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Pearl-bordered Fritillary - Favourite Photo 2016

Week 13

Happy New Year! Hopefully it will a much better one for butterflies than 2016...

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos - just to make it easier to organise and keep everything on track so that we can enjoy this throughout the winter months? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As like last year 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.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Due to seeing a few Pearls this year (a worrying trend?) deciding on my fave was going to be easy. Or so I thought…
Actually it turned out to be really tricky. I’d managed a nice closed wing shot, nice open wing shots of a really fresh individual and also some shots of older individuals. The problem of choosing was further exacerbated as I’d gotten a huge number of shots of one individual in particular. Should I go for the striking top shot or a ¾ shot which showed partial views of upper and lower wing surfaces or should I plum for an equally striking shot of the underside? Ah decisions, decisions…In the end I chose my three favourites from the varieties mentioned above and then made my decision after a round of ‘einny, meany’.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I visited my closest colony at Abbots Wood 3 times back in May, bumping into a few familiar faces as well as filling my boots with what seems to be a thriving colony at the moment, although I did notice a significant number with somewhat enhanced black scaling which I believe is linked to in breeding

To the casual wildlife observer, the name of this species may appear meaningless. Only when it settles with wings closed does the name make sense.

Well, an easy choice really - my favourite PBF had to be the once-in-a-lifetime ab. the underside of which Wurzel has shown splendidly above.I tried for the stained-glass view too, with mixed results.There were quite a few of the "normal" ones as well, and they were nearly as obliging as the ab. Bentley Wood 12th May.

Dave

I took my photos of the PBF at Gait Barrow near where the Duke of Burgundy resides on the 30th May, I was trying to get shots of the Duke who was quite a way off when the PBF's landed then took off, I got only a few shots because they were so busy, I was surprised when looking at the photos afterwards how blue the eye's of the Butterfly was, really sky Blue. Goldie

Ewyas Harold Common, near Hereford, is a great spot for PBFs, and it was here, on 8th May, that I took these images: