www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Still not too bad a return what with that Hummingbird Hawk Moth Bugboy Mind you I reckon sometimes you have to have 'one of those days' to build up the luck ready for a cracker

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, the next day was significantly better


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September 2024

Sunday 1st Denbies. September began with somewhat better results than August ended, certainly much less gloom and the butterflies responded. Chalk Hill Blues were still out in reasonable numbers, mostly showing their age but the females looked to be still emerging. Brown Argus were enjoying the sun too, also looking their age but still full of youthful vigour as displayed by one persistent chap. Adonis were about but seemingly in low numbers, I only came across a handful of males and a single female who happened to be a obsoleta ab.. Meadow Browns were of course present and has become a feature of my season I found another mating pair, #7 of the year. Best find though were some Silver-spotted Skippers. In a ‘normal’ season (whatever that actually looks like) they’re easy to come across here, but given the disastrous year they’ve had, finding half a dozen of them was a bit of a red letter day! They were mostly males but I did manage to track a female whilst she worked to make sure there’d be some here next year, and occasionally get pestered by a passing male A vast improvement from the previous days events.

That's more like it Bugboy Cracking ovi-positing Silver-spot. I saw this at Ashton Rowant but the grass just kept getting in the way

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, another decent outing in the offing below


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September 2024

Wednesday 4th Denbies, again. The day was mostly overcast but nonetheless pleasantly warm and bright. I was primarily after Adonis today, but a few other species were happy to oblige my camera, the most surprising of which was a freshly emerged female Gatekeeper, I think she may well be the last one I saw this year. A few Chalk Hills, the occasional Common Blue and a solitary Brown Argus were about but I didn’t come across any Silver-spotted Skippers this time. A few Browns were around and I managed a rare upperside of a Small Heath although I think there may be a stewards enquiry as to the legitimacy of that one. The target species was around only in small numbers again, but some were still looking fresh and the overcast conditions did make them very amenable for closeups.

September 2024

Thursday 12th , Newhaven. Still searching for an illusive Cloudie I plumped for another south coast hotspot for the species, starting off with a slow walk through the Ouse Estuary reserve where the morning sun was waking up some Common Blues, A decent selection of Whites, And Red Admirals. The path naturally takes you in the direction of the Buckle Bypass LTB hotspot so naturally I stopped off there in the vague hope of something exciting. It’s far from the most pleasant spot to be taking pictures, being just a very steep sided verge with only a narrow portion easily accessible on the side of a busy main road but today there were a few bits that held my attention (no LTB though) tbc.

September 2024

Thursday 12th , Newhaven cont. Normally I’d now make my way to Tidemills but today I spent a bit of time exploring another footpath that heads north from Buckle Bypass. Along an east facing hedge I found several Comma and Red Admirals warming up and having breakfast tbc

September 2024

Thursday 12th , Newhaven cont. I finally managed to get to Tidemills finding a skittish fresh female Wall at the old ruins and more amenable Comma. Unfortunately, there wasn’t actually much else to be found here, a few Whites, Common Blue and Small Heath and another Small Copper. As I was leaving to head over to the fort a Painted Lady was added to the day. At the fort more Whites were again commonplace (this was the start of the great White invasion of 2024) A few aged Speckled Wood were lurking in the shadier margins Some more Red Admirals were enjoying Blackberries And Meadow Browns were the final species for a 13 species day

Pity your female Wall didn't hang around for some closer shots.
She looks to be mint fresh.

Cracking Small Coppers and really well marked Green-veined Whites from a post or two back Bugboy I think with the upper side Small Heath you have to ask "was it still twitching?" I remember reading about the Grey-cheeked Thrush when I much, much younger. It had made it to Slimbridge only to fly into the glass of the visitor centre and brain itself There were still some people that counted it as "it definitely moved when I saw it"

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Trevor. She was but I needn’t have worried, that’s one species that bucked the trend this year and had an amazing finish to the season! Oh and I did see your message, I will look into that site if time allows next spring.
Thanks Wurzel. That Small Heath had long since twitched it’s last twitch by the some time I came across it sadly.


