tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74324614180782681952024-03-16T09:22:52.856+00:00Butterfly NotesA collection of observations about butterflies here in Scotland and notes of the butterflies I have seen when on family holidays.Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-26545164102156886442024-03-14T20:59:00.000+00:002024-03-14T20:59:54.524+00:00Scottish Borders Garden Butterflies 2023 Part 2<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Continuing from my previous post.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Small Skippers are
continuing to increase in numbers since I first saw them here two years ago. Last
year I saw them in my new woodland for the first time as well as the meadow. I
try to leave plenty of grass uncut over winter, so that I don't destroy their
eggs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhFpUPtcIA6CDXRurac6fVPqgFzDNjYvFUMbGpiJ8ZNM6WcBUtxYg_n7TT3yXTPHRcVFNbpc7LhJlDSXNVKh5pOJ5v_1mkbUnCDZhPk8s6QjipGm_RsHJydCRb14G9sKTMAICtEmB9HscmnHeiJ1K6GOI23NGkWHFuF0-dmVoL8NrmumkyU-1jyn390oS/s800/P1260580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhFpUPtcIA6CDXRurac6fVPqgFzDNjYvFUMbGpiJ8ZNM6WcBUtxYg_n7TT3yXTPHRcVFNbpc7LhJlDSXNVKh5pOJ5v_1mkbUnCDZhPk8s6QjipGm_RsHJydCRb14G9sKTMAICtEmB9HscmnHeiJ1K6GOI23NGkWHFuF0-dmVoL8NrmumkyU-1jyn390oS/w640-h480/P1260580.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Large Skippers also
did well last year. I had seen one here in 2020 and another in 2022. Last year
I saw seven. Both these species have spread northwards into Scotland in recent
years so it is exciting to see them here.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQqlP9JBaDUO0t8kNEAejNPSwiKwddYnhoKK4_mksX6MpWLZ92B6qH7NU0HEgpabI17c3a7C0P64OXurN4lgPORqeiK7noHLK_fT7eRPzOhBZ0-pXUd_vJ3g5tv-KseD84JbzVQEUt46O_zYe5fIpxjFIxG8uQzRHdlrVgWYqeBuBtcR0ZMuySDtYSuvs/s800/P1260683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQqlP9JBaDUO0t8kNEAejNPSwiKwddYnhoKK4_mksX6MpWLZ92B6qH7NU0HEgpabI17c3a7C0P64OXurN4lgPORqeiK7noHLK_fT7eRPzOhBZ0-pXUd_vJ3g5tv-KseD84JbzVQEUt46O_zYe5fIpxjFIxG8uQzRHdlrVgWYqeBuBtcR0ZMuySDtYSuvs/w640-h480/P1260683.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There has been a lot of concern about the reducing number of
Small Tortoiseshells being seen around the country. 2023 seemed to just be about
average for them here , but the previous year was a really good year for them,
so nothing obvious to report. However, I didn't find any caterpillars last
year, which was unusual. The caterpillars are usually very obvious, as they
congregate in a mass on nettles.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtc9WmrQH_nr0xthl-77UQ62va9eWb5duYTY_Cw6WQVLnrqmkgYsI6to2TNtCiOU2MY9pleVYo-2x2dA7Js3vXCZzuhQYQIImEuKLlmG8DBxxO1rAYuxcGRPprj8d15xWA7yr4atX3d2wAFZgZKC8VFcDt14YDzpUCrSWbjDh8gpkQwzVLPhLzylDCbZj/s800/P1000118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtc9WmrQH_nr0xthl-77UQ62va9eWb5duYTY_Cw6WQVLnrqmkgYsI6to2TNtCiOU2MY9pleVYo-2x2dA7Js3vXCZzuhQYQIImEuKLlmG8DBxxO1rAYuxcGRPprj8d15xWA7yr4atX3d2wAFZgZKC8VFcDt14YDzpUCrSWbjDh8gpkQwzVLPhLzylDCbZj/w640-h480/P1000118.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2023 was the best year yet for Peacocks since I moved here.
They were particularly numerous towards the end of the season on our Buddleia
plants, but they suddenly disappeared towards the end of August. However, when
I went for a walk up the valley less than a kilometre away a week later I spotted more than 60 of them feeding on an
area of Devil's-bit Scabious.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmmVekjOmI8uRjfbledq5nE3nXvliriSCm1CnsvXvJPYdUiePAPCIRFdluGm7v_oMEPPS9nwlQ76Gw5INkTHKhk0iYuxItGeh2kaaPcH2nkKgLqo5z3BiNYQJuiaoBCyVgPLeL4N2aejBIjHKE7YsK0Asluih2xK_K77kpjiOUGR8ruYclswNwnUKiLz_/s800/P1000157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmmVekjOmI8uRjfbledq5nE3nXvliriSCm1CnsvXvJPYdUiePAPCIRFdluGm7v_oMEPPS9nwlQ76Gw5INkTHKhk0iYuxItGeh2kaaPcH2nkKgLqo5z3BiNYQJuiaoBCyVgPLeL4N2aejBIjHKE7YsK0Asluih2xK_K77kpjiOUGR8ruYclswNwnUKiLz_/w640-h480/P1000157.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It was also an exceptionally good year for Red Admirals. I
counted 474 individuals in total, more than double any previous years here. They
were also recorded in good numbers across
South East Scotland and beyond.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPRQD2N1GwHa3NHJ01ydCmATVbANTQagcryyaTVlYm3-Y1UavSI1PDvS9ZVdZbcFh9YhEb6Rp8IMdFfyKCS7SPU5pXM6FB6tAD-syDY8HXZ29vmG5u1S_8eqGd0D-azjbMeGj-oL1LtcoKUBhz9X1vY87EB42NTT56vp-_Geyvjvi1eulB085pVDXFpK3/s800/P1260361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPRQD2N1GwHa3NHJ01ydCmATVbANTQagcryyaTVlYm3-Y1UavSI1PDvS9ZVdZbcFh9YhEb6Rp8IMdFfyKCS7SPU5pXM6FB6tAD-syDY8HXZ29vmG5u1S_8eqGd0D-azjbMeGj-oL1LtcoKUBhz9X1vY87EB42NTT56vp-_Geyvjvi1eulB085pVDXFpK3/w640-h480/P1260361.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Commas have been increasing year on year here over the last
six years. Last year was exceptionally good and I recorded 122 sightings, more
than double the previous year. I also found a number of very late caterpillars
on nettles.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOD0qcbLL-IpzNglROnRzSuXN34jSjQhIm39MdXPuDX6PZOFzqKWBZfFZVzzw0Km6rUvVGRMnPvW8Oj7HqA95qun0h25Z0S0gYYFQNt1DFbL4wx5dYXYyc8b4kLrZObYe6FxXfDKsa7T-42JkGyCZSxGtzb3SjME3GBmbEnf1edZMxgkDDMmSWTV5pgF2Q/s800/P1260755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOD0qcbLL-IpzNglROnRzSuXN34jSjQhIm39MdXPuDX6PZOFzqKWBZfFZVzzw0Km6rUvVGRMnPvW8Oj7HqA95qun0h25Z0S0gYYFQNt1DFbL4wx5dYXYyc8b4kLrZObYe6FxXfDKsa7T-42JkGyCZSxGtzb3SjME3GBmbEnf1edZMxgkDDMmSWTV5pgF2Q/w640-h480/P1260755.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I only saw five Dark Green Fritillary here last year, which
is probably about average, but seems a low number as they are so common in the
hills above the house.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghymMKLh3cJMvX3_Dd3Nfxg4y7zwS-12304hQ4ZlTtQwfKnv15j3uJaaFHpELSAW12kCwDO2uN-5aMgPdOw1nMstmmuI4gl625hhaHLArDVmC62lYBElehTaQ0do-f_wMoPspBtCYEwNX4knZpbgwwZI2V2dqK12eoIYwgyfKdBa1qei7v3u__Yr7uHgsb/s800/P1260437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghymMKLh3cJMvX3_Dd3Nfxg4y7zwS-12304hQ4ZlTtQwfKnv15j3uJaaFHpELSAW12kCwDO2uN-5aMgPdOw1nMstmmuI4gl625hhaHLArDVmC62lYBElehTaQ0do-f_wMoPspBtCYEwNX4knZpbgwwZI2V2dqK12eoIYwgyfKdBa1qei7v3u__Yr7uHgsb/w640-h480/P1260437.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I saw one Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in my meadow last
year. Strangely, each year I have seen one here. I presume these have strayed
down from further up the valley where there are Marsh Violets.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwxxOBBXVpSQevrpb9p6KVZzHO0AV1ZKOuqJRgWWwQCrse1SWLCiQQZP_tsEn8-QW3l_WbFr_QXVZ0LBFESAql71AahOwAnu3r6dvI_U9n4tuK5NFopsJ55BRb9cenLh6kJKRE_3-H9fDNVxAnKiOZ-qzk-w0dP9fnto-63BHH2mY_fw-mP1N5lKAVkGj/s800/P1260452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwxxOBBXVpSQevrpb9p6KVZzHO0AV1ZKOuqJRgWWwQCrse1SWLCiQQZP_tsEn8-QW3l_WbFr_QXVZ0LBFESAql71AahOwAnu3r6dvI_U9n4tuK5NFopsJ55BRb9cenLh6kJKRE_3-H9fDNVxAnKiOZ-qzk-w0dP9fnto-63BHH2mY_fw-mP1N5lKAVkGj/w640-h480/P1260452.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The exciting news for me was that I saw two new species for the garden. I really enjoyed
watching Speckled Woods arrive in East Lothian in 2010 and spread across the
county over the next few years. They appeared to spread north along the coast
of the Scottish Borders to get to East Lothian, but hadn't come further inland.
