www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Thank you, Wurzel. Having been accused of crimes against photography in another thread, I thought I'd better try harder

David M wrote:That blackthorn is positively laden with fruit, Mike. Any sloe gatherers should take note and get themselves down there!

Indeed, David - the sloe gin should be good this year

A short walk in warm sunshine around the Radley Gravel Pit lakes, close to my home, found large numbers of active Common Blues but very few other butterfly species, apart from an occasional White. Last year, I had found several Clouded Yellows there, but the habitat has changed considerably in just one year.

The site was formerly used for ash disposal from the now-closed Didcot power station but is now re-generating. The area that was open scrub is now a young Birch forest, full of tall saplings. Many of the lakes have been filled in but Thrupp Lake survives and is now a nature reserve managed by the Earth Trust.
Amongst the Common Blues, I noticed a very small female, about the size of a Small Blue, similar to one I had seen previously at Aston Rowant. She was busy laying, expertly finding the food-plant, despite the absence of any of the characteristic birds-foot trefoil flowers.
Most of the males were fairly battered but enjoying the late-flowering Michaelmas Daisies in between basking on the warm stones of the path.
Although it was still warm in the sun, there was little doubt that the butterfly season is nearing its end.

Mike

Nice shots Mike, I particularly like the Heron in the stream they always look so majestic Goldie

Thank you, Goldie. I often see Gulls or Ducks standing on that rock but this was the first time I had seen a Heron there, standing so majestically.

Mike

With cool, wet, and windy weather forecast for the coming week, it seems a good time to take stock of my 2015 butterflying trips.

Last year, I photographed my first Clouded Yellows on 28th October, so there is still the possibility of future additions to this year's list! I find that, at present, I have photographed a total of 43 species this year, which I find surprisingly many, since I only made a couple of 'special' trips - to Exmoor for the Heath Fritillary and to South Wales for the High Brown Fritillary. All the others were at sites that I visit fairly regularly, across the counties of central Southern England. To my shame, I did not record either the local speciality Black Hairstreak or the Purple Emperor during 2015.

If any of our photographic records survive into future centuries, I feel that they will convey a very false impression of the relative abundance of our various species. I suspect that I am like many other people in that I fill my memory cards with images of the scarcer species, while paying relatively little attention to the familiar ones. Looking through my images taken this year, I find, for example that I have 63 photos of Heath Fritillaries but only 2 of Large Whites.

The following images are grouped according to the dates on which I first photographed each species. In several cases, I took better photos later in the season but I have kept this set as a 'diary record' and will probably turn to other photos when the annual 'favourite photos' thread starts over the Winter period. So, here is my 'butterfly year', encapsulated in 43 images:
Mike

Hi Mike,

That is an impressive list and group of photos - well done. I am nowhere near your total - have to try harder next year

ATB

Peter

Thank you Peter. Of course, a lot depends on where you live and radius of action. I feel fortunate to have both Bernwood Forest and the Chilterns in easy reach, so a good number of species are readily available, with just a little diary planning

Mike

That's a lot of Butterflies Mike, like you say it depends on where you live, your so lucky to live so near such a great place, I've not seen the PearlB Frit or the SPB this year and I can usually photograph them, the awful weather we've had up here hasn't helped.

I was lucky with the Empress though but I was so excited at seeing her that I didn't remember to change the camera's setting's, she was in the Ferns and it was dark so my photos weren't too good, so like you I'm determined to look for the PE next year, maybe next time I'll do better. Goldie

Thank you, Goldie. I think I should plan a trip Northward next year, to fill in a few 'digital' gaps, since there are several species there that I have only recorded on film.

For the sake of completeness, my 'missing' mainland species from this year's list (barring occasional migrants) are: Chequered Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, Swallowtail, Clouded Yellow, Wood White, Black Hairstreak, White-letter Hairstreak, Northern Brown Argus, Purple Emperor, Glanville Fritillary, Wall Brown, Mountain Ringlet, Large Heath, Grayling, Scotch Argus.

Looking at that list now, I realise that a little extra effort could easily have added 6 species, without having to travel far afield. One trip I must make one day is to cross the Irish Sea for a Cryptic Wood White. And then there are all the 'occasionals' such as Monarch, Camberwell Beauty, Long-tailed Blue, etc..... Still plenty to look for

Nice 'almost' end of the year round up Mike Better start getting those faves ready - about a month til kick off

Have a goodun

Wurzel

That's a lovely round-up of your year, Mike - nicely presented as an album too. Thanks, by the way for mentioning Beacon Hill at Aston Rowant in your diary earlier - well worth a wander the other day. Finally, I did a double-take with your heron photo - it looks for all the world as if it's perched on a crocodile's head... Maybe I should get new glasses.

All the best,

Dave

millerd wrote:.....I did a double-take with your heron photo - it looks for all the world as if it's perched on a crocodile's head.....

You never know what lies deep in the lakes of darkest Oxfordshire

Thank you for commenting, Wurzel and Dave. I enjoy keeping this diary and find it makes interesting reading at the end of the season and also sets some targets for next year. I keep copies of my entries in pdf format and, even without the intervening comments, it adds up to over 100 A4 pages - an enjoyable read over the dark Winter months.

Mike

The gap since my previous diary entry is explained by the fact that I have spent a month in S.E.Asia - Sabah (North Borneo) and Singapore. It will take some time to absorb all the experiences, not to mention sorting out several thousand photos. All my ‘identifications’ below are from my reading of “A Naturalist’s Guide to the Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia” and I will welcome any corrections
Natural history TV shows can give the impression that the wildlife in the rainforest is all lined up, ready to be photographed, but that is far from the case. Although there is a huge diversity of species, individuals can be spread quite thinly and are also masters at concealing themselves amongst the rampant vegetation. In the case of butterflies, photography proved to be quite difficult until I developed a feel for their behaviour.

