August 2017

[BeeHappyFlutterBy]

Such fabulous photographs everyone, a pleasure to see -thanks for sharing.

[Rivoldini]

Got this Small Tortoiseshell aberration in the car park at Chambers Farm Wood

[Rivoldini]

Brown Argus Aberration at Snakehome Pit

[David M]

Got this Small Tortoiseshell aberration in the car park at Chambers Farm Wood

Wow! That's a magnificent specimen, Rivoldini, with practically all the orange on the hindwings washed-out by the black.

Thanks for sharing.

[Allan.W.]

Couple of cracking AB;S There Rivoldini ,the Small Tort is particularly striking ,Great find ! The Brown Argus is AB; Snelleni , I believe , see these from time to time in the Wye NNR (Kent),but haven't seen one this year,once again great find !!
Regards Allan.W.

[Allan.W.]

Arrived at Dungeness,at just after 7 am, and spent the first 45minutes ,on a Tree cricket(a recent colonist) search in the trapping area ,but no joy ! and found my first Small Copper of the morning at around 7.40, in another area the Coppers were warming themselves halfway up there selected grass stems,in the sun ,and by 8 am there were many males scrapping to protect their square metre of beach
and accosting passing females none of which seemed receptive,a couple of Blue -spotted males ,and one (see pic ) with very pronounced tails (Caudatus ?) , several Small Whites about ,a few last gasp Meadow Browns,9 Common Blues all bar one ,very worn,the "one " was a very fresh male
(first third brood ?) ,one Painted Lady and a couple of Brown Argus ,all in all a very rewarding couple of hours !

]

[Jack Harrison]

Scotch Argus observations. (update 21st August

My favourite locality just three miles from home is Shaw Hill near Lethen but Scotch Argus occurs in all suitable habitats in this part of Scotland.

Habitat seems to have some heather but that might not always be the case.

First seen this year 8th August. Males are now getting tired.

Females still quite new.

Differences are subtle but females are marginally larger.
When egg laying, or searching for suitable places to lay, they go deep into the grass and disappear.
In flight, the butterflies are quite slow with a floppy jizz, similar to other browns such as Ringlet. They are easy to follow and never seem to cover more than around 30 metres before landing.

Favourite perch is bracken.

In truth, Scotch Argus not a charismatic species. Its appeal is that it does not occur in the south of the British Isles so for many butterfly enthusiasts, a special trip north is necessary.

Special note for those with young children. Some excellent sandy beaches along the coast so you could always pretend that you are planning a sand-castle holiday. I’m sure Neil will take note (ref his recent visit to Cornwall that just happened to coincide with second brood Small PB Frit)

Jack

[David M]

A visit to Pembroke for Brown Hairstreaks proved successful but with worryingly small overall numbers of butterflies seen, albeit with a decent range on offer.

No species was seen in double figures, with Speckled Woods numbering about 8. Others seen were Large, Small & Green Veined White, Hedge Brown, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma, Silver Washed Fritillary and, of course, Brown Hairstreak, with 4 spotted:

[CallumMac]

Scotch Argus observations. (update 21st August
In truth, Scotch Argus not a charismatic species. Its appeal is that it does not occur in the south of the British Isles so for many butterfly enthusiasts, a special trip north is necessary.

Maybe, as you suggest, it's because it's a novelty to me - but I've made a couple of recent trips up to sample Speckled Woods from various Scottish locations and have been thoroughly delighted by the Scotch Arguses! The white eye-spots really seem to shine on a perfect fresh individual, and compared to many of our British species, they seem relatively easy to approach and photograph. I'm not on my laptop to attach pictures but I previously posted some on Twitter - https://twitter.com/Macgregor_Cal/statu ... 0705935360

Like all the browns, my opinion is - underrated and can be stunning when freshly emerged!

[Jack Harrison]

Like all the browns, my opinion is - underrated and can be stunning when freshly emerged!

Agreed. Scotch Argus is easy to approach and child's play compared to Wall Brown.

My favourite "brown" by some distance is Marbled White. Sadly unlikely to be a Scottish species for a good many years.

Jack

[MikeOxon]

hi Jack,

Since you are well placed to observe plenty of Scotch Argus, it would be interesting to know whether your 'locals' conform to the descriptions of ssp.aethiops or caledonia, as described in the 'species pages' of this site.