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September 2024

Friday 13th , unlucky for some perhaps but today was a glorious day spent in deepest Sussex on a butterfly rich grassy slope. It was clear the Pierid invasion was well underway, Whites littered the country lanes on the way to the site, basking and breakfasting in the early morning sunshine. On the site there were plenty more Whites flying around, many many more than I’d seen all year, but I tried to concentrate on the less mobile Blues. Adonis, Common and Brown Argus were present. I was hoping, now it was the middle of September, that any Chalk Hills still around would be worn wraiths of their former selves so ID’ing the female Lysandra’s would be easy even with closed wings… that was until this attractive female presented herself to me. This one IS an Adonis As I walked along the slope it became clear there was another minor invasion going on with half a dozen Painted Lady gorging on the Scabious like they hadn’t eaten for days. There were dozens of Whites, mostly Large but a fair amount of Small’s too. Amongst the Small’s was a female with a distinct yellowish tinge who regularly made me double take every time she took to the air in my peripheral vision, thinking I’d found myself a rare Cloudie. I only saw a single GVW, a female being harassed by a male Small and a single Comma swooped over my shoulder, settled long enough to grab a couple of shots. tbc

Cheers Paul. The east facing edge of the woodland at that site is the go to
spot for Green Hairstreaks when they're about.
Totally agree about the Walls, and an excellent show by the 3rd brood too.

Thanks Trevor .


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September 2024

Friday 13th cont. I spent the whole day on this sunny slope, doing several circuits and took a ridiculous number of photos. It’s not often Large Whites are so easily photographed in my experience but with so many around I was able to ad to that particular portfolio. There’s something very pleasing about the vast expanse of clean white of the males wings. Another notable Small White to add to the earlier ab. flava female was a very pale male, the dark markings barely visible, ab. immaculata. The Painted Lady numbers seemed to have swelled too, a definite eight were seen in the afternoon and possibly as many as a dozen were now working the Scabious. In a previously unexplored corner I found a rich seam of Small Coppers including a couple of fine blue badgers. I found the Adonis female easier to pick out today, they tended to have a more generous sprinkling of blue scales than in previous visits. And the Common Blue females came in a variety of forms There were lots of Hornet Robber Flies around with several mating pairs around, fabulous/terrifying looking beasts! Add to the already mentioned species Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Peacock, Red Admiral, Brimstone and I had a very respectable sixteen species day

Cracking Adonis and Small Copper there Bugboy - the stars of the show by all accounts I've had a run in with one of those large Robber Flies before - they're even more gruesome looking up close

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, those Robber Flies are very impressive beasts, harmless to us (unless roughly molested I would imagine). Grasshoppers seem to be their preferred prey, that’s all I ever see them chasing and eating at any rate.


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September 2024

Saturday 14th . I hopped on the train down to Dover today. I wasn’t entirely sure exactly where I was going to explore but killing time on the train I decided to explore Western Heights, near the start of the North Downs Way (or ends depending on your viewpoint). From there it looked like a promising walk around the old fortifications ending up at Samphire Hoe, a walk allegedly taking an hour…ish. Initially things looked promising with numerous Red Admirals breakfasting on Ivy, mostly out of range along the high walls of the fortifications. I also found a Small Copper and an attractive female Common Blue. After this initial flurry though I found precious little aside from the occasional Red Admiral and Speckled Wood, until I came out onto the latter stage of the walk, a south facing slope. Here Whites started to make their presence felt As well as several Small Coppers and Common Blues. From there it was only about a 10-minute walk down to the tunnel to Samphire Hoe. Walking through the tunnel I didn’t get much further than the patch of waste ground as it opens up where Buddleja grows in profusion. In full flower it had attracted dozens of Whites, a few Painted Lady and a couple of Red Admiral and Peacock. The Whites were inspected as closely as they would allow but none of the Smalls caused palpitations of excitement. After 15 minutes I moved off finding a female (probable) Adonis. She never opened her wings to give me 100% confirmation though. A circuit around the site didn’t come up with a great deal, some Small Heath and Common Blue and the odd passing White. To be honest I’m not entirely sure what habitat they’ve attempted to recreate here. I stopped off at the Buddleja before leaving. More White checking revealed the same results, just Large and Smalls but I focussed on the Painted Ladies. I still had half the day to use so a walk back through Dover and onto the cliffs on the other side beckoned.

