October 2009 Sightings

[Denise]

Great photo Jack.
The plant is VERBENA BONARIENSIS. I planted some in my garden and it did well with all leps, but it's off spring which seeded by the path has grown so well that it is out-doing every other plant at the moment. It flowers from mid June until the first heavy frost. I haven't seen a Painted Lady for about a week now, and then didn't get a photo so well done on this lovely shot. (I can send you some seeds if you like )

Denise

[Neil Hulme]

Hi all,
Happy days! Time is very short at the moment, so I will post more at a later date. Suffice to say this looks like 'the real deal' and a paper is being written that discusses all of the data and argues all possibilities. For now I'll just re-iterate my BC Sussex web story and post some larger images, taken on 4th, 8th and 10th October. In the unlikely event that any UKB regulars can make it at such short notice, I'll be meeting a few people at Grid Ref SU85040660 at 3pm tomorrow.
Neil

10 September: 'Today about 25 people joined me, to witness a spectacular and very significant event. The female Queen of Spain Fritillary seen in Brandy Hole Copse near Chichester on 14 July by Robert Beale (see earlier report on this website) has given rise to a UK brood of this very rare and stunningly beautiful immigrant. First photographed by local John Kelsall on 22 September (but now reported as first being seen 'up to a week earlier'), I have personally observed 6 different insects (5 male, 1 female) since 4 October. A great deal of data has now been collected (paper in preparation) and it is clear that there has been a 'staggered' emergence of butterflies on the site (pristine specimens have appeared alongside increasingly battered-looking individuals). Today 2 males were still on the wing, along a maize field margin a couple of hundred metres south of where Robert's July butterfly was seen. I also found the dismembered remains of what was a still fresh-looking male butterfly on Thursday, lying in the undergrowth where I last saw it at roost. Predation by a spider seems most likely. Importantly, Barbara Ottley discovered Field Pansy (the caterpillar food plant) around the margins of the crop today, adding the last piece to the 'jigsaw puzzle'. Records going back to 2007, when an unusually high number of specimens (6, possibly 7) were recorded between Old Winchester Hill (Hampshire) and East Sussex, cluster around this area. The currently strong populations along parts of the Normandy coast will be the original source of these butterflies. 2009 has certainly been a year to remember!'

[Padfield]

That's wonderful, Kipper. What a year!

The staggered emergence is absolutely typical of this species, which is continuously present where it flies without any obvious division into generations. It reaches winter in different stages and possibly even hibernates (in a weak sense of the word) as an adult on occasion. As I've remarked before, I've seen them in Switzerland every month of the year except December, my first this year being 28th February and in 2008, 27th January.

I'm really happy for all of you who get a chance to see this fantastic species in the UK - something I'm almost tempted to fly home for!!

Guy

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks Guy,
I'm doubly pleased because I saw one with my father in April 2007, before I owned a camera and only a week after he had 'gone digital'. I know he's agonised for the last couple of years, as we got no better than passable 'record shots', and being in his mid 70s he thought he'd never see another. It's nice to show them to anyone, but to give him a second bite at the cherry was particularly pleasing. Now he's VERY happy!
Neil

[NickB]

What a privilege to see such a rare species and thanks for sharing it here...
Great pictures, Neil...
N

[Zonda]

What a stonking looker this Queen is. Amazing! This season has certainly opened my eyes to butterflies.

[Jack Harrison]

Guy wrote:

There's something about the UK that the Queens just don't like....

They have probably been present all along but I’m sure we will find increasing numbers of "queens" coming out from their hiding places

Jack

[Lee Hurrell]

One word Neil - wow!

Cheers

Lee

[Ian Pratt]

Great sighting in the UK. I have seen the Queen of Spain in the Dordogne and Pyrennees.
As regards the map reference do you mean SU850066 ? I thought map references usually had 6 figures not 8?

[Jack Harrison]

A 6-figure ref would repeat every 100 kms so the two letters are used to remove any ambiguity.

Jack

[Susie]

Thanks to spotting Neil's post on here this morning I spontaneously dropped all other plans and hot footed it over to the above mentioned site - this was too good an opportunity to miss!!!! - and, thanks to a very helpful group of butterfly enthusiasts was able to see two Queen of Spain frits. One was fresh and an absolutely beauty and had no problem posing for photographs. It was quite an amazing experience. I'm still grinning!

[NickB]

Green with envy

I might have done the same but someone ( ) broke my passenger window on my car and bent the door frame last night... (again)

[Jack Harrison]

Poor you Nick, but on your own admission, your car is.....well elderly (aka old banger). I wonder why they target older cars. I mean, at best they might find a Bing Crosby CD (re-mastered of course). I wouldn’t have thought they would find much else of interest

Seriously, might it not be cheaper to fork out another 750 quid for a newer vehicle rather than get this one repaired?

Jack

[Zonda]

I thought about it, but i do get constipated outside of Dorset.

[Zonda]

So i ventured out (so to speak) to Abbotsbury. Lovely sunny day, and full of butterflies.

Red Admiral 010 (att).jpg (144.68 KiB) Viewed 368 times

There were more Reds than i have seen all year.
Pristine Painted Ladies too

Painted Lady 019 (att).jpg (191.53 KiB) Viewed 368 times

Saw a few Small coppers too.

[Susie]

I'm really sorry to hear that, Nick, that's a horrible thing to happen.

[Zonda]

What's happened to Nick ??
OK car crime is rife these days. Did they get anything of value?

[Padfield]

Did they get anything of value?

They stole his chance to get photographs of a rare and beautiful migrant. What could be more valuable than that?

I hope you get another chance, Nick.

Guy

[Ian Pratt]

[quote][/quote]A 6-figure ref would repeat every 100 kms so the two letters are used to remove any ambiguity.

Jack

What I could not understand is the 8 figure map reference. Is that just making it more precise?

[Susie]

The one we saw today looked pretty fresh, Nick, and the weather is set fair this week so if you can steal a car it isn't too late to seem them!