Pauline

[Pauline]

Thank you David. I was going to say that the egg is surprisingly large given the size of the butterfly but Dave beat me to it

Cheers Dave - unlike OWH (and I assume other sites based on your experience), at Oxenbourne I have never seen or found eggs clustered in one area. Perhaps it is because the colony is so tiny. I have also noticed that (unlike some species) the eggs are easily dislodged and sometimes laid on what would appear to be almost bare earth.

Yesterday I got lucky and within 20 mins had found 2 females - one very fresh, the other not so much. The fresh individual was about 4" off the ground with wings open but as I pressed the shutter she was off. It would be nice to be able to spend more time with one of my favourite butterflies:

[David M]

Very similar to the images I got yesterday in Pembrokeshire, Pauline. It's a beautiful butterfly no matter how it poses; without doubt my favourite by a distance.

[Pauline]

Looking forward to seeing your BH images David. In the meantime a few shots of the development of a Hummingbird Hawk-moth which I have been rearing:

Really rapid development with this one.

[millerd]

Great photos, Pauline. What is the time period for this sequence?

Cheers,

Dave

[Allan.W.]

Good work with the Hummingbird hawk Pauline .................and beautifully captured ! only ever seen one larvae ,a Purple one on the edge of Pupation at Dungeness.........A couple of years back i had an early morning count of 16 Hummers warming up on the power station perimiter wall ,and another chap had a slightly higher count on the wall ,including a pair in-cop .
Regards Allan.W.

[Pauline]

Cheers Dave - it was only a few weeks

Thank you Allan - they are a frequent visitor to my garden and I have planted lots of bedstraw but have never seen a pair in cop.

A friend new to butterflies was keen to visit Oxenbourne to see the SSS, Chalkhills and newly emerged Adonis Blue, along with many other species on the wing there. A few shots hampered by the strong breeze:

and a few others from recent days:

Volucella zonaria ?

[Pauline]

It was lovely to spend a bit more time today watching the Adonis at Oxenbourne. Compared to other sites (and just like the SSS) there are not many of them here, but one particular individual caught my attention - or perhaps it was the other way round. He repeatedly landed on me and no matter how many times I placed him on a flower he flew back, time and time again. In the end I gave up and continued to take photos of the others as he enjoyed the taste of something on my skin! Still, makes a change from flies biting me. I have had this happen before with a Holly Blue but never an Adonis. I make no apologies for the many similar shots but my range of movement was somewhat limited at the time by my new found 'friend'.

Eventually I turned my attention to the SSS. There were probably more around than I have seen at this venue for a number of years so I reckon thanks must go to those who manage the site. I don't think I have ever seen 5 individuals in one small area but 3 females and 2 males were 'sharing' a mole hill. A couple seemed to be getting friendly and for a short time I thought I might see my 4th ever mating pair but the females seemed too intent on egg-laying - which is no bad thing:

So many more shots I could post but out of time for now

[Pauline]

Having read Dave's diary I was sorely tempted by a trip to Denbies. My outings this season have been very restricted both in time and distance and I have missed out on a great deal. I thought a bit more and decided that I could spare 30 mins to search for such a special butterfly, even tho' it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Dave kindly provided me with the rough location which was really a waste of time as I mis-read his instructions and ended up searching in the wrong place!!!!! Nevertheless, it was great to see so many butterflies. I have gotten so used to getting excited about a handful of hard to find butterflies that I had completely forgotten what it is like to be surrounded by them - one or two on most flower heads. In particular there were many Small Argus and chatting to a transect walker he told me that last week he had counted 92. I was not surprised as I had just been watching 1 female surrounded by 5 or 6 males.

I also discovered the Everlasting Pea that Dave had informed me about which had just about every type of Blue on it except the one I was looking for - and no eggs that I could find. I did however find 3 Wasp Spiders which I haven't seen for a while - one was particularly large so I took a shot with my finger beside it (I know!!!! Brave or what!!! ) to give some context.

By a strange co-incidence I stopped to chat to someone else who happened to have the same accent as me. He initially said he was from Whitley Bay but then admitted he was from Boldon Colliery - now back in the day Boldon Colliery was exactly as the name suggests and was made up largely of one main street where a carnival passed through annually. I grew up about a mile away and that was my nearest train station. Between my home and Boldon Colliery was 'The Burn' - an area where we would forage for blackberries and fish for Sticklebacks. Dave Lonsdale was naturally aware of all these places and it got even stranger when he told me he used to go to Jarrow Grammar school (as did I) and of course we had the same teachers. The co-incidences continued but time flew by - I had stretched the original 30mins to 50 so it was time to go. In the unlikely event you read this Dave it was great chatting to you.