Whereas in Britain, butterflies seem to have an obvious purpose - either hunting for nectar or chasing females - tropical butterflies just seem to be constantly on the move, like perpetual motion machines. During the day, nectaring stops are often extremely brief - just a momentary 'brush' against a flower - so, despite many species being large and colourful, photography remains a serious challenge.

There is also very little seasonal variation at the equator, so there is no equivalent to the flight times of specific species. The most significant factor is altitude and my first stay was at the Kinabalu National Park, which lies in montane forest up to about 2000m (6000ft) altitude. Butterflies were not abundant here but I was somewhat amused, in view of the excitement being caused by the appearance of Long-tailed Blues in Kent at the time I left, to find that a vaguely similar-looking species was especially abundant on the flowers surrounding our accommodation, not far from the Park HQ. These were actually, I believe, Plains Cupids - Chilades pandava:
After visiting several other areas, including the Orang Utan rehabilitation centre at Sepilok, I eventually reached the remarkable Rainforest Lodge in the Danum Valley, right in the heart of the finest area of lowland forest in Sabah. This is an extraordinary place - a very comfortable collection of individual chalets set in clearings around a central lodge, which provides excellent bar and restaurant facilities - all about 80km from the nearest town, along a narrow dirt track!

A large flowering shrub adjacent to the lodge, with the added advantage that it could be viewed from a cool and shady verandah, proved a magnet to butterflies, including that 'iconic' species, Rajah Brooke's Birdwing – Trogonoptera brookiana. I had already seen this species several times at Kinabalu, where it frequented the mountain streams, but none had paused long enough for a reasonable photograph. Here, I was fortunate to find a female, nectaring just a few feet in front of my camera, though it never actually stopped beating its wings while feeding:
Another species that frequented the same flowering shrub was the Great Orange Tip – Hebomoia glaucippe - rather larger and more strikingly marked than our version:
I was fortunate to have the services of one of the Danum guides (Theodore Dennis), who was interested in butterflies and accompanied me on an early-morning walk along one of the tracks. Just before dawn, as the mist cleared from the tall trees and the Gibbons ceased singing, was a good time to catch the butterflies lingering on flowers, before starting their frenetic daytime activity.

The following group includes a Banded Yeoman – Cirrochroa emalia - in the foreground and, possibly, a Vagrant – Vagrans sinha – amongst others in the background:
A particularly spectacular find was the Malayan Lacewing – Cethosia hypsia - vivid red-orange on the upperside, with a complex, colourful pattern below:
I also felt particularly fortunate to find a magnificent specimen of a Clipper – Parthenos Sylvia - (a familiar tropical butterfly-house species) enjoying fruits that were somewhat reminiscent of blackberries For once I had an individual that was happy to stay on one place, while I concentrated on getting some reasonable photos!
I could fill several pages with Skippers, Whites and Yellows, and loads of Browns, with seemingly endless variations of rings and eye-spots, but will rein myself in, since this is a UK Butterflies site, after all! Here are a couple of species with an iridescence that rivals any Purple Emperor. I believe that the first is a Royal Assyrian – Terinos terpander - and the second a Striped Blue Crow – Euploea mulciber. Neither was being very co-operative over photography:
And one of the many Browns and Ringlets which also shows a degree of iridescent colour. I believe that this is a Common Three Ring – Ypthima pandocus - (having also viewed the underside):
Finally, an insect that looks a bit like a Skipper, at first glance, but is clearly nothing to do with Lepidoptera. I’d be grateful if anyone can point me in the right direction for an ID:
My Olympus camera performed splendidly throughout, proving itself fully capable of withstanding the harsh conditions and having an uncanny ability to focus on small birds deep within foliage. With its 45mm f/1.8 lens and excellent performance at high ISO ratings, it also captured many night-time photos of rare mammals, such as the Western Tarsier, during 'spotlighting' walks.

In fact, I was so pleased with the camera that I have now replaced it with the E-M1 model, which, as Mikhail commented earlier in my diary, is even nicer. The E-M1 adds phase-detection AF, for tracking moving subjects, and, with the latest firmware, can do automatic stacking of macro shots, when using the M-Zuiko 60mm macro lens. I am looking forwards to testing its capabilities in the next season.

EDIT - amended Cirrochroa orissa to C.emalia, as pointed out by Padfield, below
Mike

Looks like you had a great time out there, I for one wouldn't mind at all seeing a few more tropical species, particularly now we are at the end of our own season.

As for the final insect, it looks to me a lot like a member of the true bugs, Hemiptera. Possibly of the genus Ricania sp.

*Edit* just found this
http://spinelesswonders.smugmug.com/key ... /i-qt2nFjv

Hi Mike.

I agree, your 'bug' is most likely to be a member of the family Ricaniidae - Planthoppers. I don't know the exact species.

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures from the rest of your trip.

Good hunting.

Kind regards. Mark

Brilliant butterflies, Mike! How wonderful to see Rajah Brooke's birdwing - just the name is exotic. And Chilades pandava brings back very good memories to me.

I would suggest your Cirrochroa is emalea, rather than orissa. I also think your Terinos terpander is actually a female T. clarissa (hindwing caudate at v. 4).

Guy

Hi! Mike what a fantastic holiday you had, your photos are fantastic please show us more I think the Lace wing is superb, Goldie

Sounds like a fantastic trip Mike and some great photos

It is good to see those exotics photographed in their natural surroundings.

Cheers,

Neil

Some fantastic images there Mike I wouldn't know where to start with so much variety present

Have a goodun

Wurzel