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Butterfly Diary
- field notes by Adrian Hoskins
my earliest sightings
of each brood are highlighted in bold type
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Sightings policy - details
of certain sites where visitor pressure or trampling may
pose a threat to butterflies, or alienate landowners, are
excluded from these pages.
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Click on
thumbnails to see more photos, and detailed descriptions of the
distribution, habitats, lifecycle and behaviour of each
illustrated species......
2008
Jan
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Feb
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Mar
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Apr
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May
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Jun
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Jly
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Aug
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Sep
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Oct
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Nov
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Dec
January
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Sunday 27th January
A
visit to Whitely Pastures this afternoon produced just a single
sighting of a Red Admiral in flight. Amazingly there were several
primroses in flower, on a humid and very mild sunny day which felt
more like April than January.
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Saturday 26th January
A few
weeks ago, on 9th November, I estimated that "at least 150" Red
Admirals were present in Stansted Forest. Today, despite warm and
sunny conditions I saw only 3 individuals - one basking on a sweet
chestnut trunk at a height of 5 metres, another on a pine trunk at
7 metres, and the other seen flying rapidly along a forest track,
apparently in migration. Also in the same area I saw my first
Peacock of the year basking on a rock, and 2 Commas, one of which was
basking high on an ash trunk, and the other found hibernating on a
low branch.
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Saturday 12th January
Well
here it is - my first butterfly sighting of the year, a Red
Admiral basking on a larch trunk this morning in Stansted
Forest. When I returned to the same spot a couple of hours later
it was still there, and had been joined by another Red Admiral
basking on the same tree. As I approached the pair flew up,
circled around me, and then disappeared into the tree tops.
A few moments later I saw my second species of the year, a FEMALE
Brimstone, which fluttered past me along one of the forest
tracks. I've often found hibernating Brimstones early in the year,
but this is my earliest ever record for a flying Brimstone.
Females usually awaken from hibernation about 3 weeks after the
first males appear, so this is an extremely early sighting.
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Tuesday 1st January
A
Happy New Year to all of you. No butterfly sightings to report
yet, but time to reflect on 2007 and make a few resolutions for
2008.
2007 got off to a great start for me, with a Brimstone and 2
Red Admirals seen on the first day of the year. By 14th January I
had seen my first Peacock, but I had to wait until 3rd February
for my first Comma, and saw freshly emerged Holly Blue, Speckled
Wood and Small White on 17th March. The winter had been mild, but
none of us were prepared for the weather in April. Hot sunshine
throughout the second half of the month brought most of the spring
butterflies out at least 3 weeks early - with Small Coppers, Green
Hairstreaks, Clouded Yellows, Marsh Fritillaries, Pearl-bordered
Fritillaries, Duke of Burgundy, Dingy Skippers, Grizzled Skippers,
Wall Browns and Adonis Blues all emerging in high numbers by mid
April.
Continuing early emergences by Glanville Fritillary and Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary resulted in all of the spring
butterflies having a very successful flight season, and laying
masses of eggs. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated suddenly
and dramatically in mid May, and continued in a similar vein for
almost the entire summer. Consequently Wood Whites, Silver-washed
Fritillaries, White Admirals, Purple Emperors, Dark Green
Fritillaries, Silver-studded Blues, Graylings, Silver-spotted
Skippers and just about all the other summer butterflies had an
abysmal season. Let's hope we get more reliable weather, and a
recovery in butterfly numbers during 2008 !
At
this time most of us attempt to make a few New Year's Resolutions,
although we invariably break them within a few weeks. Anyone
looking for ideas might like to consider the following -
Conservation - if you haven't already done so, please join
your local
Butterfly Conservation branch if you live in the UK, or NABA
if you live in the USA. Many other countries also now have
butterfly conservation organisations, so you have no excuse even
if you live in Africa, Asia or South America. You'll have the
opportunity to learn much more about your local butterflies, their
habitats, and ways in which you can help to protect them.
Rainforests - I would most strongly urge all of you,
even if you never intend to visit a rainforest, to join one or
more of the
rainforest conservation organisations and to sign the
on-line petitions
that can be accessed from
www.rainforestportal.com. Rainforests are amongst the last
unspoilt habitats on Earth, and are being ruthlessly destroyed at a
catastrophic rate, with their butterflies, birds, mammals and
other wildlife
annihilated purely for commercial interests. It may surprise you
to learn that there is a great deal that you, yes YOU can do to
protect these wonderful places. Just adding your name to the
membership list of any rainforest conservation organisation
immediately increases it's political profile. Proof of public
support adds hugely to
the amount of "clout" that can be delivered when challenging
governmental policies and commercial enterprises.
Try
somewhere different - the more popular butterfly sites,
particularly in Britain, are now becoming threatened by over-use
by butterfly watchers, photographers, dog-walkers and cyclists.
Trampling of vegetation can cause considerable damage, reducing
the quality of the site to such a degree that butterfly
populations suffer. There are many less well-known sites where
even the rarer species can be seen. By spreading the load between
different sites we can reduce the impact of our visits, give the
butterflies a greater chance of surviving, and have the pleasure
of discovering new habitats.
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Final sightings of 2007 :
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Sunday 30th December 2007
A sunny morning at Stansted Forest allowed me to see
what will almost certainly be my last butterfly sightings
of 2007 - 2 Red Admirals and a Comma, all basking on tree
trunks in a sheltered plantation. These represent my
latest ever sightings for both species. All three were
worn specimens, and one of the Red Admirals had a large
bird-peck out of one hindwing.
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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian
Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part
or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from
Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
Website designed, produced and owned by
Adrian Hoskins
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