I ask because your photos all seem to show three spots on the fore-wing, whereas a large proportion of those I have seen at Smardale, Cumbria have four (sometimes referred to as ab. Tetraocellata, although they seem common in Cumbria). I notice, too, that Goldie's recent photos from Arnside Knott are all prominently four-spotted.

It's hard to judge size from photos but any thoughts you have would be of interest.

Mike

[Allan.W.]

Had a good Small Copper count ,late afternoon at Dungeness, 62 in about an hour and a half ,in glorious ,sunny weather !
I reckon the third brood is now nearing its peak ,a great improvement on the first and especially the second brood,most ,bar about 2-3 were absolutely pristine, had to post one on a Blackberry (well red ),and another individual with a spot missing on the forewings . The third brood Common Blues are just emerging 3 immaculate insects ...2 males ,1 female. Also a single Painted Lady,several Small Heath and two Hummingbird Hawks.
Regards Allan.W.

[Philzoid]

Sheepleas today hoping I might see a Clouded yellow (but not this time). Lots of meadow Brown; faded Chalk Hill and Common Blues and a surprise Silver-washed Fritillary

Moving on to Box Hill hoping for Silver-spotted Skipper .. .again no luck. Lots of Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Common Blue and a single Brown Argus.

Phil

[aeshna5]

I was leading a trip for the London Natural History Society to Denbies, Surrey + we managed 16 species. Highlights were a single Clouded Yellow (my first in UK this year), good numbers of Adonis + Chalkhill Blue, quite a few Brown Argus, at least 10 Silver-spotted Skipper + a very tatty Silver-washed Fritillary. Saw more Large whites than I have all year (saw none here 2 weeks ago) but hardly any vanessids- just a Peacock + a Red Admiral (+ 2 more on Buddleias at Dorking Station).

[Allan.W.]

A few shots from todays ,couple of sites. An early start at Dungeness,Peasouper when I arrived, but soon cleared ,found 8
Hummingbird Hawks warming up on the power station fence +another 7 scattered about the site,so 15 in all ! the Coppers were out in numbers
including the unusually marked "dusky" specimen (pictured), 52 Coppers in all ,later at a site at Brookland (Romney Marsh, Kent ) 30+ Small Heath
and countless numbers of Large and Small Whites ,but dissapointingly just the one Small Copper, this site is nearly always good for Clouded Yellows
and today we managed 3 ,all females ! Regards Allan.W.

[David M]

Encouraging numbers of butterflies seen in a near three hour visit to the National Botanic Gardens near Cross Hands, south Wales:

Small White 40-50
Small Tortoiseshell 35-45
Large White 10-15
Peacock 8-12
Green Veined White 6-10
Red Admiral 6
Common Blue 5
Painted Lady 2
Speckled Wood 1

The buddleias in the walled gardens were replete with various species:

[downland boy]

This Blue Underwing (Catocala fraxini) was next to the light trap in the Weald of East Sussex yesterday morning (27/8/17). Downland boy.

[Allan.W.]

Visited Reculver (Kent) today ,turned up early, leave it too late and you can,t find parking ,but on arrival we noticed they,d opened another large car park ,so no problem . Lots of Whites about + a few bedraggled Common Blues and Brown Argus,the new broods don,t seem
to have started yet . A few Small Heath ,Peacock .But the stars of the show were the Clouded Yellows of which we found 6. One of the cloudies I,ve pictured was "photobombed" by a bee ,a scarce one I believe .....long horned bee ( sorry can,t recall the latin name ,something Longicornis I believe) I,m happy to be (scuse pun !) to be corrected . Regards Allan.W.

[David M]

No 'exotics' for me here in Swansea today, but an hour's visit to Port Eynon saw good numbers of butterflies in spite of largely cloudy conditions:

Small Tortoiseshell 25-35
Small White 10-15
Common Blue 10-15
Meadow Brown 10-15
Large White 4
Painted Lady 3
Red Admiral 1
Hedge Brown 1
Small Copper 1

[Hoggers]

Hi Allan, really nice markings on the Small Copper ( on the yellow flower )

Good find!

Hoggers