millerd

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel - the mid-September warm and dry spell was very productive locally, especially for Small Coppers. I don't know which forecast you've been looking at, but I think any snow is thankfully going to be restricted to the usual places like the Scottish Mountains: The BBC have forecast no daytime maxima here lower than 12 degrees over the next fortnight.

Monday 23rd brought a distinct change. It turned cooler, dipping to 18 degrees, and for several days the sun was a stranger to me and the butterflies - unlike the rain. On 23rd especially, it tipped it down. Somehow, I managed to find 12 butterflies from 7 species, but photos were hard to come by.

Dave

[millerd]

Tuesday 24th September was little better weatherwise, but 13 butterflies and 8 species was still very low. Still, they weren't quite the same selection, as these two had been absent on 23rd.

A combination of poor light and distant butterflies made recording some of the others a bit unrewarding!

One of the Peacocks wasn't too bad though.

Dave

[millerd]

Wednesday 25th September was not good at all. Only six butterflies today: two Small Whites, two Large Whites, a Common Blue and a Brown Argus.

Dave

[millerd]

Thursday 26th September provided some much-need sunshine - only four hours worth but it made a difference. A few more butterflies were out on my local patch when I did my best to take advantage of the better conditions.

Red Admiral 10
Peacock 4
Common Blue 4
Speckled Wood 2
Comma 2
Painted Lady 2
Large White 2
Small White 2

The Painted Ladies were a surprise - it had been a fortnight since the last sightings here. With a slight uptick in Red Admiral numbers as well, I wondered if the return migration had already started, triggered by the poor weather.

Common Blues seem to cope with bursts of bad weather pretty well, even though they show signs of being affected by it, with patches of discoloration on the wings from water damage.

One roosting individual looked pretty fresh however.

The whites I saw today certainly looked a tad weatherbeaten too.

The four Peacocks seen today were all disturbed from down in the grass close to the lush nettle patches right next to the river. Almost all my recent sightings of this species have been found like this. Generally they will return to similar spots elsewhere, but are fast fliers and difficult to follow. This one I just managed to spot before disturbing it! It may have been very recently emerged as there was a crimson puddle on the leaf behind it - which could be expelled meconium from the pupal stage (as I've seen with new Commas)...

...and speaking of Commas, one of those seen today was in typical pose on rotting blackberries...

...though it did emerge into the sunshine for a break.

Dave

[David M]

...The Painted Ladies were a surprise - it had been a fortnight since the last sightings here...

They keep appearing in small numbers round my way, Dave, which is something of a surprise given how atrocious the weather has been generally.

I reckon I've seen approaching 30 domestically this year, which is actually more than I've seen on my travels in Europe. They have been very scarce across the continent this year.

[millerd]

I reckon I've seen approaching 30 domestically this year...

I'd say I've seen around the same number, David. Locally, there was a small influx in the spring and then nothing until early September. There was then the one on 26th, and another very worn one a couple of days ago. I think the weather patterns this year pretty well put paid to any butterfly migration from continental Europe - at least until the flurry that has occurred right at the end of the summer.

Cooler and cloudier weather, plus the arrival of a much-needed plumber, put paid to any local walks on 27th. However, hot water and sunnier warmer weather arrived on Friday 28th September (16 degrees plus 7 hours of sunshine) and out came respectable numbers of butterflies on my local patch:

Red Admiral 12

Common Blue 8

Speckled Wood 7

Brown Argus 6

Small White 5

Peacock 3

Comma 2

Small Copper 2

this one is a regular on this diary...

Small Heath 1

Large White 1
Holly Blue 1

Unfortunately the last two species were both flying higher up and were not stopping for their portraits.

The next few days were almost write-offs with regards to butterflies and the cool dull and very wet weather even prompted an hour or two of heating at home. I managed two Red Admirals and two Specklies on 29th and that was all.

After that kind of spell you do start to wonder what effect such conditions might have on the butterflies once October got underway...

