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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
May
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Saturday 31st May
My first
Large Skippers of the year appeared today at Ballard
Down - a total of 11 males, some of which were already
showing signs of wear and had clearly been flying for at
least 2 or 3 days. Dingy Skippers, Common Blues and Brown
Argus were still in good numbers, with about 40 of each
species seen. Other species included 4 Large Whites, 20
Adonis Blues ( mostly females ), 3 Holly Blues, 2 Red
Admirals ( worn migrants ), 15 fresh Speckled Woods, 1 Wall
Brown and about 20 Small Heaths. The biggest surprise was
the appearance of 5 freshly emerged male Lulworth
Skippers - a full month ahead of their normal emergence
time.
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Sunday 25th May
I spent a
couple of hours this afternoon with my dog Buddy, enjoying
the warm sunshine at one of my favourite places on the
planet - Stansted Forest in West Sussex. In one sunny glade
I spent about half an hour just relaxing and listening to
the birdsong. The soothing 5-note cooooo-coo, coo-coo, coo
of wood pigeons provided background music, while a few feet
away a pair of robins seemed oblivious to my presence,
chattering to each other for several minutes as I watched.
Butterflies
were in low numbers - about 10 Speckled Woods, 1 Holly Blue,
1 Brimstone, 1 Small White, 5 Large Whites, 1 Orange tip, 4
Green-veined Whites and 2 Red Admirals. I watched a female
Green-veined White for about 10 minutes as she searched for
places to lay her eggs. Every 4 or 5 seconds she would
alight momentarily on a leaf, tasting it using olfactory
sensors on her feet to check whether or not it was the
correct foodplant for her future offspring. Surprisingly she
tested ivy, bracken and oak leaves ( all very different
visually from the crucifers she needed to locate ),
indicating that sight apparently plays little or no role in
selecting plants for egg-laying.
Both the Red
Admirals were in immaculate condition and extremely active -
signs that they had almost certainly emerged locally within
the last couple of days. This would seem to be fairly
conclusive evidence that they were the progeny of
post-hibernation adults that had successfully over-wintered
at Stansted Forest ( see
Red Admiral page ).
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Saturday 24th May
Strong winds
this afternoon at Martin Down caused most butterflies to
hide deep in the grasses, and made photography a nightmare.
Nevertheless I managed to see a total of 9 species, amongst
which were about 20 very fresh Small Heaths, 8 Grizzled
Skippers, 3 Dingy Skippers, 2 Brimstones, 1 Small Copper, 3
Common Blues, 2 fresh male Adonis Blues and between 40-50
Small Blues. Most of the latter were males, and from
their condition it was apparent that they had been flying
for at least a week. There were however also several very
fresh females.
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Saturday 17th May
Visits to
several Marsh Fritillary sites in Dorset today indicate that
populations are much lower than in recent years. At one
site, where an estimated 800 were seen in 2002, less than 50
were flying today. At another site, which produced an
estimated one-day count of 500 Marsh Fritillaries in 2005,
the count today was less than 60. At all sites males are
currently at peak numbers. The first females emerged a week
ago, and currently make up about 25% of the totals
estimated.
At one site I
found a nest of Small Tortoiseshell larvae ( all 2nd
instar ). At all the sites visited there were many fresh
Dingy Skippers, dozens of faded Grizzled Skippers, and
lesser numbers of Common Blue and Brown Argus.
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Wednesday 14th May
This morning
in Surrey I saw my first 3 Wood Whites of the season,
but butterflies in general were very difficult to find due
to the very blustery conditions. In the afternoon I made the
mistake of going to a very exposed chalk grassland site in
Hampshire, where the gusts were even stronger ! Butterflies
were hiding out of the wind and almost impossible to
photograph, although I did see several Grizzled Skippers,
Dingy Skippers, Brimstones, Small Heaths, Common Blues and
Dukes. I was also lucky to find a gorgeous
adder basking on a timber stack, and an Angle Shades resting on a fallen branch.
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Tuesday 13th May
I was
disappointed to find that only about 10 Pearl-bordered
Fritillaries were flying when I revisited a west Hampshire
woodland this morning ( see previous report 9th May ). All
were females, and none were in fresh condition, indicating
that the flight season at this site is already drawing to a
close. Even more surprising was the appearance of 3 freshly
emerged male Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries at
least 10 days ahead of the expected emergence time. In the
afternoon I visited a grassland site in mid Dorset, and
found about 30 male Marsh Fritillaries flying on a south
facing slope. Other species included 3 male Adonis Blues, 10
male Common Blues, 5 Brown Argus, 2 Large Whites, 4
Brimstones, 30 Dingy Skippers, 50 Grizzled Skippers, 4 Small
Heaths, 6 Speckled Woods, 1 Wall Brown, 2 Orange tips, and 5
Green Hairstreaks ( all ovipositing females ).
