurrence here or an artefact of their later season, emerging a fortnight or so later this year, I’m not sure. 25 Marsh Fritillary, 13-05-2015 Marshie site

Although it seemed that the Marshies were about at about the same time this year that was only because this year I didn’t hang around to see if they were emerging. In previous years reports have come in from various other sites across Wiltshire and as soon as I start seeing counts in excess of 20 then I start making plans to head over to my Marshie site. This year I didn’t wait as they were slightly later in emerging and I was champing at the bit by the time they arrived on the scene.

Number wise I feel that they had another good year and were equally as numerous at my Marshie site as in previous years despite some concerns about the huge numbers of larvae that had been seen wandering round once the main food source was depleted. Unfortunately I can’t comment on how they did anywhere else as this was the only place that I saw them this year as I didn’t make the trip to my Hampshire site but hopefully how they did at my Marshie site was mirrored elsewhere. 26 Heath Fritillary, 14-06-2015 East Blean

This was the year that I finally made good on my plans to ‘go for Heaths’ and so early one Sunday I drove up to meet with Philzoid and then onto Kent. So having never seen this species before I can’t comment on how well they’re doing or their emergence time this compared to...well any year.
A couple of things I did notice were that one they were so, so variable. At times I was questioning whether they were all the same species. Also they’ve moved on slightly. I was reliably informed that I’d only have to pull into the car park and there they would be. Only when I visited they weren’t and neither where they just along the path by the notice board. Things weren’t looking good until we found a couple in the first clearing. Finally in a newer clearing we came across almost a hundred all in one small area. This coming year I have my eye on a couple of other species so I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back to East Blean but I would love to... Have a goodun

Wurzel

HI Wurzel,
That's a gorgeous female DGF you have there. I've seen fewer DGF over the last two
years around here, than in previous years.
The Heaths used to be found right at the end of the car park, but this area was very
overgrown , none seen there, but we found plenty a little into the wood.
This year it would be good to meet you at CH. for the Marsh Frit. as last year I missed
you by a day at two sites.

May 2016 bring bountiful riches,
Trevor.

Cheers Trevor I was more than happy with that DGF I normally keep my eyes on the Wiltshire updates and when I see numbers reaching 20+ I head to my Marshie site on the next available weekend, so this year I'll give you a heads up and we can arrange a meet to make sure you get plenty of Marshies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Well done with the Heaths, Wurzel. Some nice, sharp images of this rare UK species.

A veritable feast of Fritillaries, Wurzel! Some top notch images there.

Dave

A nice report and great photos Wurzel . I too missed out on my fix of DGF’s at Martin Down, normally one of my highlights of the season. It was scuppered by that unseasonal cold afternoon on the 28th of June (after our meet-up at Bentley for my successful last minute dot.com Small Pearl sighting). Despite missing out on the DGF’s at Martin, I was able to see them at zig-zag Box hill in good numbers, certainly more than I’ve seen there before.

Fully agree with you regarding the Heaths and their variable colours and markings. Variation is further evident when I compare the East Blean (ssp. athalia) ones to the ones I photographed in France (ssp. athalia or celadussa?). Overall the EB woodland Heaths were darker and more heavily marked than the French ones seen in meadows and along roadside verges. Perhaps this is a function of their different habitats (woodland Dukes are darker than the grassland ones for example )

Silver-washed numbers seemed to be down this year

Phil

Hi! Wurzel, I missed out on every Frit last year would you believe it The weather was so bad at Gait Barrow and I decided to go to Norfolk in June and Kent in August, and although I went up to Arnside Knot I still couldn't find them, I hope this year will be better
Your photos are really great and make me more determined to find them this year Goldie PS forgot I did see the High Brown

Another great report with some cracking photos, I particularly like the female DGF and the PBF underside framed by the leaves

I have never seen the Heath Frits in Kent or Essex, mine have all been seen in the west country where they can also be quite variable in appearance.

Cheers,

Neil.

Cheers David At East Blean photography of this species is relatively easy as there are so many
Cheers Dave I found Heaths to become of the species which it's actually harder to get a rubbish shot of than a good one
Cheers Philzoid We need to remedy the lack of Martin Down DGFs this year Hopefully I might get to experience some of the Heath-a-likes is year
Cheers Goldie Good luck on the Frit hunt
Cheers Neil I was tempted to try no find some Westcountry Heaths but as it was the first time I'd have seen the species it seemed preferable to go for a "sure thing". Hopefully this year or next I'll be able to experience some Westcountry Heaths for myself

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Introducing Bobette!

About a week after Bob was settled in and had pupated I was paid a visit by the Technology Technician. She’d found a caterpillar crawling across the Quad and wondered what it was? I recognised it but couldn’t remember which species it was but after a quick check it turned out to be an Eyed Hawk Moth. ‘Bobette’ was placed in the case with some food and I checked up on Bobette every hour or so. Bobette was a right wanderer and didn’t seem interested in the food sources I’d placed in the case and this observation combined with how he’d/she’d been discovered led me to believe that Bobette would soon pupate...

I came in on the following Monday morning and my prediction had come to fruition. There in the case was a dry husk reminiscent of a dead alien and a shiny pupal case. There is a back story to the appearance of Bobette. Last season (2014) Philzoid gave me five Eyed Hawk Moth caterpillars which he’d brought on from eggs left by a female in his Moth trap. All five emerged over a weekend and when I came in on Monday morning four were in cop. I took two home as they were still in cop at the end of the day but the other three I released in the school grounds. One of the three, a female, I released on the same Willow under which Bobette was discovered. Could Bobette be the progeny of the 2014 female pictured below? Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Wurzel
Those Heath Fritillaries are real beauties
There is no turning back once you start rearing larvae Great stories and Pics as usual Wurzel

Great shots Wurzel, Goldie

Wurzel wrote:There is a back story to the appearance of Bobette. Last season (2014) Philzoid gave me five Eyed Hawk Moth caterpillars which he’d brought on from eggs left by a female in his Moth trap. All five emerged over a weekend and when I came in on Monday morning four were in cop. I took two home as they were still in cop at the end of the day but the other three I released in the school grounds. One of the three, a female, I released on the same Willow under which Bobette was discovered. Could Bobette be the progeny of the 2014 female pictured below?

Great find Wurzel . The Bluish green colouration and blue tail horn of the larva help separate it from the similar and more common Poplar Hawk.
Although Eyed hawk are not uncommon I think it’s very likely that Bobette was a descendant from that last years’ moth.