David Lazarus

[David Lazarus]

I can not think of a better way to start a personal journal about the sightings of butterflies in Essex, than with an image of this lovely, little lady seen in Baddow Meads a few hours ago:

Common Blue female
Baddow Meads, Chelmsford 27/05/2024

And she did not make it easy for me to get to her, head down amongst the vegetation:

Common Blue female
Baddow Meads, Chelmsford 27/05/2024

But I managed to get a few close-ups:

Common Blue female
Baddow Meads, Chelmsford 27/05/2024

Unfortunately I was not able to get a picture of her on top of the ox-eye daisy with her wings open when she was showing off her pure blue upperwings glistening in the full sun - amazing from a distance. I thought she was a male at first and as I approached I saw what I thought were black spots on her hindwings which rendered me confused - wow! a female Common Blue

What a shame my initial photographs were out of focus:

Common Blue female
Baddow Meads 27/05/2024

A lovely surprise on a miserable Spring day

[Padfield]

She's a beauty! They don't come much bluer than this!

Welcome to pd space. Although I don't often comment in pds, I read them all and it reminds me of good times in the UK!

Guy

[Wurzel]

A cracking start David (or do you prefer Dave?) Looks more like a female Uncommon Blue to me You don't often see them that blue

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Nice specimen, David.

I look forward to seeing more of your reports on these PD pages.

[David Lazarus]

Thank you Guy(s) David, is with me, thanks Wurzel. I hope I post something that interests you all from here in Chelmsford - a place not blessed with a multitude of species, or indeed any site within Essex. And, pretty much like everywhere else in England these days, numbers are severely down from when I was a kid watching the numerous "Cabbage White" devouring mum's Nasturtiums.

Before I move on, I just wanted to apologise publicly for posting the whereabouts of our few remaining Grizzled Skipper in Essex which was a mistake on my part as they are now regarded as Critically Endangered here. I was so excited about my success in coming across this lonesome male:

Grizzled Skipper male 19/05/2024 Essex

that I wanted to shout it out from the rooftops, which was irresponsible of me especially as I know better being somewhat of an ecologist, and plantsperson. So, sorry about that and I have subsequently removed all mention of the site from this website - not that I think anyone would travel to Essex to see a Grizzled Skipper when there are far better options elsewhere.

What I do want to do though is update you on how they have been doing. Last year was the lowest number ever. This year, I have been told that only 5 have been seen - 3 males and maybe 2 females which is not great news. I am going to go hunting again next week in the hope others have emerged but it is likely, I have been told, that the flight season is already over

Our other threatened species, the Heath Fritillary that was reintroduced to our county a few years back is fairing much better thankfully. I went to Hockley Woods last week to see if they had started emerging yet but it seemed not. However, I was pleased to see that the volunteers had done some coppicing and there were a few healthy patches of Common Cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense:

Common Cow-wheat flower

Common Cow-wheat leaf

Common Cow-wheat patch

And this is one of the coppiced rides where the Common Cow-wheat is growing - the previous winter's coppicing is on the left where there are good patches in the south-facing side, and right is the result of last winter's coppicing - however it is north-facing so I am not sure the Common Cow-wheat is going to take to it:

Coppiced Ride Hockley Woods 24/05/2024

Thankfully, there is a glade with plenty of the Heath Fritillary's larval food plant and where many can be seen during the flight period - I am hoping to catch sight of at least 100 this year, fingers-crossed.

My objectives for compiling this PD is to report on the findings of my site visits across the whole of Essex, as I am GPS mapping each one for a guide. I plan to go further than talking about butterflies (and day-flying moths) as I am a habitat-based planting designer using ecological principles and want to discuss habitats for butterflies, what they need etc., the problems of diminishing biodiversity here in Essex, and the impact of climate change on our beautiful friends.

I don't want to be spending 12 hours trying to find a single Marbled White, or indeed Essex Skipper, or God forbid a single Meadow Brown

After all, what are we supposed to do with our free time if there are no butterflies to stalk and capture on our iPhones and cameras [if you are a proper photographer and professional enthusiast].

[David Lazarus]

29/05/2024 Admirals Park + Garden on Chignal Road

Seems my luck with the ladies these days is continuing. At 7.30 in the morning this beautiful lady was basking in the sun on a Choisya which is a very popular spot with the small colony in my gardens at home:

Holly Blue female
Garden on Meadgate Avenue 29/05/2024

And her wings shone in the morning light:

Holly Blue female
Garden on Meadgate Avenue 29/05/2024

The females kept coming throughout the day beginning with a female Green-veined White as I walked through Admirals Park LNR along the River Can:

Green-veined White female
Admirals Park LNR 29/05/2024

The Orange-tip which were in good numbers prior to this cold, wet weather set in are nowhere to be seen now, and the female Green-veined was the only one left along the two-mile stretch of the River Can.

Surprisingly, the first recorded sighting in 2024 of a Meadow Brown in Chelmsford was in my mother's garden where I had created a series of tall grass meadows. This is now home to a small colony as well as Gatekeepers:

Meadow Brown
Garden on Chignal Road 29/05/2024

And in the long grass were several of the Silver Y that look like they are having a bumper year:

Silver Y
Garden on Chignal Road 29/05/2024

There is also a thriving colony of Holly Blue which seem to love the nectar-rich Buddleja globosa. There were 6 on it at one time:

Holly Blue
Garden on Chignal Road 29/05/2024

But the highlight of the day, which was also enjoying the Buddleja, was a most splendid Red Admiral, which was stunning to behold. It also maintained a gap between upper and lower wings which I am not familiar with. It seemed unusual at the time:

Red Admiral
Garden on Chignal Road 29/05/2024

On my return home, I was able to see the Silver Y which frequent the Red Valerian Centranthus ruber at dusk each evening. This was the first evening that they were out early enough, while it was still light, to attempt to get some action photos:

Silver Y
Garden on Meadgate Avenue 29/05/2024

Not perfect, but it captures the movement of these moths that resemble little humming-birds when nectaring.

[Neil Freeman]

Always good to see a new PD starting David, I look forward to seeing more of your reports.

Cheers,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Great shots of the Holly Blue David Fingers crossed on your Grizzlie hunt, my county lost it's Small Pearls recently which has been a bit of a wrench to say the least

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That lovely female Holly Blue must have been a wonderful way to start the day, David.

Silver Y's are abnormally plentiful for the time of year. There are even more on the continent so we may be inundated with them later in the year.

[David Lazarus]

01/06/2024 Meadgate Park-Meadgate Fields Open Space-Baddow Meads

The sun came out from behind the clouds about 1.30. It was 17 C but a cold wind made it feel colder. Despite this I saw an active male Holly Blue flying around the trees and shrubs in the park just down from mine. At one point it focused in on another, fluttering around for a moment before heading off. I waited for some time during which the weather improved but s/he did not open their wings for me:

Holly Blue
Meadgate Park 01/06/2024

After another sighting, I decided to investigate the local patch not expecting much. It wasn't until I reached a sheltered meadow that I started to see some activity starting with a few Burnet Companion. Then, amazingly this superb Common Blue provided me with some entertainment:

Common Blue male
Meadgate Fields Open Space 01/06/2024

And it was joined by a second which was good news as it is quite a small space and only supports a very small colony.

The sheltered wet meadow further along the bridleway is linear like a north-west ride with a glade in the centre where a series of Speckled Wood were out. Three territorial males in various stages of damage:

Speckled Wood male x 3
Meadgate Fields Open Space

There was a female who avoided my pursuit.

A little further on though I was rewarded with a beauty - she did not make it easy but eventually I got what I wanted:

Speckled Wood female
Meadgate Fields Open Space

There was also a Red Admiral basking on some rubble but not much else.

I did a circuit of Baddow Meads hoping the Meadow Brown had started emerging, but no sign yet. In fact it was quiet, not surprising as it is very open and lacks shelter from the winds. In a more sheltered area near Chelmer Road Bridge, which is an offset to compensate for development, there was a lonely Small Heath which gave me the run-a-round before settling on an ox-eye daisy:

Small Heath
Baddow Meads 01/06/2024

I headed back through Meadgate Park and came across a lovely Red Admiral, and another female Speckled Wood basking on some Euphorbia - a very popular spot. It must be because the fluorescent yellow/green reflects radiation well under the wings:

Red Admiral
Meadgate Park 01/06/2024

Three female Speckled Wood in one afternoon:

Speckled Wood female
Meadgate Park 01/06/2024

All in all, a satisfying couple of hours - a Speckled Wood day with two resplendent Common Blue.

[millerd]

Some lovely, Specklies, David, and that vibrant Common Blue too! Curiously, the Speckled Woods are now between broods where I am... I wonder if you are ahead of me on the other side of London (or t'other way about...).

