April 2024

[millerd]

Excellent to see those Coppers, Allan. I did look for them locally today, but they haven't appeared yet.

I did see nearly 180 butterflies of eleven other species, though, including 58 Peacocks. The highlight of that little lot had to be the single Small Tortoiseshell.

Some of the other butterflies weren't bad either...

As ever, a full report of a particularly full day will appear in my PD when I've sorted the 300+ photos...

Dave

[David M]

Friday 12th, Lavernock and Cosmeston, Cardiff:

Finally, a warm and sunny day. I saw almost as many butterflies in 3 hours than I had previously in the entire year.

Brimstone 25
Peacock 10
Orange Tip 5
Small White 3
Speckled Wood 3
Comma 2

[Chris L]

This morning at Dungeness (Kent ) in warm (15-16c) with a slight breeze, we found our first Small Coppers of the year, 6 in all.
Allan.W.

Early April, Small Copper I feel like South Derbyshire is a different country to Kent, not just a different county.

[Chris L]

I did see nearly 180 butterflies of eleven other species, though, including 58 Peacocks.
Dave

I walked one of my two transects today and was pleased with the 14 butterflies that I saw. How the other half live

[Allan.W.]

Small Coppers generally emerge at Dungeness from around the second week in April ,my earliest record is the 4th April ,but i believe they have been reported in favourable years in the last week of March ,although this is exceptional . My latest is the 5th November (5no ) and i would guess (as the weather that year was favourable ) that one or two survived into the second week of November.

[bugboy]

I did see nearly 180 butterflies of eleven other species, though, including 58 Peacocks.
Dave

I walked one of my two transects today and was pleased with the 14 butterflies that I saw. How the other half live

I walk 2 transects at work, I've got a grand total of 20 butterflies from 4 walks... this is one of the better starts to the season, it's not all as good as Millerds patch down here!

[Charles Nicol]

it is quite hard to take a satisfying picture of an Orange Tip. this one today was quite pleasing ( Barton churchyard Bedfordshire ) although at maximum distance.

there are plenty of lovely Pasque Flowers out on the chalk

[Testudo Man]

Lunchtime jaunt from work today (well it was sunny an warm!!!) visited one of my local areas.

Peacock, Brimstone, 1 Red Admiral, Comma, Holly Blue, Green veined White, Small White, Orange Tip seen.

A lovely female Brimstone caught my eye, she spent some time egglaying...despite a few males pestering her!!!
Location - a local Kent working woodland. 2 Common Lizards seen, but no sign of any Adders.
All images are cropped some, cheers Paul.

One of the males pestering her.

[aeshna5]

Yesterday in increasing warmth & sunshine at Ruislip, fairly good numbers of butterfly with

8 Peacock
7 male Brimstone
2 unidentified Small/GV Whites
5 male Orange Tip
Holly Blue

Also plenty of the dancing parties of the longhorn moth Adela reamurella. Quite a few mining bees with their cuckoo bees about.

Back at home a Speckled Wood & Holly Blue in the garden.

[zigzag_wanderer]

Saw what I assume is a Brindled Pug on the shadiest side of House #4 on Thursday lunchtime and what I take to be one of the Phyllonorycter sp. outdoor miners on the sunny side.

Lots of Brimstones in the garden yesterday, probably tempted by all the Lion's Tooth in the lawn and borders (both those technical garden terms used loosely). Also a couple of Holly Blue and Orange Tip, singles of Comma, Speckled Wood and Peacock. Still no Small Tort for me yet, sadly. Few other insects around too - loads of hover flies (might be why the parasitic wasp was out) and I rescued a Nomad bee from a water bowl we put out for the animals and birds. I'm taking a punt on some of the species below...please feel free to correct any wrong 'uns.

[millerd]

In amongst the sheer number of assorted butterflies on my local patch again this morning was something special. I've been walking the same general area in various ways for around sixteen years, and there are still surprises to be had. In 2022 it was a Large Tortoiseshell, in 2023 the newcomer was a male Silver-washed Fritillary. Today, for the first time ever here, I found a Green Hairstreak. I'd been watching the interaction between several different butterflies: a Specklie, a Brimstone, an Orange Tip and a Holly Blue. However, there was something else as well, taking a particular interest in chasing the Holly Blue. Having seen the latter off, the mystery butterfly came down and settled in front of me.

It was good to see my first Green Hairstreak of 2024, but a great bonus for it to be on my local patch.

There will be another more elaborate account of the day in my PD later, but this one sighting put everything else in the shade.

Dave

[Trev Sawyer]

A strange day where fate played a HUGE part... My wife and I were going to look at the bluebells in one of a number of local woods. The first 2 were still closed due to flooded paths. We ended up at Potton Wood in Bedfordshire and after seeing the bluebells, we decided to wander along the rides as there were SO many butterflies about. Orange Tips, Commas and Peacocks were all over the place. I noticed a different large butterfly coming down to the main path - more orange and bright - a Painted Lady I suspected, but as I got closer I saw it was a Large Tortoiseshell! A manic fumbling for my mobile phone ensued as I tried to get a shot of it before it flew off. Fortunately it stayed still as I got the shot. It spent the next 15 minutes bombing up and down the ride getting into scraps with Peacocks. It even landed on Yvonne's shirt twice. A "lifer" and very much down to pure luck. We may have missed the Grand National, but the odds were definitely on our side today

[bugboy]

Finally managed to find myself some Orange-tips. Epping Forest was full of them today it seemed but they didn't make things easy!