September 2024

Saturday 14th cont. Leaving Samphire Hoe I walked along the cliff path with Whites becoming ever more numerous the closer I got to Dover, mostly a bit too mobile and dallying a bit to close to the cliff face to grab any shots. A tiny blue dot did catch my eye on some Ivy flowers. The obvious conclusion was a Holly Blue, perhaps a Common Blue but some zoomed in long range shots proved it to be an Adonis. It was along the footpath with the A20 on one side and the rail line on the other that it became clear Small and Large Whites were present in ever growing numbers, possibly these ones only just making landfall. Once again, the Smalls were closely inspected and for a second, I did think I’d hit the jackpot…but it was a GVW. Up until today I’d never seen Large White in-cop, that would change! The first pair flew up in front of me and found some privacy on the buildings on the other side of the road. Not long after I disturbed a second pair who stayed closer. Around me there were now ridiculous numbers of mostly Large Whites, or so it seemed anyway, all very active in the heat of the day. These dissipated as I continued into Dover but out the other side along the chalk paths that overlook the port, the numbers returned to silly amounts again. Every now and again a breeze would waft up more from the lower cliff face and I ended the day with seven Large White pairings, probably as good an indication as any to the numbers present here. Other species here were a few Blues, Common and Chalk Hills, and a solitary Wall but the day definitely belonged to the Whites!

That description of the white butterflies, Paul, takes me back to a summer sometime in the 1980s, when I worked at Dover's Western Docks. I can remember a few days when clouds of white butterflies could be seen coming in from the sea and the cliffs and undercliffs were hosts to swarms of them. The following year, this was repeated - but with ladybirds. I used to get Walls and Chalkhills in my garden, but I've never seen an Adonis on ivy before!

Interesting to see what you found at Samphire Hoe too. I can remember it being created (just before I moved away from the area) and wondering how it would turn out in the end. I have visited it since (including on a day when there were numbers of Clouded Yellows!) and I know what you mean about it being an indefinable sort of habitat. It was created from what was dug out from under the bottom of the sea when the Channel Tunnel was built, so I think the soil is mostly chalk and marl, so the plantlife reflects this. It's well sheltered from the north by the cliffs, but is very exposed to weather from seawards and in my (limited) experience always seems windy. Worth a visit though!

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks Dave. I reckon there were a lot more back then than this year (crikey, that was 40 years ago, best not to think about that detail!).
I’ve only been to Samphire Hoe once before, and at the same time of year, but to me the structure of the habitat most closely resembles lowland heath, complete with shallow temporary pools. Obviously, the plant life is different, but it certainly doesn’t resemble chalk downland.



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September 2024

Sunday 15th . The last day of my short break from work was spent walking from Benfleet station to Two Tree Island in Essex. I fully expected, based on the previous three days, to find the place alive with Whites, and they were the first species I came across. A slight Autumnal nip to the air meant the few Small Whites I came across were still rather docile. After that though it was all rather quiet with just a few Meadow Brown and Small Heath and fresh Common Blue for company. Around 10 I came across some fresh 3rd brood Walls, the first of what was set to become a surprise end of season flourish and would keep me entertained for a few weeks. I took a detour after them, going north to the visitor centre and then down to the fort. The expected Whites didn’t really materialise (although all three species were seen), but I added Speckled Wood, Comma, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Copper and Brown Argus to the day. And then at the castle a few more Walls as well. Luckily most of the action was on a slope behind the castle. It being a sunny Sunday, there were lots of families at the ruins and being a lone man with a camera, that’s not where I feel particularly comfortable. Down here though it was just me and a selection of argumentative male butterflies The walk on to Two Tree Island was fairly uneventful but then once there I finished the day with another Wall and some more aristocrats.