However, I have been keeping an eye on records and noticed that they were
slowly heading in this direction. On 30th May I was walking in my meadow when
my phone rang. It was my daughter to tell me that she had just passed her
driving test. While I was talking to her a little dark butterfly flew past me
and landed in a Lime tree. I walked over to take a closer look and I was
delighted to see it was a Speckled Wood. I am not sure if I was more excited
about my daughter's achievement or the butterfly!! Later in the year I saw several
more, with up to three on one occasion. They were all males, so I hope that
there were also some females and I will regularly see them here in the future.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSiPE_Sd1AwMI26hm3vRZbS4yOZeWRZnAwjy89U-X2dz2Zn5xYI5UeNu-yMpDB13XkVYjAYGpGSe5K7wG7xpz10lN0VVS5Rd42bf0dtAlC5fP6VYY8PXRF8Urfv4kt25bgC28kIuo9EXgig2Tw_nikjPV8zrQiuNr0T7J28h2_jTeCMEqOwLya0NvX69w/s800/P1260381.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnSiPE_Sd1AwMI26hm3vRZbS4yOZeWRZnAwjy89U-X2dz2Zn5xYI5UeNu-yMpDB13XkVYjAYGpGSe5K7wG7xpz10lN0VVS5Rd42bf0dtAlC5fP6VYY8PXRF8Urfv4kt25bgC28kIuo9EXgig2Tw_nikjPV8zrQiuNr0T7J28h2_jTeCMEqOwLya0NvX69w/w640-h480/P1260381.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The other new species for me was a Wall Brown. Well, I had
seen one here back in 2010 with my father, but that seemed to be an isolated
record. On 15th August I was watching a Speckled Wood sparing with another
butterfly in my neighbour's sheep field. Eventually, the second butterfly
landed on a wall, so I sneaked up on it from the other side and noticed that it
was a Wall Brown. It was only about 15 feet from the meadow and the next day I
was delighted to find it feeding on a Knapweed in the meadow. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqPKNin5KA4BRXgTQswh5AHXB_dILhwENNAMWRlKBRMFRqkXb2da3fAxsR2uWQS3fkO3cU7fcHzOGZ-W2XwySrGbsNkVPm8W4AuVSreqiI66hdRK4FJuDgJ2MYgP3i3MzRwUFoXJuyQqJlfyj0iWybjj4r8INOC-89POHnA7FGRPpB6NdjxbKky7171AF/s800/20230815_124838%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqPKNin5KA4BRXgTQswh5AHXB_dILhwENNAMWRlKBRMFRqkXb2da3fAxsR2uWQS3fkO3cU7fcHzOGZ-W2XwySrGbsNkVPm8W4AuVSreqiI66hdRK4FJuDgJ2MYgP3i3MzRwUFoXJuyQqJlfyj0iWybjj4r8INOC-89POHnA7FGRPpB6NdjxbKky7171AF/w640-h480/20230815_124838%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were also a few species that I didn't see here in 2023.
I didn't see any Painted Ladies anywhere last year. Here, their numbers are very variable
and I have never seen them in great numbers, even when they have been really
numerous nearer the coast.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was sad not to see a Northern Brown Argus last year. I saw
one here in 2020 and again in 2022 I saw an adult here for a few days and later
found several eggs on the Rockrose I had planted. Sadly, it seems that the eggs
were not successful. I don't know why this would be. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The previous three years I have seen one or two Small Heaths
here, but I didn't see any last year. The habitat isn't really ideal for them,
though.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And since 2019 I have seen one or two Scotch Argus here,
which has always intrigued me. We don't have any Purple Moor Grass, their
normal caterpillar food plant, but I did see one laying eggs on a completely
different grass. Sadly I didn't see any in 2023, but possibly I just wasn't in
the right place at the right time.</span></p>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Generally butterfly numbers have been increasing
here over the last five years, so hopefully some of the work I have been doing
trying to improve habitats is paying off.</span></span>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-30359246259856453552024-02-29T18:42:00.007+00:002024-03-14T20:13:34.161+00:00Scottish Borders Garden Butterflies 2023<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We moved to this house in the Scottish Borders at the start
of 2020 and since then I have been mostly working from home. During my lunch
hours I tend to take the dogs for a walk around more or less the same route and
I keep a note of the butterflies I see. I then keep a record of the highest
number of each species I see each week. So, I now have four years' worth of
butterfly records to compare.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Each year the weather has been quite different and that has
had an impact on butterfly numbers. The
weather was not great in 2023 with a lot of easterly winds. Spring started
quite late but dry, but <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from July
onwards it was cloudy and wet.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Also, I have been spending a lot of time trying to improve
habitats and plant different plants to attract butterflies. I would like to
think that the effort is seeing rewards.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHg73dw4wSHS01K5ig3kI0TYH6yh_vZ855aMv4IeQS2CkrHc4shgkTOyXUQswDtpc7Sc5TOtN95HUPJT_LrveB3CoAV72k0y_MXL2Y3K6LmLsXoNMyem0k9OE3BoKUidYKP_AnZ6V-UoyngZQRLi0w7VY7bWi6t0b7Kw7igbo2moYXL_yiKcGaUHEH8AZ/s800/20240225_132856.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHg73dw4wSHS01K5ig3kI0TYH6yh_vZ855aMv4IeQS2CkrHc4shgkTOyXUQswDtpc7Sc5TOtN95HUPJT_LrveB3CoAV72k0y_MXL2Y3K6LmLsXoNMyem0k9OE3BoKUidYKP_AnZ6V-UoyngZQRLi0w7VY7bWi6t0b7Kw7igbo2moYXL_yiKcGaUHEH8AZ/w640-h480/20240225_132856.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The main areas where I see butterflies is in the meadow I
have been developing, on some Buddleia plants and, this year, in an area where
I had some Spruce trees cut down, where I have replanted with native trees. The
area is now quite grassy, with various other plants such a Fox Gloves and wild
Raspberries.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The four species of white butterflies were interesting. Orange
Tips generally had a good year. The first sighting was a week later than
normal, but they were about in good numbers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJWFkoIfwpY3NNuwdVAfXDSOJqPIl-iIBS8NOVyKlYm_j2NzGxxrInOo1SMQlI64FE5DHf1c1NIg3Kv-4TdpaOKS46i6Rx7LsV8P7odugEu_N3qs5EGvq_XewUTfRd-x7bISzGQiSge6EoH_KEcbgfCHIBDGf7KCtKOqWEW-BvhqJIT8e-iKavTiCHNm7/s800/P1250914.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJWFkoIfwpY3NNuwdVAfXDSOJqPIl-iIBS8NOVyKlYm_j2NzGxxrInOo1SMQlI64FE5DHf1c1NIg3Kv-4TdpaOKS46i6Rx7LsV8P7odugEu_N3qs5EGvq_XewUTfRd-x7bISzGQiSge6EoH_KEcbgfCHIBDGf7KCtKOqWEW-BvhqJIT8e-iKavTiCHNm7/w640-h480/P1250914.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I saw more Small Whites than I have in previous years, but
they were never seen in high numbers. I had found a number of chrysalises last
year, which I kept in a cage over winter. 29 of them emerged over a period of a
month in April and May. However, I never saw them in big numbers and, strangely,
I didn't find any caterpillars on the Nasturtiums this year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltnla32upm6rmWUHKyk9VnTlLeua-Q6JMYoWtWtAASjyiWT8Lnjdi4rt8wWdI5ldqtjHbrUGIMFtBOiEirVWUN4PbQhvWGlgId2C9YeME9JmroOvsOK_3QYIg1Ix1rsH7FLz8EfABGzeJkvORafyMYbuQtQKhuWgPTtfntoKYQ7QoWZ8B0iFlCsKgbMO-/s800/P1250848.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltnla32upm6rmWUHKyk9VnTlLeua-Q6JMYoWtWtAASjyiWT8Lnjdi4rt8wWdI5ldqtjHbrUGIMFtBOiEirVWUN4PbQhvWGlgId2C9YeME9JmroOvsOK_3QYIg1Ix1rsH7FLz8EfABGzeJkvORafyMYbuQtQKhuWgPTtfntoKYQ7QoWZ8B0iFlCsKgbMO-/w640-h480/P1250848.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Conversely, Green-veined Whites didn't have such a good year
for some reason. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always associate
Green-veined Whites with damper areas, so possibly last year's dry summer
didn't agree with them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrtzuC2gmJs70DpJk2T-78ANeJwYl-ibDdxDL3xCk_mmosmYn1fxYde8ZKDkJe6Ug0ZaQNz30qUpGUuglldEZ1TQW1ARQTMTfJr_bOZKuTiLDkTCFRClTIxH1xSKj7G5_5h-SvR3orCV6838ahyOifpH0NFh2AN_6xDfNdKddnVydd0kMf-MGF75fK7aY/s800/P1250977.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivrtzuC2gmJs70DpJk2T-78ANeJwYl-ibDdxDL3xCk_mmosmYn1fxYde8ZKDkJe6Ug0ZaQNz30qUpGUuglldEZ1TQW1ARQTMTfJr_bOZKuTiLDkTCFRClTIxH1xSKj7G5_5h-SvR3orCV6838ahyOifpH0NFh2AN_6xDfNdKddnVydd0kMf-MGF75fK7aY/w640-h480/P1250977.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Large Whites had a fairly average year. I had been expecting
to see a lot of them, because there were a lot of caterpillars last year and
there were several chrysalises on the house. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, this year, I didn't find any
caterpillars on the Nasturtiums, which is unusual.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoxVXiyccAqLR2Vdj4ZcgdQjO2gYKlMqvR-Jz1s3GcCgbOaAViCLG6ehD8BTGK8sHdaFs3aINAgcBbcECda7Urs8GkXy5yJbF7_WQDQ32d1_oi5tsr4_fA1AZy3RUJgP-15bLpByqd0fdH0Xt_zuqlsEk8iWuQKOoJ2iQZLjgT2Hhx6LvXIBZLZgqk4dh/s800/P1250973.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZoxVXiyccAqLR2Vdj4ZcgdQjO2gYKlMqvR-Jz1s3GcCgbOaAViCLG6ehD8BTGK8sHdaFs3aINAgcBbcECda7Urs8GkXy5yJbF7_WQDQ32d1_oi5tsr4_fA1AZy3RUJgP-15bLpByqd0fdH0Xt_zuqlsEk8iWuQKOoJ2iQZLjgT2Hhx6LvXIBZLZgqk4dh/w640-h480/P1250973.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Last year was a really good year for Ringlets and this year
wasn't quite as good. Overall, their numbers have gone up here over the last
six years. I would like to think this is in part the result of some of the
habitat work I have done.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_XReqUNnO_bensWn4lE9PYOULjkpKijv3ezL_bDfzYGcZBj5mCcEd9YzJn9v9ASA13mUGUzVBJr-Kn_u6rlB9W4uwl-U9Tf_UyV55ppgG1PiuXv2qimeMboRZnPh2WohtnpHPdKoROv5qhofL9gLYskCEKso6ZtSWzyF8QOc-JPnfoDLwY8jsObQZx3L/s800/P1260509.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_XReqUNnO_bensWn4lE9PYOULjkpKijv3ezL_bDfzYGcZBj5mCcEd9YzJn9v9ASA13mUGUzVBJr-Kn_u6rlB9W4uwl-U9Tf_UyV55ppgG1PiuXv2qimeMboRZnPh2WohtnpHPdKoROv5qhofL9gLYskCEKso6ZtSWzyF8QOc-JPnfoDLwY8jsObQZx3L/w640-h480/P1260509.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2023 was a really great year for Meadow Browns here. I
recorded 103 individuals, way up from the previous high of 21. As with the
Ringlets, I would like to think that the Meadow Browns are enjoying the way I
am managing the meadow. The high numbers of these two species may be a result
of the weather the previous year, when eggs would have been laid and the
caterpillars emerged. 2022 was a very dry summer. It will be interesting to see
how they do this coming year after last year's wet summer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk18dMv8pA4_azr7DJJm-Sn7plDWSF5tqHyf588NHlPXVlm2Jqp1OUIfBY3Ys7D7dmpA62ZOwr4pa9ErSrB7yil3x9qlmc5pFuzIsiKZMwdyZbQRwXiMonbrC0c2xcsunEKnMDwvjKGOIhmORvOaTBMPVNR-FAk6MH2qnsA1fkb7nAxf_HcCK3_IonRfwh/s800/P1260796.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk18dMv8pA4_azr7DJJm-Sn7plDWSF5tqHyf588NHlPXVlm2Jqp1OUIfBY3Ys7D7dmpA62ZOwr4pa9ErSrB7yil3x9qlmc5pFuzIsiKZMwdyZbQRwXiMonbrC0c2xcsunEKnMDwvjKGOIhmORvOaTBMPVNR-FAk6MH2qnsA1fkb7nAxf_HcCK3_IonRfwh/w640-h480/P1260796.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I only saw 2 Small Coppers <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>here last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had done really well the previous year,
so I don't know why there were so few in 2023. There are plenty of food plants
for them here, so I can only assume that it was the weather that didn't suit
them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2AkIiSC7MMXnvZvqVcS3mji8eK_LU0ek2AUb3i5f8MoziOoiif9Tqx0yXTlcINdAqeeh7qYII6uDp4f7s67P-f1TlzXcIGkfwJjtGejJ4zf3XJ8Ma-SHH21MAwAgVUVeD0gamvnvMkob-P9mPA9nMOAny2WyX_JG83qpC2P7yuEH83ovQ0UW5-yB3d1d/s800/20230813_104647%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2AkIiSC7MMXnvZvqVcS3mji8eK_LU0ek2AUb3i5f8MoziOoiif9Tqx0yXTlcINdAqeeh7qYII6uDp4f7s67P-f1TlzXcIGkfwJjtGejJ4zf3XJ8Ma-SHH21MAwAgVUVeD0gamvnvMkob-P9mPA9nMOAny2WyX_JG83qpC2P7yuEH83ovQ0UW5-yB3d1d/w640-h480/20230813_104647%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I will continue this on the next post ...</span></div><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-39376019568460355712024-01-30T21:07:00.002+00:002024-01-30T21:07:17.026+00:00East Lothian Butterflies 2023 Part 2<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Continuing on from my <a href="http://nickmorgan-butterflypictures.blogspot.com/2024/01/east-lothian-butterflies-2023-part-1.html" target="_blank">previous post.</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The
first Small Heath was seen on the 17th May. They weren't seen in high numbers
in 2023, possibly because not as many people were recording along the coast
where they are most commonly seen. Apparently, there are two generations a
year, but it is difficult to separate the generations because they overlap and
vary according to each site along the coast and in the hills.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRObAq5-vEOM0K7YGzqmA1d6lp8euk2Wkf2-ybWdhdYYc8kbQCK1PJSY4nMT3R-fOwo7ruoDJgb21uQ-AOAa_LE5hTf3DGC6g6mSLwbwUh5PIw0NYDyzwZaifUvvNMoqyuVgfdP6dyCJzsVkT8DGPDykZYwwF7xKvOl0RwYtsgxh9P41qUK3jGkVWAI3-/s800/P1260050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRObAq5-vEOM0K7YGzqmA1d6lp8euk2Wkf2-ybWdhdYYc8kbQCK1PJSY4nMT3R-fOwo7ruoDJgb21uQ-AOAa_LE5hTf3DGC6g6mSLwbwUh5PIw0NYDyzwZaifUvvNMoqyuVgfdP6dyCJzsVkT8DGPDykZYwwF7xKvOl0RwYtsgxh9P41qUK3jGkVWAI3-/w640-h480/P1260050.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2023 could
certainly not be described as a Painted Lady year. I only received 46 records
and it was the first year, since I started recording butterflies in the 1990s
that I didn't see one myself. The first record received was on 29th May and the
maximum number seen in a week was 8 in August, indicating that they had managed
to breed. It is interesting that the other migratory butterfly, the Red
Admiral, did so well, but not so the Painted Lady.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The
first Meadow Brown was recorded on the 4th June. They had the best year since I
have been collating the butterfly records with 2565 butterflies recorded.
Almost every year they are our most numerous butterfly recorded.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzrrZDMmi4JABV7tAmjv20rExJbNX2b8ddHj-CKjuHr4G_6CMERLq-0OPLyAt-_LrTENjX1h7HWOlvbAfxXhscX7fC1n3qvrk6AuBtOVsyQEAP2Uc0ziUywd3-YHI_4yrZCkuiQA2x8HzLn519GSZ8TZVcRL6U1hVm-TIp3TU-uVSFb0p4aiqs8tc3ZFX/s800/P1260745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOzrrZDMmi4JABV7tAmjv20rExJbNX2b8ddHj-CKjuHr4G_6CMERLq-0OPLyAt-_LrTENjX1h7HWOlvbAfxXhscX7fC1n3qvrk6AuBtOVsyQEAP2Uc0ziUywd3-YHI_4yrZCkuiQA2x8HzLn519GSZ8TZVcRL6U1hVm-TIp3TU-uVSFb0p4aiqs8tc3ZFX/w640-h480/P1260745.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In
contrast, the Common Blue had its worst year since I have been collating the
records! The first record was on the 12th June and I only received records of
252 butterflies, with the average number over the previous ten years being 465.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOibatn7_8fjItc2S_AaHerm6radK_fmbQKyYN5ze4Mxm6YX7JJheewFM4JtFCYfPkfazeDHrIocW2ILSURfSm91vbcv71seBIgn9wDhIkooSIM-26nItXpr53n0yrJ0LrJs23NNptlMVCowCOGjZhkIJAmK4BCIv3bcll3VNEGEXUZEgzvMKbYszdLjS6/s800/P1260402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOibatn7_8fjItc2S_AaHerm6radK_fmbQKyYN5ze4Mxm6YX7JJheewFM4JtFCYfPkfazeDHrIocW2ILSURfSm91vbcv71seBIgn9wDhIkooSIM-26nItXpr53n0yrJ0LrJs23NNptlMVCowCOGjZhkIJAmK4BCIv3bcll3VNEGEXUZEgzvMKbYszdLjS6/w640-h480/P1260402.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><v:shape alt="P1260310.JPG" id="Picture_x0020_9" o:spid="_x0000_s1029" style="height: 159pt; margin-left: 242.25pt; margin-top: .3pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 212.6pt; z-index: -5;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-152 0 -152 21396 21641 21396 21641 0 -152 0">
<v:imagedata o:title="P1260310" src="file:///C:\Users\Nick\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">
<w:wrap type="tight">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Large
Skipper is a fairly recent arrival in East Lothian and is still seen in
relatively small numbers. The first record I received was on the 13th June and
I only received a total of 17 records. They have spread their range across the
county, being seen along much of the coast and the foothills of the
Lammermuirs. I suspect that it often goes unrecorded, being quite tricky to
identify as it whizzes between flowers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1V_fGR0u1zLL2BWfu-N7iIE7cBC0AzP2tH8cRoV56fKFTj6IiYmrJFNCooUS3ulr8J932rjoKjznptDOkUI7Uih5hqqUDa9spz9bQVc346SbiPUBsEkAUTiRh6THs_11eHSqUZZsC3ysfJlCX6OOJRfxGw9TVI5LsaCrleIH73atTowjwylqKB3CdwgB/s800/P1260310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1V_fGR0u1zLL2BWfu-N7iIE7cBC0AzP2tH8cRoV56fKFTj6IiYmrJFNCooUS3ulr8J932rjoKjznptDOkUI7Uih5hqqUDa9spz9bQVc346SbiPUBsEkAUTiRh6THs_11eHSqUZZsC3ysfJlCX6OOJRfxGw9TVI5LsaCrleIH73atTowjwylqKB3CdwgB/w640-h480/P1260310.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 20.0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ringlets
were another species that had a poor year. In fact the worst year in the last
ten years, not counting 2020, when we were in lockdown. The first record was on
the 15th June and initially they seemed to do well, but just didn't peak in
July as they normally would.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 20.0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbxxBtafKj1fXWZA_jByo-3_SuMZQAHujbZ-bgNvvhb7f22I_s8mnZJhvR6a0sjykeC_JdyJ3wLPEqBZt8EFKqrM3V9WPgvgJQWgV7mfuDFR-j4HVP1N5cPeU3mxgPA13QUWZvmIwt-Y0ofRRLMYmfu9VPomLWU_bv2kHLvPOhsKIj7VVjMH2FBs99w-8P/s800/P1260752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbxxBtafKj1fXWZA_jByo-3_SuMZQAHujbZ-bgNvvhb7f22I_s8mnZJhvR6a0sjykeC_JdyJ3wLPEqBZt8EFKqrM3V9WPgvgJQWgV7mfuDFR-j4HVP1N5cPeU3mxgPA13QUWZvmIwt-Y0ofRRLMYmfu9VPomLWU_bv2kHLvPOhsKIj7VVjMH2FBs99w-8P/w640-h480/P1260752.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Dark
Green Fritillary also didn't do well in 2023 with the number of records being
about a third of what we would normally expect. The first record was on the 18th
June. The caterpillars feed on various species of Violets. I wonder if these
plants didn't do well the previous summer with the dry weather we experienced.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><v:shape alt="P1260425.JPG" id="Picture_x0020_11" o:spid="_x0000_s1028" style="height: 159pt; margin-left: 1.5pt; margin-top: .2pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 212.6pt; z-index: -3;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-152 0 -152 21396 21641 21396 21641 0 -152 0">
<v:imagedata o:title="P1260425" src="file:///C:\Users\Nick\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image004.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">
<w:wrap type="tight">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the 21st
June I went into the Lammermuirs in search of Northern Brown Argus at a well
known site for them. I managed to see five, which wasn't too bad for a short
visit. They are only know to occur in a few small colonies in East Lothian and
there have been no records from a couple of those sites in recent years.