[David M]

A strange day where fate played a HUGE part... My wife and I were going to look at the bluebells in one of a number of local woods. The first 2 were still closed due to flooded paths. We ended up at Potton Wood in Bedfordshire and after seeing the bluebells, we decided to wander along the rides as there were SO many butterflies about. Orange Tips, Commas and Peacocks were all over the place. I noticed a different large butterfly coming down to the main path - more orange and bright - a Painted Lady I suspected, but as I got closer I saw it was a Large Tortoiseshell! A manic fumbling for my mobile phone ensued as I tried to get a shot of it before it flew off. Fortunately it stayed still as I got the shot. It spent the next 15 minutes bombing up and down the ride getting into scraps with Peacocks. It even landed on Yvonne's shirt twice. A "lifer" and very much down to pure luck. We may have missed the Grand National, but the odds were definitely on our side today

Absolutely fabulous, Trevor. Your heart must have approached cardiac arrest territory!!

[David M]

..It was good to see my first Green Hairstreak of 2024, but a great bonus for it to be on my local patch.

This is perhaps the finest thing one can experience when butterflying in the UK - the unexpected appearance of a hitherto never encountered species locally.

Green Hairstreak is certainly a fine addition, Dave. Let's hope it's not just a one-off.

[Allan.W.]

Great stuff trev ! Like yourself i also had my first Large Tort ....after many years of searching(although luckily for me i stumbled across a small group already watching one !) .........interesting times !
Well done Dave ! I had an identical situation about 5 years ago in Orlestone ,at that time i,d been visiting fairly regularly for over thirty years ........with never a sniff of a Green Hair .On this particular day i was helping out on a butterfly transect for someone off on their hols ,and just wandered slightly off course ,the conditions weren,t ideal ....bit windy ,but as i wandered along a small Green "leaf " blew up right in front of me and there it was my first (and still only !) Gren Hairstreak for Orlestone .
As a footnote ........Green Hairstreak does occur in very small numbers fairly close to the Orlestone Complex.
Allan.W.

[millerd]

My first Duke of Burgundy of 2024 seen today at Incombe Hole on the Chilterns in the company of Bugboy and several Green Hairstreaks.

Dave

[bugboy]

Along with the afore mentioned Duke (probably the first recorded at the site this season), there were plenty of fresh GH around. When Dave left to beat the traffic I took a wander further afield to find my first few Holly Blue of the season and stumbling across a Marsh Fritillary larvae, I guess that small introduced population is still hanging on. Upon returning to Incombe Hole I was shown images of a Duchess that had been active in my absence. It had gone cloudy so no point trying to relocate her. I ended the day with a marvellous OT session.

[David M]

..A lovely female Brimstone caught my eye, she spent some time egglaying...

Those are fabulous images, Paul.

[David Lazarus]

Site visit - 12/04/2024 Essex Wildlife Trust Great Holland Pits

My first site visit of 2024 to one of the best places in Essex for butterflying. The Brimstones were active and thankfully I came across my first female of the year searching the Common Buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica which were coming into leaf. Very lucky with the photographs, particularly because she was too preoccupied to care about the mobile shoved in her face.

One of her upperwings:

Brimstone f 12/04/2024 Great Holland Pits

And then perfect timing as she was placing an egg on a fresh leaf:

Brimstone f 12/04/2024 Great Holland Pits

20 Brimstone in total with 7 females amongst them. Good numbers of Peacock [25] like everywhere in Essex it seems, and Speckled Wood, but no Small Tortoiseshell, Holly Blue, or Orange-tip - and I wasn't surprised the Green Hairstreak had not begun to emerge. I quickly popped to The Naze NR where I saw the only Small Tortoiseshell of the day. The other whites were in smaller numbers than mid-Essex.

The next day, 13/04/2024, I visited the Danbury Ridge Nature Reserves close to Chelmsford to see (and smell) the Bluebells at Blake's Wood - wonderful display. Despite an afternoon trip, the record UK temperature recorded in Chelmsford [21.8C] meant the woodland butterflies were still active and I came across my first Holly Blue of 2024 in Lingwood Common.

Yesterday, 14/04/2024, nature gave me the perfect birthday present when I went out in the morning in search of Orange-tip before they became too active and was not disappointed:

Orange-tip m 14/04/2024 Meadgate Park

Orange-tip m 14/04/2024 Meadgate Park

I would have been satisfied with these, but I came across him half-an-hour later when he was happy to have his portrait taken:

Orange-tip m 14/04/2024 Meadgate Park

Later, on the way to the restaurant I came across my first Holly Blue on my local patch but my girlfriend wouldn't let me stop to catch a happy snap

A female Speckled Wood was hanging around - very beautiful - and yesterday I saw her post-cop.

Speckled Wood f 13/04/2024 Meadgate Park

A really pleasing weekend's butterflying with my 11th species of the year [10 photos because of girlfriend ] and record temperatures - now wind and gales again