www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Loving your in tree shots - makes for a better background than the usual!

ThanksDave, he was certainly an easy target and did pose for a variety of images
Thanks for that Trevor, you can really go off people sometimes !
Thanks Wurzel, I take it you did have much luck this year then…
Thanks Katrina, it certainly does !


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June 2024

Friday 28th. After this weeks transects at work where I recorded numerous Thymelicus I popped back at lunch for a closer look to find out what species or a rough estimate of ratio’s if both were present. Turned out only male Essex were present. There were also a few Large around as well, they took an age to turn up here and ended up peaking after the Essex!

July 2024

Monday 1st. More work. The new transect week starts on a Monday this year so I took advantage of a day that wasn't raining to fit in this weeks walk. No female Essex Skippers yet but that didn’t stop the males looking for one! My first Gatekeepers also turned up today.

July 2024

Tuesday 2nd wasn’t the best day to go looking for butterflies, overcast and borderline temperatures meant even Meadow Browns weren’t keen on being active. I went to Bookham anyway where I found a few bits and pieces of interest. A few Ringlet and Meadow Brown were active, more often than not when I disturbed them first though. During a brief sunny interlude at the start of my visit a few White Admiral showed up but vanished just as quickly when the sun went back in. The only other species was a solitary Large Skipper The afore mentioned White Admirals have been busy during warmer days, several eggs were located in the usual spots. The final encounter was a little odd. Just leaving I noticed a White Admiral perched with closed wings on some Bramble blossom. A few distant shots were taken then I carefully approached to see if it would allow a closeup. It did but something wasn’t right, it hadn’t so much as twitched an antennae. I poked it with my finger, still nothing…. It had simply died in a curiously lifelike position .

How totally bizarre - given the condition of its wings it couldn’t have been old age!

Well done on finding the eggs - this species seems to have crashed at some sites this year

Cheers,

- Pete

Hi Buggy. Did you check for a lurking spider in the bramble blossom?

Guy

Thanks Pete, Bookham didn’t seem to do so bad with White Admiral this year, there was certainly plenty of larvae to be found before they got picked off by the Tits/went into hibernation. Last week I found one that had moulted to 4th instar so might a be a few to be found in October if the weather doesn’t fail.
I didn’t actually Guy. That would be the most obvious cause although when I poked it, it just fell into the undergrowth like a dead leaf. I did notice the spider below though!


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July 2024

Thursday 4th. There was a lot more life on Box Hill than there was at Bookham two days earlier. It did help that the sun was out, and it was significantly warmer. I put off the visit until mid-afternoon hoping that I wouldn’t have to wait so long for one of the targets, Dark Green Fritillaries to slow down. Whilst waiting for them there were plenty of Marbled White around. For the first time this year Small Skippers were also easy to come across. I had a go at getting some Small Heath uppers, this is the best I got, at least its recognisable! Gatekeepers were had only just started to appear with just an occasional fresh male making an appearance. A few Red Admirals had taken ownership of some clearings at the top behind the visitor centre, these two look like they’re at either end of their lives. After four I finally started to be able to grab some Dark Green Fritillary pictures, only males though. All the Skippers seemed to be Small’s except for one unfortunate Essex who was having a very bad day. Note how fat the Spider was, there’s a good reason for that, previous victims littered the turf under her chosen hunting spot!

July 2024

Saturday 6th. Time for my annual visit to Dorset in search of Lulworths, which this year although nice and sunny was accompanied with what felt like near gale force winds! I found the first few along the coastal path where its undulating route created a few spots which were slightly less windy. There seemed little chance of getting any pictures out in the open but I thought perhaps in the gully under the lighthouse might afford some shelter…. not a bit of it, it was as blustery as everywhere else but on some of the rocky outcrops where Wild Thyme clings to existence I found more that I was able to photograph. Also here I found a few Adonis Blues. The phenology of various species here does seem somewhat out of kilter of my more frequently visited sites and just to prove that a Dingy Skipper showed up as well! Next up was something even more bonkers, or so I thought as I was taking the pictures. Turns out in the cold light of reality it wasn’t a Silver-spotted Skipper, just a worn Large. Obvious in the pictures but buzzing around in strong winds and settling half concealed I did start to question my sanity. All told, I actually managed to tick off five species of Skipper today since the other two Thymelicus were also in attendance. I found a sheltered patch of Greater Knapweed where they all jostled for a bit of the limelight, amongst other things! Skippers actually made up the vast bulk of butterflies seen. Only a few Meadow Brown, even fewer Marbled White, Small Heath and Gatekeeper along with the few surprise additions already mentioned were around. A single Red Admiral bid me farewell close to the visitor centre as I left.

