Butterflies of the World - Lifecycle, Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation, Photography, Butterfly Holidays, Photo Galleries, Book Reviews and more.........
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterfly Diary - field notes by Adrian Hoskins
my earliest sightings of each brood are highlighted in bold type
 
 
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.
 
Archives - 2006 annual summary
             - 2007 Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jly | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
 
Click on thumbnails to see more photos, and detailed descriptions of the distribution, habitats, lifecycle and behaviour of each illustrated species......
 
2008
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jly | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
 
October
 
Sunday 12th October
 
Yesterday I spent an hour at midday walking around Stansted Forest in warm sunshine, but only saw 1 Large White, 2 very worn Speckled Woods and 2 Commas ( one basking high on a pine trunk, the other nectaring at ivy blossom ). Today at Old Winchester Hill in similar weather conditions I saw 1 Speckled Wood, 3 fairly fresh Small Heaths, 2 very worn male Meadow Browns, 2 Large Whites, 2 male Brimstones and 4 faded Red Admirals. I also disturbed a Peacock which flew out from beneath fallen tree trunks in the deep shade of the valley bottom woodland.
 
Friday 10th October
 
Most evenings this week have been spent studying my d'Abrera volumes to identify all the butterflies photographed in Peru last month. About 95 percent have now been positively ID'd and a provisional species list will be published as soon as I have double-checked the current nomenclature. Several species ( mainly Ithomiines and Hesperiine Skippers ) are proving very difficult to identify, and I will need to consult specialist taxonomists in Peru and the USA to confirm those butterfly's identities.
In November I will start publishing a few of the 2000 photographs taken of the butterflies. These will be accessible from the Species Index, Butterflies of Amazonia and Butterflies of the Andes galleries. In the meantime here is a photograph of one of my favourite neotropical species - the stunning and elusive Green Mantle Caria mantinea. It is a member of the Riodinidae - the family to which our own Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina belongs.

 
Wednesday 1st October
 
I arrived back in the UK yesterday after an extremely successful butterfly watching trip to Peru. The diversity and abundance of butterflies seen in the Andes and Amazon was stunning, and a provisional trip report will be published within the next days. During the next 2 or 3 months there will be several new species accounts published in the Amazonia and Andes sections of the website, together with masses of new photographs. A provisional species list should be published by late October, and this will be updated as further species are identified and catalogued - this takes time because I need to contact several taxonomists in Peru, Brazil and the USA, as I like my lists to be accurate !
It seems that Britain has enjoyed a spell of fine weather while I was away, with reports received of Small Coppers, Commas, Meadow Browns, Speckled Woods, Large Whites, Small Whites and Red Admirals seen at the weekend in Hampshire and Sussex.
 
 
 
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.
 
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