Greta set of reports and images Bugboy Congratulations on the Large Whites in cop - it's always good to add to the 'in cop' collection. Amongst the many fine images the Common Blue from the 15th stood out for me - those black spots along the hind wing margin are reminiscent of those I've seen in Portugal of the celina race/species

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel. That particular variation in Common Blues is know as ab. nigrimaculata.



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September 2024

Monday 23rd . Today wasn’t the best day to be out chasing butterflies, lots of cloud, some of it heavy enough to cause showers and a strong wind just in case that wasn’t enough! Nevertheless, temperatures didn’t look too bad, so I set off to explore the sea wall near East Tilbury. I have David Lazurus’s sterling and heroic work for tipping me off to the site, I thought I did a lot of walking! I didn’t realise just how close it was to Cliffe Pools in Kent, which gets a fair bit of mention on the Kent butterfly group on Facebook, including the Pale Clouded Yellow a few years back.

Anyway, despite the weather I had a little bit of activity walking from the station, some Whites to start with, then a Red Admiral and a few Speckled Wood. Just approaching an open, rather desolate looking field I disturbed a few of one of the targets, some Walls. They’d obviously come out during an earlier sunny spell and now every one I disturbed scarpered out of sight.

From there it was just a 5 minute walk to the sea wall where David had reported some sort of Wall Nirvana. Sadly my arrival coincided with an extended gloomy spell and the was little activity to be found as far as butterflies were concerned but peering over the sea wall I saw the tide was out and lots of Avocet were working the mud flats and shallows. Thankfully the cloud thinned enough to wake up some butterflies and precisely where David recorded his Walls, I started finding them. I was also here to look for the Clouded Yellows that David had recorded but they were nowhere to be seen. Common Blue, Small Heath and a few Whites were active though. The weather improved as the afternoon wore on, and although the wind didn’t ease up the Walls came out in significant numbers and with so many about, amorous males were bound to stumble across passing females, some encounters more successful than others. As the sun sank down in the west, Walls were glued to the wall which here faces due west. Curiously they were mostly females. Most definitely worth the trip, thanks Mr. Lazurus !

September 2024

Thursday 26th . After the enjoyable afternoon on the Thames Estuary three days previously I went back for seconds at the next opportunity. The weather wasn’t a great deal better, Squally showers and a blustery wind would play havoc but I was pleasantly surprised to find a female Wall only two minutes from the station. Speckled Wood and Red Admiral turned up in the same spots as last time. But cloud and rain arrived when I got to the sea wall and I only managed a female Common blue before I had to seek shelter. As the rain eased I decided to head north to some other spots highlighted by David Lazarus around Mucking Flats and Marshes and it didn’t take long for more Walls to be found once the cloud thinned a bit. In a little sheltered hollow I found a couple of females going about laying eggs whilst trying to avoid marauding males. Here one of them is rejected the males advances by holding her antennae back so as much as the male tries, he won’t be able to brush them against his scent patches. There was also a Comma here, quietly waiting for sunnier times. I experimented with and without flash More showers came and went as I returned to the East Tilbury sea wall, leaving a rash of Rainbows. In my absence there had also been a rash of fresh Red Admiral emerging, half a dozen were sitting around soaking up the brief glimpses of sun. another experiment of with and without flash This was the last Wall I saw which was an ab. the upperside forewing ocelli was blind but I only saw that all to briefly just before she decided to go and sit out of sight in the hedge.