Brimstone - Favourite Photo of 2024

[Wurzel]

Brimstone - Favourite Photo of 2024

Week 1

Here we go on another 20 week journey of recollection and reminiscence.

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Off we trot then!

Have a goodun

Wurzel
P.S. Even though the grand finale, the Overall Favourite Butterfly Photo of 2024 is still 20 weeks away you might want to pick that one first so as not to use it up

[millerd]

There were no particular standout Brimstone moments for me in 2024, but I like the contrast in markings between this aging female in May...

...and a fresh male in July.

As for how well the species did locally this year, I would say that I saw good numbers post-hibernation, but there didn't seem to be many new ones in the summer. However, looking back this is par for the course here. The more worrying aspect is that in places where I do usually see good numbers of the species when they emerge in summer (like Denbies, Bookham and Aston Rowant) there were very few.

Dave

[Butterfly_Julian]

Saturday 18th May, Essex Wildlife Trust , Great Holland Pits.
This is one of the best butterfly sites in Essex, an absolute lovely place and looked after by the very passionate and knowledgeable Bob Seago.

Male doing what Essex Boys do when a single female is about
Julian

[David Lazarus]

Male doing what Essex Boys do when a single female is about

That's one beautiful image of Essex love Julian. I'd like to think that one of her sisters fell for the same charm, and experienced such a lovely moment with her Essex Boy at, of course, the Great Holland Pits - a truly special place for Brimstone. Afterwards, a few days later I came across her as she surveyed the right leaf bud, on the right buckthorn, along the edge of the heath meadow. My patience was rewarded with a special moment:

Brimstone female ovipositing on Rhamnus carthatica
Great Holland Pits 12/04/2024

[Allan.W.]

In my part of Kent ,Brimstones had a pretty good season with good numbers in the local forest (Orlestone).On a particular morning in late March,my "quarry" was a recently reported Large Tort which had been found a day or two earlier in the forest ,incredibly muddy on that particular morning,and as I sloshed the central ride,a very "Yellow" leaf caught my eye.....on closer inspection the "leaf" morhed into an in-cop pair of Brimstones.......Really pleased to find them and a first for me.

I also liked this male ,shortly after its Winter sleep.

Allan.W.

[David M]

..Male doing what Essex Boys do when a single female is about

Lovely image, Julian.

[petesmith]

There is one standout Brimstone photo for me from 2024. I witnessed a good local emergence in my garden this summer, following on from plentiful eggs and larvae on my Buckthorns this spring. Amongst the resultant adults was this nicely marked ab.hoefnageli perched next to a rather more typical individual.

[Butterfly_Julian]

Lovely image, Julian.

Thanks David

[Butterfly_Julian]

Male doing what Essex Boys do when a single female is about

That's one beautiful image of Essex love Julian. I'd like to think that one of her sisters fell for the same charm, and experienced such a lovely moment with her Essex Boy at, of course, the Great Holland Pits - a truly special place for Brimstone. Afterwards, a few days later I came across her as she surveyed the right leaf bud, on the right buckthorn, along the edge of the heath meadow. My patience was rewarded with a special moment:

Thanks David, it is a special place in Essex. Excellently looked after by Bob who has planted many Buckthorn (one of which was donated and is in my garden). If you get to chat with him on a visit you will find he has planted most of what is growing at this reserve over the last 30 years, from trees to plants to enable catterpliers of each butterfly species to thrive.
Top work on the Wall walking

[David Lazarus]

Thanks David, it is a special place in Essex. Excellently looked after by Bob who has planted many Buckthorn (one of which was donated and is in my garden). If you get to chat with him on a visit you will find he has planted most of what is growing at this reserve over the last 30 years, from trees to plants to enable catterpliers of each butterfly species to thrive.
Top work on the Wall walking

I spent time with Bob during the summer as he walked his transect. I was fortunate to meet him and learnt a great deal from the experience. He is making an outstanding contribution to butterfly conservation in Essex, and for that I have immense gratitude for everything he has done at Great Holland Pits.

Apologies for going off topic on this thread - it happened because of the amazing photograph submitted by Julian - I just love the symmetry of the wings, the lightness of movement is very angelic, a unique moment that Julian has captured. Truly wonderful. And in Essex which makes it all the more delightful being myself an Essex Boy.

[Neil Freeman]

Brimstones are never particularly numerous around my patch and this year numbers were even lower than usual, especially so in the summer when I only spotted a couple around here.

My favourite photos were both taken a few miles further south at Bishops Hill when I popped down there in May.

In the first case I fired off a load of shots at a pair in flight hoping to get one or two in focus, the best of which was the one below,

Brimstone pair - Bishops Hill 20.05.2024

The second one was a male that stopped to top up on some of the plentiful Kidney Vetch.

Brimstone pair - Bishops Hill 20.05.2024

Cheers,

Neil.

[David M]

There is one standout Brimstone photo for me from 2024...

That's a nice one, Pete. Getting an ab. next to a normal specimen in such a pose ain't easy!

[Matsukaze]

Just about the only species that had a good year around here - numbers up on usual in the spring, and the new brood around in reasonable numbers in the summer. I only photographed one individual though.

Mells Down, near Frome, Somerset, 7 May 2024.

[Wurzel]

Brimstone

Every now and again you find yourself pulling off a shot that you didn’t realise that you’d wanted to get until you check it back later and that’s why I chose this one. It came from Shipton Bellinger at the end of July whilst making my first foray for Brostreaks. I’d just gotten out of the car and wandered into the little enclave and was just thinking; “those overly large Thistles are often good for Brimstones” when I spotted this pair on one of the globes. As I clicked away both they and I manoeuvred into position until eventually both were sitting on opposite sides facing other. When I got home and looked through my shots I was just as pleased with this as with my first Brostreak shots which I also managed to bag that afternoon.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Pete Eeles]

There were no particular standout Brimstone moments for me in 2024, but I like the contrast in markings between this aging female in May...

Could also be ab. infradestrigata: "On the underside of fore and hindwings the short dark postdiscal striae fail completely."

https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/aberrat ... ies=rhamni

Cheers,

- Pete

[Goldie M]

I was at Monkton NR on the 4th of May when I came across this Mating pair I've posted this photo because it's so rare to see an opened wing Brimstone Goldie

[David M]

My favourite image, even though it's not a good one, was this from the High Brown site in south Wales on 23rd July:

I was expecting to see lots of butterflies that day, but saw very few, and this unexpected appearance by a Brimstone went some way to cheering me up.

[bugboy]

My favourite was going to be of the one I found in January, my first January butterfly for several years

but then looking through my files a few others stood out, a male on take off

another being harassed by a Small Skipper (the second such encounter I've photographed over the years, the other being a Large Skipper)

and of course the traditional springtime aerial dance

[PhilBJohnson]

Outdoors Brimstones
"Philip's truth":
Brimstones that life cycled outdoors, in temperatures not micro-climate changed by indoor spaces, tended not to produce adults with aberrations.

These (below) were life cycled outdoors as garden Brimstones. I also, as "Garden Man" was against 'Vulgaris" pests (or might be better described as "positive discrimination" towards Lepidoptera that didn't bite, sting or loud noise disturb others, helping most people with their sense of wellbeing. A wasp trap nearby, that drew urban, locally unwanted wasps, away with a different smell, other than a temporary smell of caterpillar frass (poo).

First is my screenshot of video clip (that did not carry date evidence for the admin team)

19th July 2024 at about 7pm. Lincolnshire Garden

20th July 2024 08:47 Lincolnshire Garden

These were chosen, as in first image, in foreground was pupa about to emerge the following day.
Both pupal cases were seen in second image.
I have had a look through the posts above mine and most or all pictures appeared to have been taken by people who clearly loved this species.