Dave

[millerd]

Having reached the end of September in this diary (I saw nothing on Sunday 30th), the customary review of the month is appropriate.

In terms of the weather, locally temperatures were very close to the long-term average. Sunshine was down about 20%, and rainfall was high - well over twice the average. Very disappointing really, especially compared to September 2023 (which was exceptional of course).

Butterflies on my local patch were therefore surprisingly good. During the month I saw 17 species altogether, including the surprise sighting of a Long-tailed Blue (a first for this spot) and three separate sightings of Clouded Yellows (also somewhat surprising given their absence almost everywhere this season).

The sudden arrival of other immigrants this month (after their noticeable non-appearance earlier an the year) boosted numbers of Large and Small Whites, Red Admirals and Painted Ladies. Of the non-immigrant species, Common Blue and Brown Argus provided a continuous feed of new individuals which just carried on from the second brood emergences in July - it was difficult to tell whether it was a long second brood or an overlapping third one. After a largely non-existent second brood here this year, September saw the appearance of good numbers of new third brood Small Coppers - higher than previous years at this stage. The other notable success story was the Small Heath, with peak counts of 30-40 at the start of the month. Green-veined Whites also did well in what appeared to be their third brood.

Towards the end of September, Peacocks started to appear again (their main emergence had been back in July as per usual). They were new individuals and I strongly suspect they had a second brood. They seem to be moving into the niche occupied in the past by the now nearly-absent Small Tortoiseshell. Comma numbers were not far different from usual at this time of year, perhaps a little lower; Speckled Woods were also as per normal and Meadow Browns failed as always to make it beyond the end of the month. Holly Blues hadn't been as good in their second brood this year and there weren't many to be seen in September in what can be the beginnings of a decent third appearance.

So to conclude, September went some way to make up for reduced butterfly numbers here back in high summer, but it will be next spring before we see how much of a difference (if any) it made to the bigger picture.

The first week of October has also been an encouraging continuation, but colder weather appears to soon be on the way which may well cut things short for all but the hardier species.

Dave

[millerd]

In the end, October got off to a slow start, with a cold, wet and sunless day on 1st followed by something only a little better on Tuesday 2nd. However, it was just about worth a short local walk, and I managed to scrape together 10 butterflies with 6 species represented. Curiously, three of these were Peacocks hiding low down on the ground in little hollows of vegetation that likely trapped pockets of warmth from the day's reluctant sun. Here are two of them.

There were also two Common Blues and two Small Whites (no shots of those though), plus a Comma...

...a Large White...

...and a Small Copper which I nearly overlooked.

Odd not to see a Red Admiral nectaring alongside the Comma on the ivy, and also not to find any Specklies.

The next few days were better.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Great reports Dave and good to see some October butterflies That Small White is getting dangerously close to Southern...I think I'm going to put a bet on a certain D.Miller for the first sighting of a UK Southern Small White If push comes to shove we could always use a little mascara to lengthen the markings
The 'snow' I was bemoaning was reported in various of the tabloids...but then again they often end making inverse predictions so don't put the sun cream away just yet

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Still good numbers of October butterflies to come, Wurzel, including some more Small (definitely ) Whites...

Wednesday 3rd October was a slight improvement on Tuesday, and I continued in the habit of counting the butterflies I saw on my local patch. The afore-mentioned Small Whites topped the league today.

The full roster:

Small White 11
Common Blue 9
Peacock 8
Red Admiral 4
Speckled Wood 4
Small Heath 3
Holly Blue 2
Comma 2
Small Copper 1
Brimstone 1

The curiosity today was the Brimstone, a female that I initially thought was a Large White, but passed close enough by for its ID to be confirmed. I hoped it would roost nearby when a cloud went over the sun, but annoyingly it elected to fly through a large hedge before doing so. I managed the most basic of in-flight record shots, which by chance included something larger...

butterfly at bottom right!