Thanks for the directions Dave. It was a great trip anyway:

[millerd]

A shame you didn't find that rather special Chalkhill, Pauline, but it sounds as if you found plenty of other interest. I think I spent 3-4 hours there yesterday, so coming away after 50 minutes is amazingly self-disciplined! Great wasp spider shots: though their preferred diet is grasshoppers they do also seem to have a penchant for Chalkhill Blues, which is probably why they do well and grow so large at Denbies!

Cheers,

Dave

[Pauline]

Actually, it's got nothing to do with self-discipline Dave - just a matter of priorities and neccessities . I sometimes have to remind myself that this is, after all, just a hobby, and there are other more important things in life Had I had a bit of extra time I might have worked out that I was on the wrong track and been able to recify that. It will be different next year.

Back home my HBHM has properly pupated. I can find no record of any of the Hawk moths being cannibalistic but I had another one in the same secure cage (on a different plant) along with my Large Skipper larva. The latter both disappeared and I can think of no other explanation, despite plenty of food plant. I watched the eggs being laid some considerable distance apart and wonder if this could be why.

I have only seen 2 GVW this year but one was egg-laying in my garden the other day:

Another creature I have never recorded in the garden is a grasshopper. Nevertheless, I took this shot on a hydrangea this summer

and last night I removed this from my bedroom wall:

Grasshopper nymphs? Different species? Not sure on either account!

[millerd]

At a guess, Pauline, those are male (outside) and female (bedroom) speckled bush crickets.

However, I am happy to be corrected!

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Yup, they are indeed a pair of Speckled Bush Cricket

[Wurzel]

Some brilliant Adonis Blues and Silver-spots Pauline Hopefully catching up up an unknown old friend (I don't know how else to describe it ) was some consolation for not finding that particular Chalkhill - sometimes the chat is better than the butterflies

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pauline]

Well, that is a surprise. I have never seen these in the garden before this summer and it seems that I have photographed both male and female. Thanks to Dave and Paul for the ID.

Cheers Wurzel - perhaps 'fellow Geordie'??

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Pauline.

Interesting to see your HBHM larva and pupa. Curious about the second larve. Out of the 6 Lime Hawk larvae I had, I now have 5 pupae. I have no idea what happened to larva no.6, it just disappeared and being the last one left it couldn't have been 'canniblised'. One of life's mysteries I suppose.

We are visiting our daughter in Emsworth for a few days next week so fingers crossed for the weather, the forecasts look 'changeable' but every time I look they say something different so we'll see.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Pauline]

It was interesting for me too Neil and I shall continue to be puzzled. The larva were checked several times each day and I believe it happened overnight. The cage is totally secure so no escape possible. The larva weren't tiny, but neither were they huge. It may be co-incidental that the remaining larva seemed to put on a growth spurt almost immediately. Another co-incidence was the disappearance of the Large Skipper at the same time. I checked the plants thoroughly incase some predator had been brought in on them but could find nothing suspect. As you say, quite a mystery.

I met up with a friend yesterday for some serious butterfly hunting . 2 pairs of eyes are better than one, right?! The target was one last look for the Brown Hairstreak. In the hour or so that I had allowed myself we saw 3 females but only one was happy to be photographed. It is a shame she had been the subject of bird strikes as otherwise she was immaculate. There was a fair bit of egg-laying going on which was good to see too:

An enjoyable outing indeed!

[Wurzel]

I love it when they lay two eggs like that Pauline - it reminds me of a googly eyed cartoon character It's a shame that Brown Hairstreaks lay where they do as if they didn't they stay in better nick for longer that second shot you can see a perfect impression of the birds beak

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

A fine variety of happenings as ever, Pauline.

Your HBHM larval sequences were a first for me, and with a bonus 'whodunnit' as well!

Good to see you had another audience with Brown Hairstreaks. It's such a wonderful butterfly and possibly the only thing in the world that I can exercise unlimited patience for.

[Pauline]

I have a photo somewhere Wurzel of 5 BH eggs having been laid together. Sadly, I can't find it right now as I would love to read your reaction to that!

Thank you David - I do like a bit of variety and always aim for some 'firsts' during the season to stop boredom setting in. Another first was seeing this Jersey Tiger moth in my garden this morning. I thought initially I had disturbed a Painted Lady as it flew around me before settling again on the garage. The colours are simply amazing. Reckon when this thunderstorm passes I'd better go and check my Everlasting Pea. Who needs nature reserves, eh?!

[Pauline]

Well, I didn't find any LTB (still time perhaps ) but there were a couple of HBHM. I focused on the larger of the 2 which I think is the female. How I would love to be able to 'freeze' this movement and get some sharp shots. Perhaps I need to explore the video capability.

Can't decide which is the best so I'll let others decide