July 2024

Sunday 7th. After the long day to Dorset the day before, I stuck local with a wander around Epping Forest. I hadn’t even got my camera out of my bag when the first butterfly of interest appeared, a Purple Hairstreak sat atop some Hogweed much like his Brown cousins can often be found later in the year. Like them he was pretty much bombproof, even when I did accidentally disturb him, he came straight back to the same florets. The weather wasn’t particularly promising, another reason for not going far, with some big downpours predicted to arrive shortly after lunch and before then mostly cloudy. Still if it was warm enough for Purple Hairstreaks, other stuff should be about too. Indeed there was a nice selection in the grassy clearings along sides of the main rides. Small Skippers, Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers sat around in the muggy, overcast conditions just begging to be photographed. Further along, with the help of some sunny spells, hutchinsoni Comma’s put in an appearance. By mid morning I’d added Red Admiral and Large Skipper to the days tally And shortly before lunch a Couple of Silver-washed Fritillary were the final species for the day. With some particularly dark clouds heading my way it was time to leave before the drenching commenced.

Very pretty Ringlet pair - great photo!

Cracking Lulworths Bugboy With mentions of teh lighthouse and the gully I take it you're talking about Durlston? If so then the top fields are sometimes good in blustery weather as the hedges and dry-stone walls make great windbreaks
Also good to see that my having a bit of a pause has allowed you to pull ahead

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Katrina, always nice when you find a pair not trying to hide away
Welcome back Wurzel, and thanks for taking some time away so I can put some breathing space between our PD’s . Yes it was Durlston and I did explore far and wide trying to escape the wind but it’s no exaggeration to say it was near gale force and very few places escaped its reach!


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July 2024

Monday 8th part 1. Another day when the weather stopped me venturing further afield but given the encounters I got at Epping the day before, the short trip to try for a repeat experience seemed worthwhile. In the end there was more sun than predicted and although I was only there for about three hours, I took a lot of pictures so to do the day credit I’ll split the day into two posts.

The extra sun meant a few more species were active. Green-veined White were relatively numerous. More sun also meant more Commas were about with some fine examples of the hutchinsoni form. More freshly minted Gatekeeper proved irresistible. Silver-washed Fritillary are never numerous here, and I only managed a couple. It was good to see a few more Large Skippers too, although not even close to catching up on what I would consider a normal year for them.

I can see why you liked that Comma.
Nice gatekeeper ab too

ThanksKatrina, those hutchinsoni Comma’s do often turn up impressive variations.


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July 2024

Monday 8th part 2. Around half the pictures I took were of one species. Purple Hairstreaks it would seem had a decent season, here at least and the days events allow me to present a greatest hits of poses! When I arrived I was ready with my camera approaching the Hogweed from the previous day but it was empty….. for all of 10 seconds when a piece of silver confetti fluttered down and landed on the same floret as the day before and the wing damage showed it was the same individual. Moments later he was joined by a second and it was here where I spent the next 40 minutes (it didn’t feel like half that time!). They are very much like Brown Hairstreaks when feeding, bombproof and even when I did disturb them they simply sat in a nearby tree basking for a while before returning to the same florets. Eventually I dragged myself from them to wander through the wood, finding all the stuff from the previous post, but making my way to another Hairstreak hotspot I stumbled across during Covid times. It too proved to be a productive spot and I spent another 20 minutes here. The Hairstreaks were less cooperative, preferring to nectar and rest in the depths of the bramble thickets. Although it had clouded over by lunchtime my departure was stalled by the same two Hairstreaks that had distracted me at the start of the day, still on the same Hogweed 3 hours later! There was another one nearby on Thistles too

Cracking Gatekeeper ab Bugboy but, shock horror, I was more interested in the back-to-back Purps Cracking set of shots those

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Great Purple Hairstreaks, Paul. Worth a or two as I found them harder to track down this year than the last two or three summers. (I can try blaming the road works at J10 of the M25 preventing me from getting to Bookham early, though it's probably plain lack of good observation... )

Cheers,

Dave

Nice purple hairstreaks - is your gatekeeper ab a bimaculata?

Nice smorgasbord of Purple Hairstreaks, Paul. Seen precious few of them myself this year, sadly, so nice to live vicariously.

ThanksWurzel, I do have some more Gatekeepers with you name on them waiting in the wings, but before then, some more Purple Hairstreaks .
Thanks Dave, you didn’t do too badly for them on the day below
ThanksKatrina, I’m not sure, I’ve not actually looked it up. I’m sure someone gave its kind a name though!
Thanks David, still a few more posts for some vicarious living to go, they had a good season if my experiences are anything to go by!


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July 2024

Thursday 11th. A two part day of which the first half was spent wandering the rides of Bookham and since the sun had graciously decided to join me for the day, there was plenty to point the camera at. It soon became another Hairstreak festival, an Argentum of Hairstreaks perhaps? Halfway through this I bumped into Millerd who was more than happy to join in with the silver festivities. I like the subtle difference on the underside from the glistening sunlit to the matt overcast look. Other notable finds were a White Admiral licking something (presumably nasty) under a leaf, A mating pair of Silver-washed Fritillary A fine looking Green-veined White And on the Odonata front a mature male White-legged Damselfly (I usually only find the teneral ones who have yet to colour up) And a Magnificent Golden-ringed Dragonfly, been a few years since I’ve come across one of these.

That was a good day at Bookham, Paul - that pristine Purple Hairstreak down on the track stands out (though it's a shame she didn't flash her purple at us when she opened up). One species where the females "puddle" on the ground as well as the males.

Cheers,

Dave