I'm glad to say most of the other butterflies were more cooperative. The second brood of Peacocks this autumn has been quite numerous (there are usually one or two here) and I see that they've been turning up elsewhere too. Today's total of 8, scattered widely across the site, is the highest I can recall for October.

The Common Blues must surely be a third brood now, a frequent occurrence here. There were a couple of females in the mix today, one of which was very fresh.

in hot pursuit...

The two Holly Blues were one of each sex: The female was warming up near an ivy patch...

...but the male was very confusingly out on the grassland with the Common Blues and nectared on knapweed.

Finally, a selection of the rest, including a certain Small Copper...

When the weather gods smile down, there is still plenty of interest on my local patch - the season takes a long time to fully wind down hereabouts!

Dave

[Goldie M]

Your lucky Dave, seen Whites here but nothing else, the Holly Blue have gone now sadly, Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cracking set of Blues Dave But are you really sure about that 3rd Small White just being 'Small' and not Southern - looks like the discal spot is slightly concave and the markings run down ending up in line with the top of the discal spot...go on bag it, and I can pop over to Paddy Power to pick up my winnings

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

The season here always continues well into October these days, Goldie, which is certainly lucky for me!

I thought you might pick out that particular Small White, Wurzel - if only your suspicions were accurate... There may be a few more for you to scrutinise before the season is out.

On Thursday 4th October the sun shone for 7 hours and temperatures reached 16 degrees again. I counted the butterflies again, and below is a comparison with the same day in 2023. Weather patterns had been rather different overall last year, with a very warm October, but on this particular day things had been broadly similar.

2024 totals, with 2023 figures in brackets:

Red Admiral 14 (21)
Small White 15 (6)
Peacock 6 (1)
Comma 5 (3)
Common Blue 5 (6)
Speckled Wood 5 (6)
Large White 3 (1)
Small Copper 2 (2)
Holly Blue 1 (1)
Painted Lady 1 (0)
GVW 1 (0)
Brown Argus 0 (3)
TOTAL 58 (50)

One real difference is the absence of third brood Brown Argus remaining in October: the last were seen this year on 28th September, but none made it into the new month it seems. There have also been noticeably more Small Whites in autumn 2024. Otherwise the two years are very similar, hopefully showing that not everything is in a complete downward spiral.

Some photos from the day to follow...

Dave

[Wurzel]

"There may be a few more for you to scrutinise before the season is out. "...my money's riding on you Dave

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Take a look at the ones coming up in the post after this one, Wurzel...

4th October: the butterflies.

With so many around today, one or two Red Admirals were nicely posed - in fact it was difficult to chose where to point the camera. There was plenty of wild buddleia and ivy still flowering which helped.

It still seemed strange to be seeing so many Peacocks at this stage of the season. One of them was on a large buddleia mixed up with a selection of Red Admirals, and one of the latter photobombed the shot.

One of the others was more accessible and remained undisturbed.

The Commas were not so easy to get close to. I spotted one on the ivy which at first glance looked to be bizarrely marked......but I then realised it had the shadow of an ivy flower cast on it.

The only Painted Lady today was extremely active, flitting from flower to flower with just the briefest moments when it wasn't on the move. All I recorded was a pink blur.

I did better with the Speckled Woods.

There were two Small Coppers today. The first I knew exactly where to find as it (a male) doesn't stray from a particularly favoured bit of grass in the lee of a hedge where several clumps of ragwort are still in bloom.

It is also easily recognised by the pattern of damage to the wings.

The other one was a fresh female, flying not far away along the bottom of a parallel bit of hedge and moving from flower to flower in a linear fashion without retracing its steps.

I shall post the Whites and Blues separately.

Dave

[millerd]

4th October: Blues and Whites.

There was just the one Holly Blue again today, and once more it was a reasonable-looking female. I initially thought it was the same one as I'd seen the day before, but careful scrutiny showed that it wasn't.