However, they were spotted on two occasions on the Barns Ness transect, so it
would seem that there is a colony there, too. Also eggs have been found in a
couple of locations north of Traprain Law, so there are probably more colonies
than we realise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfe7RsAMtX0-V8f7OFL0_rxrttRIFQLIaV1XWeBenk0T6IWKX4BW0-L_5OOgcSBIjAfb6b30tH99B5QqA_YWmDF_62_o4xtxc0ksT5AhiTFNncVLLpYcT3T4osIC3tGGqU5oLLH3oE9wdE_KuTqaCnEHuXewjv_Fe5tQZMP9sZe6HxAFIfcBDmsTvo6O88/s800/P1260425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfe7RsAMtX0-V8f7OFL0_rxrttRIFQLIaV1XWeBenk0T6IWKX4BW0-L_5OOgcSBIjAfb6b30tH99B5QqA_YWmDF_62_o4xtxc0ksT5AhiTFNncVLLpYcT3T4osIC3tGGqU5oLLH3oE9wdE_KuTqaCnEHuXewjv_Fe5tQZMP9sZe6HxAFIfcBDmsTvo6O88/w640-h480/P1260425.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I saw
five Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries when I was looking for Northern Brown
Argus. They were the only records that I am aware of this year. It is a rare
butterfly in East Lothian, which has only been recorded from a couple of sites.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUgWo1PDLbJJ9WWuSG54i9xmM2rVbrRRl9QhJnlmqR2yeQ8yBZp9Na4BylTKumknAm4Qy-sIjdJ50hlCaYhwH7C1Ku9OkkI1ygTxkZy3K-uY502YOvzLr7UDRhGH55lItZfOV01SfV4nK6o5OVOvpFgWoJhLGTpSpqFvPXcncBsMIoedlhXgpvzh4__s7/s800/P1220255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUgWo1PDLbJJ9WWuSG54i9xmM2rVbrRRl9QhJnlmqR2yeQ8yBZp9Na4BylTKumknAm4Qy-sIjdJ50hlCaYhwH7C1Ku9OkkI1ygTxkZy3K-uY502YOvzLr7UDRhGH55lItZfOV01SfV4nK6o5OVOvpFgWoJhLGTpSpqFvPXcncBsMIoedlhXgpvzh4__s7/w640-h480/P1220255.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The
final species to be recorded in 2023 was the Grayling on 3rd July. There is a
well-established colony on the pyramid at Meadowmill. I am aware of them being
seen in an east Lammermuir Dean and I hear that they are often seen at the old
power station site at Cockenzie. This year there was one seen at Levenhall,
which is very exciting. Maybe our re-location project is going to be a success
after all!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabJ81gRAsj4BNhUs2LWXGMNLeo9DXSU8dcfRz5XDx6fNbzSawkVQKhL6OrGlbBV4H5B39KQd2Iqb7GXVJ2YevoUyrtm74dboAkWFZ4Bc6d2ngKQGaPVLMGS3w6UEU_A6NhMkly5-ol584B1Z4N7D2IpNVTOzZ4rw6e3q-PU2wug-Jenz3CM1bUVK-XoP6/s800/P1260732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabJ81gRAsj4BNhUs2LWXGMNLeo9DXSU8dcfRz5XDx6fNbzSawkVQKhL6OrGlbBV4H5B39KQd2Iqb7GXVJ2YevoUyrtm74dboAkWFZ4Bc6d2ngKQGaPVLMGS3w6UEU_A6NhMkly5-ol584B1Z4N7D2IpNVTOzZ4rw6e3q-PU2wug-Jenz3CM1bUVK-XoP6/w640-h480/P1260732.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sadly,
there were no Brimstones seen in East Lothian in 2023, having had a few records
in 2021 and 2022. We normally rely on the odd migrant flying in and I suspect
that until we have more food plants available for them, they will not be able
to maintain a presence in East Lothian.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I
didn't receive any records of the Green Hairstreak in 2023. They are known to
occur in a few remote locations in East Lothian, so we rarely get records of
them. I saw some just over the border at Soutra, where they appeared to be
doing well, so hopefully they are doing as well in their colonies in East
Lothian.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Similarly,
the recently discovered Purple Hairstreak occurs in a few small colonies in
East Lothian. I didn't receive any records in 2023, but I am sure they would
still have been at their covert colonies in the eastern Lammermuirs <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPE-oW_5gddW3jucnpTpEw6OVvwWIEw_9Dllc-JaDe_eWete4YU91RRDwUa5HILILbMgHbb3yw-EYMqxrfNQotVbK72sOnQV9Exp80TRIyztVr_erCMbnexnEfFbbd2_GED3fTSqMdSskuEcWvnt5TbWCop1-llQGIU3wULQQNAqrL087b_vEq04SAGwN/s800/P1260763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPE-oW_5gddW3jucnpTpEw6OVvwWIEw_9Dllc-JaDe_eWete4YU91RRDwUa5HILILbMgHbb3yw-EYMqxrfNQotVbK72sOnQV9Exp80TRIyztVr_erCMbnexnEfFbbd2_GED3fTSqMdSskuEcWvnt5TbWCop1-llQGIU3wULQQNAqrL087b_vEq04SAGwN/w640-h480/P1260763.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><v:shape alt="P1250906 - Copy.JPG" id="Picture_x0020_13" o:spid="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 159pt; margin-left: 1.5pt; margin-top: -.3pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 212.6pt; z-index: -2;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-152 0 -152 21396 21641 21396 21641 0 -152 0">
<v:imagedata o:title="P1250906 - Copy" src="file:///C:\Users\Nick\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">
<w:wrap type="tight">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are 25 species
of butterflies known to breed in East Lothian, with two or three additional
species that are occasional visitors to the area. In 2023 I received 2244 ad
hoc records, totalling 7737 butterflies. These were in addition to the transects,
which recorded another 6025 butterflies. In addition to these, there are other
places that butterflies are recorded such as iRecord, iNaturalist and the Big
Butterfly Count. We are never going to get close to recording every single
butterfly that is in East Lothian, but I think we have a pretty consistent
recording method that gives us a good idea of what has been going on in East Lothian
over the last few years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gtsg6-JHwrUoEjMvsnfQ7Q1NzhmOkZH8e9XVoKq20wwp9_xaV8wGz2D2L2z2jqTlvgG_yVsLl-kThmg35SsTHwcLnKDVw5uhf3Mbr_7Em_qA-BlTl0ApxjRVPtQ3faPxU4PBmju9m5_Gd-lpQ-RY6ELbOm8H-w6Q6NuopqQg-NXraQIguSAAgN3Of9MX/s800/P1250777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3gtsg6-JHwrUoEjMvsnfQ7Q1NzhmOkZH8e9XVoKq20wwp9_xaV8wGz2D2L2z2jqTlvgG_yVsLl-kThmg35SsTHwcLnKDVw5uhf3Mbr_7Em_qA-BlTl0ApxjRVPtQ3faPxU4PBmju9m5_Gd-lpQ-RY6ELbOm8H-w6Q6NuopqQg-NXraQIguSAAgN3Of9MX/w640-h480/P1250777.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<v:shape alt="P1260402.JPG" id="Picture_x0020_14" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" style="height: 159pt; margin-left: 228.75pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 212.6pt; z-index: -1;" type="#_x0000_t75" wrapcoords="-152 0 -152 21396 21641 21396 21641 0 -152 0">
<v:imagedata o:title="P1260402" src="file:///C:\Users\Nick\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image006.jpg"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">
<w:wrap type="tight">
</w:wrap></span></v:imagedata></v:shape><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">I am very grateful to all
of the Countryside Rangers and volunteers who contributed records and I am always keen for anyone else to send me details of butterflies they see in East Lothian.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> All of the records I
receive are passed on to Butterfly Conservation.</span></span>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-40954876626322678972024-01-26T21:43:00.000+00:002024-01-26T21:43:28.163+00:00East Lothian Butterflies 2023 Part 1<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have been collating the butterfly records from East
Lothian for the last 11 years, so we now have good data to see how butterflies
have been doing over this period. Of course we only record a very small
fraction of the number of butterflies that occur in East Lothian, but it gives
a pretty good picture.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">2023 started off with a reasonably mild, but wet winter.
