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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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
September
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Tuesday
30th September
I arrived back in the UK
this evening 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 full trip report will be published within the next few
weeks, together with many new species accounts and
photographs. The full species list will take at least
several weeks to prepare however, as several scientists
around the world need to be consulted to ensure accuracy.
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.
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Wednesday
10th September
The recent downpours have
depleted the already low numbers of butterflies at Stansted
Forest, but in overcast and damp conditions this afternoon
there were still a few flying, including 4 Large Whites, 2
Small Whites, 1 Red Admiral, and no less than 31 Speckled
Woods.
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Sunday
7th September
Amazing as it may seem, a male Large white has been basking
on a bramble leaf all afternoon in my garden. It appeared as
soon as the rain stopped at 1pm, and is still sitting on the
same leaf with wings outspread now at 4.30pm ! Other Large
and Small Whites have flown through during this period, but
the male just does not want to move !
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Friday 5th September
After the awful weather experienced in August most of us had
been hoping for some sign of sunshine in September, but the
wet and windy conditions show little sign of easing. The
mid-range forecasts seem to indicate that we can expect
another miserable month. Butterflies are opportunists
however, and even the briefest break in the weather spurs
them into activity. Yesterday for example, at 6pm in
blustery overcast conditions a Red Admiral and 2 Small
Whites were flying in my Havant garden. A friend also
reported finding good numbers of Brown Hairstreak eggs at
several sites in East Sussex and Hampshire yesterday despite
the overcast weather during it's flight period. The females
tend to fly very little, but spend most of their time
walking about, laying their eggs in forks on the twigs of
sheltered blackthorn bushes, and seem to have been little
affected by the lack of sunshine.
Today in my garden, after 6 hours of incessant rain the sky
cleared, and within minutes a Large White flew down from
it's roosting place in a Buddleia bush, and began to bask on
low foliage. Seconds later 3 more appeared, and as I write
there are now 6 Large Whites, a Speckled Wood and a Comma
all making the most of what will undoubtedly turn out to be
a very brief respite from the rains !
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Brimstone, Noar Hill |
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