It was good to see the Common Blues continuing so long into autumn. They haven't had a particularly good year overall, but have been flying nearly continuously since May and clearly benefited from the reflowering of the trefoil after the grassland as cut in mid-July. Among the males today was a very blue female that must have been stunning when brand new.

I found the overwhelming bright yellow of the flower tended to affect the camera's capture of the butterfly's true colour.

The Large Whites today weren't very easy, and none of my shots were worth posting. Annoyingly, the same was true of the shot of a single (female) GVW, which was flying low and in and out of the foliage under a bit of bramble hedge. However, the Small Whites were more cooperative - or one or two of them were. This butterfly, for all its ubiquity and abundance, is frustratingly difficult to approach without disturbing it - a feature it shares with its Yellow relative.

What do you make of this one, Wurzel? Sorry, but the butterfly wouldn't open up properly...

Another great autumn selection.

Dave

[Wurzel]

Cracking Blues Dave And that Comma had me for a moment there As for the Small White...that's a really tricky one to try and turn into a Southern as you can't make out how concave the spot is or how far down it goes...I reckon the previous one was a closer fit I've put another bet on you...no pressure now

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[millerd]

Cheers, Wurzel. I really had to look long and hard at the photos of that Comma to convince myself it hadn't been the victim of a particularly unkind Melanism Fairy... I shall continue with the Small Whites - another couple seen today that were nice and fresh but which you'll instantly dismiss! You won't think much of the two I'm about to post either...

Saturday 5th October was a warmer day and there was a bit of good sunshine too. Another local walk beckoned (I knew I'd likely see far more locally than if I went to any of the nearby downland sites), and once again I tallied up the sightings for the day:

Red Admiral 10
Small White 10
Speckled Wood 9
Common Blue 6
Small Copper 3
Comma 3
Peacock 3
Small Heath 3
Large White 1

All three Commas played ball today. Assuming I haven't been consistently seeing the same ones there could be a decent number come the spring.

The last one looked particularly large about the abdomen.

Surprisingly I only managed a single shot of a Specklie...

...and just the one of a Small Heath.

As mentioned before, the latter species doesn't usually last into October here, so it comes as a bit of a surprise to find them. I didn't bother too much with the Red Admirals today either, and only one of the Peacocks let me get close - they tend to be very flighty in warm sunshine.

The Small Whites were even worse , so one male and one female were all I managed.

I ended up concentrating on the smallest of the butterflies out there today - the Small Coppers and Common Blues. I found two females of the latter species...

...and several males.

The three Small Coppers consisted of one very familiar one...

...one that was very reluctant to pose and I gave up with, and one splendid example of a blue-badger (caeruleopunctata in formal parlance... ) that was much more flamboyant...

Dave

[millerd]

After that three-day run of decent weather, on 6th October the temperature dropped and the sun vanished. However, on Monday 7th, it was all change again and seven hours of sun and a high of 20C made things feel more summery. The butterflies didn't seem to have suffered from their enforced day off.

Today's totals:

Red Admiral 13
Small White 12
Speckled Wood 7
Common Blue 4
Small Copper 3
Peacock 2
Comma 2
Small Heath 1
GVW 1

I decided to sample the variety of Red Admirals on offer - apart from anything they were more accessible today.

In among one group was one of the Commas...

...but I have been generally finding Peacocks hiding in the grass even when the sun shines.

The Specklies were beginning to wear a bit now.

I spotted one of the Small Heaths seen a couple of days earlier...

...and the usual Small Copper.

However, I also came across two others, one of which I managed to photograph.

The Common Blues included a male which was quite fresh but had damaged hindwings...

...and a dusky female.

However, out of everything seen, the surprise of the day was a brand new Green-veined White.

With 45 butterflies counted and 9 species seen, the month continued pretty well.

Dave

[millerd]

On Tue/Wed 8th/9th October I had limited opportunities to go out. I saw a few butterflies on both days - Red Admirals and a single Holly Blue on 8th, and Red Admirals and Small Whites on 9th.

Dave