However, there were a few colder spells and the frosts persisted into April.
The year was punctuated with an unusually high number of easterly winds. There
wasn't really a lot of sunshine until mid May, when we had a warm, sunny spell,
but sadly that only lasted until half way through June! The remainder of the
year was rather showery, with continuing east winds. This was only broken by a
sunny week in early September and then back to cloud and rain! The first frost
around the 12th October saw a sudden drop in the number of butterflies.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9N2_SFrSXl3lqDNsvfM-iUuU8MmoN4POxDNoYPceNsUf6bWzjacrEd3WGIMT1Wz1vhdaThgrN-yz_U-v0v0AMqM-_z1gyMFnPJ2VvlJEqO-6dcrCh4ROwK9CNU8VP-l5Yd4QY0q8qjpfoDNPg6fhkEfAp-MajHmgY6J0X5cMl8qi8C9-0NOn1M5YqxTDn/s3024/P1250906%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="3024" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9N2_SFrSXl3lqDNsvfM-iUuU8MmoN4POxDNoYPceNsUf6bWzjacrEd3WGIMT1Wz1vhdaThgrN-yz_U-v0v0AMqM-_z1gyMFnPJ2VvlJEqO-6dcrCh4ROwK9CNU8VP-l5Yd4QY0q8qjpfoDNPg6fhkEfAp-MajHmgY6J0X5cMl8qi8C9-0NOn1M5YqxTDn/w640-h480/P1250906%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The weather can have an impact on the number of butterfly
records received. This isn't necessarily because the butterflies aren't out and
about when the weather is poor, but may be because recorders are less likely to
be out looking for them. It is often the weather from the previous year that
can have more of an impact, preventing the adults laying eggs, or heavy rain washing
small caterpillars off their food plants.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Some species had a really poor year in 2023, but others did
surprisingly well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The first record I received was of 3 Peacocks seen on the
17th March and several more were seen over the next few days. They had a pretty
good year, particularly later in the summer when the new generation appeared. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKKcjzNzDvKr-xMV5uzBiAM949vc4xXaVqhfaa90yA4n46mHAG_ZNMKvAVGqykHSOxUSQNLypvHGWAovKexYnnHtlrYmYuB_9pvvfglM5WKiDcdUA-v4jF0RYcgGNYo9mMMJQwktcJ409E9fw2bp9ZkuPO1b_VMb22SmYPWvc-IHgCOTOYjf2wcYdZpBz/s800/P1000424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKKcjzNzDvKr-xMV5uzBiAM949vc4xXaVqhfaa90yA4n46mHAG_ZNMKvAVGqykHSOxUSQNLypvHGWAovKexYnnHtlrYmYuB_9pvvfglM5WKiDcdUA-v4jF0RYcgGNYo9mMMJQwktcJ409E9fw2bp9ZkuPO1b_VMb22SmYPWvc-IHgCOTOYjf2wcYdZpBz/w640-h480/P1000424.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On 23rd March I received the first record of a Small
Tortoiseshell. Nationally there is much concern about the reducing number of
Small Tortoiseshells, yet here their numbers have been fluctuating, but not
really showing a decline. The number of records in 2023 was just a little lower
than the average of the previous ten years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88rJFNphGvn8uegHjem3yQuoze1qPFyHV8hBx5u8VF3CMlCQ0kfZZqvI89Wsi-oesO_63cx1yM90UQgqhUYaVvxggjtcYYxH34Vx-0_In1-0vFphz-Fi3nLW7OyRHqVriGsSkmo7YXKPl-kNhmsORZwKK0Vj0hi7I6F8GmP1xYSzdJDkcG78BHn5QD5Uf/s800/P1250768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88rJFNphGvn8uegHjem3yQuoze1qPFyHV8hBx5u8VF3CMlCQ0kfZZqvI89Wsi-oesO_63cx1yM90UQgqhUYaVvxggjtcYYxH34Vx-0_In1-0vFphz-Fi3nLW7OyRHqVriGsSkmo7YXKPl-kNhmsORZwKK0Vj0hi7I6F8GmP1xYSzdJDkcG78BHn5QD5Uf/w640-h480/P1250768.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The third species that overwinters as an adult is the Comma
and they had a particularly good year, being seen in high numbers later in the
season. The first one was spotted on the 2nd April. It is interesting that these
three species have similar life cycles, feeding on nettles as caterpillars and
hibernating as adults, yet they each had different success rates in 2023.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhYbGogTihFK_9mVTbjhEKgHiZbIpVhZG9JlcslTyF7AoxdTUNXCiEBHCLraudmGn9BQB8lrkb47lfPN0tpWVw1TGH7-qvpndNt4DxHx9ElDqNG8D0aZMBhHwmEEWsfotRgEt8ay8Mwg-GtF_UQNf-zv7FozQXqpWzs3GAkgWaYAA60sqSpm7BvjjqxOo/s800/P1000079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhYbGogTihFK_9mVTbjhEKgHiZbIpVhZG9JlcslTyF7AoxdTUNXCiEBHCLraudmGn9BQB8lrkb47lfPN0tpWVw1TGH7-qvpndNt4DxHx9ElDqNG8D0aZMBhHwmEEWsfotRgEt8ay8Mwg-GtF_UQNf-zv7FozQXqpWzs3GAkgWaYAA60sqSpm7BvjjqxOo/w640-h480/P1000079.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The next butterfly to be seen was a Holly Blue on the 3rd
April. This was the real success story of 2023, with them being spotted all
over the county in good numbers. It seems funny to think that prior to 2019
they were rarely recorded in East Lothian. I received records of 377 Holly
Blues last year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NGNI7D89fToNZOCAtb30Jcyp1JshRKeAA2EX-06Y9_C0xhRCCR40deKHdj5S0DP72fSLCKJuZRxz3oPeF7qDu3BWrayGm9sTMwMOFrwhv2tlEQiB0oCHN4EMrK0eCwG1zEw3CjKRQldNUQaqTHSYk0djcayV4ZezQSlv5rEl7Na9SR0HGNP_rSO0_0cz/s800/P1250963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NGNI7D89fToNZOCAtb30Jcyp1JshRKeAA2EX-06Y9_C0xhRCCR40deKHdj5S0DP72fSLCKJuZRxz3oPeF7qDu3BWrayGm9sTMwMOFrwhv2tlEQiB0oCHN4EMrK0eCwG1zEw3CjKRQldNUQaqTHSYk0djcayV4ZezQSlv5rEl7Na9SR0HGNP_rSO0_0cz/w640-h480/P1250963.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Next were the whites with Small White, Large White and
Orange Tips first being seen on the 3rd, 5th and 7th April. These three species
all had a good year<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with higher than
average numbers being recorded. However, the Green-veined White didn't make an
appearance until the 19th April and it had the worst year since I have been
collating the butterfly records. It is difficult to understand why it did so
poorly when the other white species did so well. My only suggestion is that I
usually associate Green-veined Whites with river banks and damper areas.
Possibly the dry springs that we have had the last two years haven't suited it.