Cheers,

Dave

[bugboy]

Good to see some confident (and correct) Speckled Wood sexing there

[David Lazarus]

I had a lesson from the experts on this magnificent butterfly site - thank you to those involved in resolving my ! [I think I passed my exam ]

Dave, I had a small dip in numbers but last week maybe a second brood came out or late first brood emergence - all these males I saw in their prime. Roughly the same spot but wow that first female I captured was a real stunner. Curiously her hairy thorax reflected some green as you can see in the image.

[essexbuzzard]

Hi David, I reckon the new Speckled Woods you’re seeing now could be those that over wintered at the caterpillar stage. The earlier ones probably spent the winter as a chrysalis...

[David Lazarus]

Yes, I think so too - it seems more likely that it is a later first brood emergence from an earlier overwintering stage.

[David Lazarus]

02/06/2024 Site visit: Thrift Wood Nature Reserve, Bicknacre

Thrift Wood, 48 acres of ancient woodland, is managed by Essex Wildlife Trust and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It was one of the chosen sites for the reintroduction of the Heath Fritillary within Essex. This took place in 1984 and it was seen as a success. Despite a few good years, sadly, the Heath Fritillary failed to survive, and it is now restricted to a couple of woods in the south of the county.

It is a typical Essex mixed deciduous wet woodland with bog indicated by coppiced Hornbeam Carpinus betulus with oak standards, both Pedunculate Oak Quercus robur and Sessile Oak Quercus petraea. There is also Sweet Chestnut Castanea sativa, Birch Betula pendula, and Wild Service Tree Sorbus torminalis. Hawthorn Cratagus monogyna and Holly Ilex aquifolium form the understory with Bracken, Bramble, Wood Melick and other grasses, and a carpet of bluebells and wood anemones forming the herbaceous layer. Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum was also evident. A few paths run through the woodland but these are not wide.

Thrift Wood NR 02/06/2024

Coppicing was reintroduced to the wood and there are a couple of more open spaces within the centre but I can not understand what they are attempting to do. It certainly does not look like it is managed with butterflies in mind. I presume there was abundant Common Cow-wheat Melampyrum pratense growing there naturally but there is no evidence that it remains. The loss of the sole larval food source for whatever reason - probably an insufficient management schedule - is no doubt the main reason the establishment of Heath Fritillary failed.

Thrift Wood coppiced centre 02/06/2024

Very abundant throughout the whole wood were the ant hills of the Southern Wood Ant Formica rufa:

Formica rufa
Thrift Wood 02/06/2024

A study was carried out before the introduction of the Heath Fritillary to see whether these would be a threat to their larva and it was found not to be the case.

I found the place too dark without the necessary wide rides and floriferous glades needed for an abundant butterfly population. Last summer there were a lot of Ringlet which was a good sign but I do not remember it being particularly good for any other species.

On this visit there were only 6 Speckled Wood within the whole 48 acres of woodland apart from a Large White flew past me along one of the paths. They all seemed to have emerged recently like the ones on my local patch 6.5 miles away:

Speckled Wood male x 4
Thrift Wood NR 02/06/2024

I remembered that there was more butterfly activity along the woodland edges last summer, so I took a look. One side did not produce anymore sightings, the adjacent agricultural fields was being sprayed which did not make me feel any more positive. Feeling a little sad, I came around the corner to find an unexpected field of Lucerne Medicago sativa:

Lucerne Medicago sativa
Thrift Wood 02/06/2024

And nectaring on it were 6 Holly Blue, 3 Green-veined White, a Large White, and a rather tatty Peacock, a rare sighting these days:

Peacock
Thrift Wood 02/06/2024

And of course it would not be a site visit in the Spring of 2024 without a few Silver Y within the long grasses:

Silver Y
Thrift Wood 02/06/2024

There were also numerous Yellow-barred Long-horn, and Common Tubic moths in the dark of the woods.

Not a great day for butterflies at Thrift Wood but it made me think - it might be worth a further visit in a few weeks. You never know, a cloud of Clouded Yellow may find it irresistible. Hoping they hone their radar in the direction of Thrift Wood

[bugboy]

A study was carried out before the introduction of the Heath Fritillary to see whether these would be a threat to their larva and it was found not to be the case.

As I understand it, Wood Ants are an important factor to have to establish Heath Fritillary since they have a symbiotic relationship with Cow-wheat, the ants helping to disperse the seeds.