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Monday 12th May
This morning I
visited some of the New Forest Inclosures near Brockenhurst.
On a walk lasting a little over an hour I counted about 20
Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. In the afternoon I spent about
3 hours at one of the mainland sites of Glanville
Fritillary. I saw a minimum of 15 freshly emerged males.
The warm sunshine seemed to discourage them from flying, as
most spent long periods settled with their wings closed, on
the pebble covered beach. Later in the afternoon when
temperatures dropped they began to nectar at kidney vetch
and hawkweeds, and basked for short periods on the
flowerheads. At the same site I also saw 3 Common Blues,
1 Dingy Skipper, 3 Small Heaths and 2 Large Whites.
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Saturday
10th May
Butterfly
activity in today's cloudy conditions was minimal, but at
Ballard Down I was lucky enough to see about 25 Adonis Blues,
1 Holly Blue, 3 Green
Hairstreaks, 3 fresh Brown Argus, 3 male Wall Browns, 2
Small Heaths, 4 Speckled Woods, 2 Peacocks, 2 Orange tips, 3
Brimstones and 12 Dingy Skippers. In the afternoon, at a
site a few miles further west I saw 8 fresh male Marsh
Fritillaries, 1 Peacock, 3 Speckled Woods, 2 Small
Heaths, 3 Orange tips, 2 Green-veined Whites, 2 Large
Whites, 5 Brimstones, 3 Brown Argus, about 30 Dingy Skippers
and a minimum of 60 fresh Grizzled Skippers.
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Friday
9th May
After a week
of warm and sunny weather the butterfly season finally seems
to be getting under way, albeit slowly. Today at
Stockbridge Down I saw my first 2 Small Heaths of the
year, 12 Brimstones, 2 Peacocks, 8 Grizzled Skippers, 2
Green Hairstreaks, 2 Holly Blues, and 4 Orange tips. I also
visited a woodland site in the west of Hampshire. There I
saw about 8-10 male Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, all
extremely active, patrolling in search of females, and
occasionally dipping down to gorge at the nectar of the
abundant bugle flowers.
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Sunday
4th May
Today I spent
a very pleasant afternoon visiting one of the Duke of
Burgundy sites in east Hants. In total I saw 9 males and
3 females. Several were found at rest on cowslip flowers,
while the remainder were seen in flight, or basking on
grasses. Other species seen included 4 Peacocks, 2
Brimstones, 1 Dingy Skipper and 1 Orange tip. Reports coming
in from elsewhere include Small Heaths and the first
Glanville Fritillaries on the Isle of Wight, and
Pearl-bordered Fritillaries from several sites in Devon and
West Sussex.
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Saturday
3rd May
Orange tips
are at peak flight season now, with 11 seen at Stansted
Forest this morning despite lightly overcast conditions.
Other species included 1 Green-veined White, 2 Large Whites,
2 Brimstones, 4 Speckled Woods and 3 Peacocks.
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Friday
2nd May
Another warm
sunny day at Ballard Down produced a frenzy of butterfly
activity. Green Hairstreaks were often seen engaged in
territorial battles. When 2 males meet they zip about in
tight circles, each trying to outwit and out manoeuvre the
other with constant changes of direction. Dingy Skippers
were also in fighting mood, as were Wall Browns and Brown
Arguses, males of each species doing battle with all
intruders. Several female Dingy Skippers were also seen,
together with all of the other species seen the previous
day. The only additional species were Brimstones and Large
Whites - I saw 4 of the latter, all fresh males, suggesting
that they emerged locally rather than arriving as migrants.
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Thursday 1st May
Today at
Ballard Down Hills weather conditions were much more pleasant
than on Monday, and at least 12 Wall Browns ( all fresh
males ) were seen along the coastal path. Other species seen
included 7 Green Hairstreaks, 10 Dingy Skippers, 3 Orange
tips, 1 Green-veined White, 2 Peacocks, 5 Speckled Woods, 4
Small Coppers, 1 Brown Argus, 1 Clouded Yellow and 5
fresh Holly Blues ( 1m, 4f ).
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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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