Hopefully the numbers may bounce back in the future.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf6rCqR11WNQbQIVpadIqHkOHXZddeadiDxVGbaBDlUj7IQjn2WtXO-45KmVoo6u1bU_emi765Ii1n4abrt_cuIAIRvJXuBwj47tJWRuY8qvZzo3KcO0ncMPivfy0LtKDoF-Z5zqMtWwFCaqhQQq4sCGFk9V2NCtWo1DjcG6Y3OPYHO4sJdxuR6r6TpWI/s800/P1260042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYf6rCqR11WNQbQIVpadIqHkOHXZddeadiDxVGbaBDlUj7IQjn2WtXO-45KmVoo6u1bU_emi765Ii1n4abrt_cuIAIRvJXuBwj47tJWRuY8qvZzo3KcO0ncMPivfy0LtKDoF-Z5zqMtWwFCaqhQQq4sCGFk9V2NCtWo1DjcG6Y3OPYHO4sJdxuR6r6TpWI/w640-h480/P1260042.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The first Speckled Wood appeared on 7th April. They had a
fantastic year in 2023 and were seen in particularly high numbers in early September.
It is interesting to speculate why they did so well in a year when the weather wasn't
what we wouldn't normally think of as ideal for butterflies.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pi1B6dYOZdPXBr0JisEE6j79iJs-QBW5jxV1NG-PNFmeU2ZsWjHBrEx9AQNnSWlxsuVVbUO8YVXp2LOqzgQjAsbZ-sIN7rwAMQgD0WWoF3bX9CmQJbOov6eMyGcWwtlY49S9Fs-NnDSj9tsKghCIBOylNLPSWqiZbmJDHZPcKVGctoAl0vSKWV2xev8M/s800/P1250794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pi1B6dYOZdPXBr0JisEE6j79iJs-QBW5jxV1NG-PNFmeU2ZsWjHBrEx9AQNnSWlxsuVVbUO8YVXp2LOqzgQjAsbZ-sIN7rwAMQgD0WWoF3bX9CmQJbOov6eMyGcWwtlY49S9Fs-NnDSj9tsKghCIBOylNLPSWqiZbmJDHZPcKVGctoAl0vSKWV2xev8M/w640-h480/P1250794.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Wall Brown has slowly been increasing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in numbers over the last ten or twelve years
in East Lothian. However, the number of records peaked in 2021 and since they have
decreased again. Nationally there is concern about this species reducing in
range and numbers and it had been thought that Wall Browns were spreading north
in response to climate change. This year, we received the first record on 25th
April with the summer generation being much more numerous than the spring
generation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYD6CL9fx0BO67cC4mWX5NbjbuDWg9X5YgJswmQH5p8bM7Mil0l2AsY7VOhLybiWu10g13vnMcRK5w91E0qjN4JxfOZtJheV9oiUlfreCBSYceQM04TNINEVN5PHbQpaUpDhPCXdGm-KtOzMsITvG1T7FF6t6p_ZYIdm0fzPboF8CSzWSIKR56HlKU6sUN/s800/P1260014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYD6CL9fx0BO67cC4mWX5NbjbuDWg9X5YgJswmQH5p8bM7Mil0l2AsY7VOhLybiWu10g13vnMcRK5w91E0qjN4JxfOZtJheV9oiUlfreCBSYceQM04TNINEVN5PHbQpaUpDhPCXdGm-KtOzMsITvG1T7FF6t6p_ZYIdm0fzPboF8CSzWSIKR56HlKU6sUN/w640-h480/P1260014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Small Coppers are never really seen in big numbers. More
often than not a male will take up territory on a sunny leaf and fly up when
disturbed only to return to the same spot. The first record in 2023 was on 26th
April and it wasn't a particularly good year for them, which I can only imagine
was down to the weather. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXL6olSjjfp17nE_51HtjQhyerQyuGVcJBf1qSnMpjsa_Ns-ruiNUXt9Br8dSUu6RD1QfZjbHopxN2ymnR1mXHsDHC0k4wqXcnek6HR4owhQBlD806gYRK1acZzbpKAAgO98E7P9RqzgKAUjmykqgd_ONANaK232tBB0xOBEg9Ea9LAsCU_li-rkDZqDy/s800/P1250940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmXL6olSjjfp17nE_51HtjQhyerQyuGVcJBf1qSnMpjsa_Ns-ruiNUXt9Br8dSUu6RD1QfZjbHopxN2ymnR1mXHsDHC0k4wqXcnek6HR4owhQBlD806gYRK1acZzbpKAAgO98E7P9RqzgKAUjmykqgd_ONANaK232tBB0xOBEg9Ea9LAsCU_li-rkDZqDy/w640-h480/P1250940.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Although Red Admirals appear to be able to survive our
winters as eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises or adults, the vast majority of
those we see in the early summer have flown up here from continental Europe.
However, there are a few early records, which are likely individuals that have
found somewhere sheltered to over-winter. Our first record last year was on the
4th May, so it is difficult to be sure where this individual spent the winter! 2023
proved to be a bumper year for Red Admirals with 1421 individuals being
recorded. The highest figure since I started collating the records. There were
an enormous number of records in the third week of June, pointing to a mass
arrival from overseas.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEofl6YFg1CiFAxw9_EVGY7lJA78ctRmh3uDW4I7UxMQeh_3quatcsbdf9ZU4LG7-W7VDeGBQgUJHUxZezSvKzTzRNLcAxAwbh6N99UT_rYmJD7RxCP8Wd81OOiRFtKZgLi86yM3TZ_1orpnnUKeTNTZS_gHWgyVj8LnauqTyIiw5doIOmrJkXeolUmdn/s800/P1260919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPEofl6YFg1CiFAxw9_EVGY7lJA78ctRmh3uDW4I7UxMQeh_3quatcsbdf9ZU4LG7-W7VDeGBQgUJHUxZezSvKzTzRNLcAxAwbh6N99UT_rYmJD7RxCP8Wd81OOiRFtKZgLi86yM3TZ_1orpnnUKeTNTZS_gHWgyVj8LnauqTyIiw5doIOmrJkXeolUmdn/w640-h480/P1260919.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I will continue this on the next post.<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-24112654371421567372023-11-30T22:11:00.001+00:002023-11-30T22:11:13.367+00:00Late Commas<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Just to update my previous <a href="http://nickmorgan-butterflypictures.blogspot.com/2023/10/comma-polygonia-c-album.html"><b>post.</b></a> The Comma chrysalis that I found on the outside of my study window emerged on the 11th October. It had been lovely and sunny, but only 10 degrees Celsius and by the time it had fully unfurled its wings and dried out the sun was no longer shining on it. Eventually, it turned head down and settled down for the night roosting on its chrysalis.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEB5nX7_xcmmqHy96jTvGl5_CtDMRy8xa2ljEpCQXKaNzdoRDsOp5DbC6pWmxSB04tquwQxLifjVWrZw1b727UsGwxV3pkOqpJBXRhKB12yS1s3O10IOKQdLexuFfHng2rzo1EeOO_Pa8YTTim5aeIckQoB6XH8P1wfstBXxiAuT3fvfAInYlNqAsIVCKT/s800/20231002_171341%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEB5nX7_xcmmqHy96jTvGl5_CtDMRy8xa2ljEpCQXKaNzdoRDsOp5DbC6pWmxSB04tquwQxLifjVWrZw1b727UsGwxV3pkOqpJBXRhKB12yS1s3O10IOKQdLexuFfHng2rzo1EeOO_Pa8YTTim5aeIckQoB6XH8P1wfstBXxiAuT3fvfAInYlNqAsIVCKT/w640-h480/20231002_171341%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">That night the temperature dipped to 1 degree Celsius and we had our first frost of the year, but luckily it was sunny again the next day. The sun was low in the sky and it took until 10.30 before the sun reached the Comma. However, at 10.50 it had warmed up sufficiently to fly away. The temperature was 6.8 degrees in the shade.