[David Lazarus]

As I understand it, Wood Ants are an important factor to have to establish Heath Fritillary since they have a symbiotic relationship with Cow-wheat, the ants helping to disperse the seeds.

An interesting one isn't Paul - it is the kind of information, as a bit of an ecologist and plantsperson, that I appreciate being given. I did a bit of research - fascinating! It seems rather than being a threat, the Southern Wood Ant is a key factor in the establishment of Cow-wheat and that the provision of a habitat conducive to the life of a Wood Ant is an essential component when deciding on the pros and cons of introducing the Heath Fritillary to a site. Hence, they chose the woods in the south of Essex Pound Wood, Hadleigh Great Wood & Dodds Grove, and Hockley Woods, as well as Thrift Wood as suitable places to reintroduce the Heath Fritillary into Essex as these woods have abundant numbers of Southern Wood Ants. It seems strange the website that discussed the threat of wood ants did not mention the benefits.

[David Lazarus]

02/06/2024 Site visit: Danbury Common

All I found was one female Brimstone flying around the site pausing to nectar on bramble flowers while looking for Common Buckthorn;

Brimstone female
Danbury Common 02/06/2024

And 14 Small Heath which tested my ability to get a clear, well-focused shot - obviously failed as they were super skittish:

Small Heath
Danbury Common 02/06/2024

A few weeks back there was 100s of larva hanging from every Oak and today I found a few of the adults that had emerged of the Green Oak Tortrix:

Green Oak Tortrix
Danbury Common 02/06/2024

it appears to be a good year for this moth as well as a few others - but not for our Spring and early Summer butterflies. This trip was more about what species were not there more than the the two species that I found - it is a heath with abundant larval food plants and nectar sources within an enclosure of wet woodland on a ridge, the highest point in Essex. Where were the Common Blue, Brown Argus, and Small Copper for instance, that you might expect to find in such a suitable habitat at this time of year?

[David Lazarus]

02/06/2024 Meadgate Fields Open Space

After visiting a couple of nature reserves to find a lack of butterflies, I had a walk around my local patch to find much more butterfly activity - not a lot but far more entertaining than places you might expect to be more rewarding.

I started off by finding a couple of familiar butterflies who I would like to think are the same ones that had set up territories since emerging from their winter dormancy. A Peacock, my second one of the day, still nectaring on the daisies in the same corner of the park - perhaps not the same one, but I like to think so:

Peacock
Baddow Hall Park 02/06/2024

And then I was even more pleasantly surprised to find my 'mate', the small meadow's resident Comma, who I haven't seen since the 29th April - that's 5 weeks. In fact, I have not seen a Comma since the 08th May. They were the first over-wintering species to disappear. Okay, it is probably not the same one that I saw on multiple occasions while visiting this particular spot, but we have a special relationship and he is coming to say goodbye - he has seen better days:

Comma
Meadgate Fields Open Space 02/06/2024

The meadow is now full of Burnet Companion as always at this time of year:

Burnet Companion
Meadgate Fields Open Space 02/06/2024

And with them, one of the male Common Blues I saw a few days ago. I was pleased to see the first Small Copper here but too far away to get a good photograph:

Small Copper
Meadgate Fields Open Space 02/06/2024

There was also another small moth, the Latticed Heath were still there:

Latticed Heath
Meadgate Fields Open Space 02/06/2024

A Red Admiral had taken up position on the bridleway, but curiously I did not see a Speckled Wood there:

Red Admiral
Meadgate Fields Open Space 02/06/2024

With all the rain combined with the warm temperatures the grass is now knee high and starting to go to seed, the skippers will be along shortly with the Meadow Browns. Currently the field is full of Common Sorrel, with smaller flowering plants such as Lesser Stitchwort Stellaria graminea in the undergrowth where lush patches of Bird's-foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus and Tufted Vetch Vicia cracca are waiting to make an appearance. There is never anyone there as it is off the beaten track, and I like to think of it as my own personal meadow. I am preparing to do some work on it to cut back the scrub during the winter:

Meadgate Fields Open Space meadow section 1 02/06/2024

A beautiful medium length high, floriferous grass meadow with typical Essex plant species - through which I walk the same route to minimize foot fall impact on the vegetation whilst monitoring the space:

Meadgate Fields Open Space meadow section 2 02/06/2024

I wanted to leave there on a high note and a female Holly Blue duly obliged pretending she was a Common Blue in the grasses trying to avoid the males pestering her:

Holly Blue female
Meadgate Fields Open Space 02/06/2024