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2o1Sk4IdadAPDcBwWh-IwUJe4K-6YjZBX9GUVkXGzshfqaRsxi0USbOlnlF4rpMlqFhB8wMY8-mxMLqBZKBsBac04D3wHgFn_wXE-b6qcgAwUMLbQLOvAV3zjYLRtID3iMlT604RkAQA9MER3IkSGh-59WyUlt9F_QLkTzkCseyFC1WZRrc661d9d4LOv/s800/20231011_104333%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2o1Sk4IdadAPDcBwWh-IwUJe4K-6YjZBX9GUVkXGzshfqaRsxi0USbOlnlF4rpMlqFhB8wMY8-mxMLqBZKBsBac04D3wHgFn_wXE-b6qcgAwUMLbQLOvAV3zjYLRtID3iMlT604RkAQA9MER3IkSGh-59WyUlt9F_QLkTzkCseyFC1WZRrc661d9d4LOv/w640-h480/20231011_104333%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">On the 6th October I found a fully-grown Comma caterpillar on a nettle in the old hen run. This was exceptionally late in the season, as most of the books say that the chrysalises should all have emerged by the end of September.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE40AUVlDe6PWK51_jz-rbEZA9D1AYkTV03YD5ROYAXc9e_ikvOBLh3-uWw9FMg2WkZ0dEz1hQMQjePx34Ho9XCoFo16uA2yAOtmpyPSJ_sg1lqezAW7natYGzDNCRERDVJSo9RoioiSQBVdwueMYY5OsBFqEeSRifEkRaImJLGH9psD5JnUT6AT4qg_C/s801/20231002_171209%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE40AUVlDe6PWK51_jz-rbEZA9D1AYkTV03YD5ROYAXc9e_ikvOBLh3-uWw9FMg2WkZ0dEz1hQMQjePx34Ho9XCoFo16uA2yAOtmpyPSJ_sg1lqezAW7natYGzDNCRERDVJSo9RoioiSQBVdwueMYY5OsBFqEeSRifEkRaImJLGH9psD5JnUT6AT4qg_C/w480-h640/20231002_171209%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I picked the nettle it was on and put it in a mesh cage I have under an overhang of the roof. Two days later it was handing from the nettle in a J-shape and on the 10th October it formed a chrysalis. I was intrigued to see if it would emerge a few weeks later if we had mild weather, or if it would survive as a chrysalis until the spring.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwr-w3CNDo6_fUY_h4Oa1ZAHay4E72x8Uv3ncuxodi3bo9N1krc-R_JJyQWRw9k8jS-qQYmUgseVo9xFQOyeEMvpFix8-35ziqK3T0M-L7e-Dnm4bjsIvDBjx93BWzzfMXrjdnP5a8iMyTUQatFd089jO-Eym9MIb_7ww27rKyCjf9iMT4hzbr8pv_npgs/s801/20231009_091101%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwr-w3CNDo6_fUY_h4Oa1ZAHay4E72x8Uv3ncuxodi3bo9N1krc-R_JJyQWRw9k8jS-qQYmUgseVo9xFQOyeEMvpFix8-35ziqK3T0M-L7e-Dnm4bjsIvDBjx93BWzzfMXrjdnP5a8iMyTUQatFd089jO-Eym9MIb_7ww27rKyCjf9iMT4hzbr8pv_npgs/w480-h640/20231009_091101%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Unfortunately, yesterday morning I spotted that it had emerged, but hadn't managed to fully pump up its wings and had perished. It must have emerged on the 26th November, as I had checked that morning and it was still a chrysalis. Over the weekend the maximum temperature had been 6 degrees and it had gone down to -2 at night.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQexVKmoxpCa3HLVnbqR5pIduoClO11LkYZPvNCQho2wVTMYpODk0VPhYqcOviYJp44XO4f3hzZlMldsViCSVyAsxp4j5-cOIiHGw8354vZSS-guKn1-wVHyCgen5dZXa9DYr7fvxmAGKumKAAnPOQue9mV-mcFJw4LY_JhmPNkigVxOp8PsRqfz96ptPc/s800/20230821_095344%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQexVKmoxpCa3HLVnbqR5pIduoClO11LkYZPvNCQho2wVTMYpODk0VPhYqcOviYJp44XO4f3hzZlMldsViCSVyAsxp4j5-cOIiHGw8354vZSS-guKn1-wVHyCgen5dZXa9DYr7fvxmAGKumKAAnPOQue9mV-mcFJw4LY_JhmPNkigVxOp8PsRqfz96ptPc/w480-h640/20230821_095344%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It was sad that it hadn't made it, but interesting nonetheless. As is so often the case, I am left asking many questions. Is it normal for Commas to continue laying eggs so late in the season? Possibly I have just never noticed them before. Or is this a sign of climate change impacting on their behaviour?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All of these pictures were taken with my phone as I was having camera problems at the time!
</span></div></div>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-36268623510235608342023-10-08T12:04:00.001+01:002023-11-29T21:00:03.539+00:00Comma, Polygonia c-album<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The number of Commas I have seen here has been increasing
year on year. This year I haven't seen quite as many as I did last year, but it
seems there may be more to come!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tOJCgoSr_BSdNNN6fCpr9rzI2TjPsq1a1XL1HLgUb2n3Bwh-Ti85ezYcjHG7D963hWwL0wkax7YSXbzgiPBF1kFx8jg2UfHgVD9QKQ3NRyvLMvG_1nWvqAAyxGO6qehgPNRTHLLpV4bg4w5Rh19oExmIbcmA8EDfQLhoBKG5LMmLDveMvUBAp-JkjIK4/s800/0%20P1000297.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tOJCgoSr_BSdNNN6fCpr9rzI2TjPsq1a1XL1HLgUb2n3Bwh-Ti85ezYcjHG7D963hWwL0wkax7YSXbzgiPBF1kFx8jg2UfHgVD9QKQ3NRyvLMvG_1nWvqAAyxGO6qehgPNRTHLLpV4bg4w5Rh19oExmIbcmA8EDfQLhoBKG5LMmLDveMvUBAp-JkjIK4/w640-h480/0%20P1000297.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On 21 July I was distracted again, when I was working in my
study, by a Comma butterfly flitting about on the nettles outside my window. I
realised it was laying eggs, so made a mental note of where I had seen it and
at lunchtime I checked out a particular nettle stem. There I found an egg in
the centre of the underside of a leaf.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jvbkqml6cSq4kuN7d1VpBso3hAdOOeHWiTfZXgTGrpx7CKUDRSSLUUU9c-VnqS_zYN28ziOcd_ioo_7Ti9pGEF1ULRk8rGuCe3IYDu9JGMawTh5A7RyaxDGWhyphenhyphenASeRcMBk7uJwUJaeKGX6Kc0JWpKpTmHbNt9K4aUXxPXgCu1gsDtwP_VFiSt9KoQH-5/s800/1%20IMG_1756%20-%20Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9jvbkqml6cSq4kuN7d1VpBso3hAdOOeHWiTfZXgTGrpx7CKUDRSSLUUU9c-VnqS_zYN28ziOcd_ioo_7Ti9pGEF1ULRk8rGuCe3IYDu9JGMawTh5A7RyaxDGWhyphenhyphenASeRcMBk7uJwUJaeKGX6Kc0JWpKpTmHbNt9K4aUXxPXgCu1gsDtwP_VFiSt9KoQH-5/w640-h480/1%20IMG_1756%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I picked the stem and kept it in a jar of water next to my
desk to watch it develop. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the 28th July I noticed it had hatched and there was a little black caterpillar, about 2mm long.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkU7aO_a9fThkjur8QuD5dsQSn2-pBk2qalkGS0IhdoY5dSFEtL9YSp0odAEvcv81NcDYKlPhZwYwJHaATlGXMpPNR1QYoOwvo51So-aC-AIWzVqR-pH4xnMSp2qEZAQbyavqjbJ2fvNvI_0gHhbBYW8Jsf9gVBF5AHE0YpD8JtJd_LlR5Aftqb8lvXkTh/s800/2%2020230728_173125.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkU7aO_a9fThkjur8QuD5dsQSn2-pBk2qalkGS0IhdoY5dSFEtL9YSp0odAEvcv81NcDYKlPhZwYwJHaATlGXMpPNR1QYoOwvo51So-aC-AIWzVqR-pH4xnMSp2qEZAQbyavqjbJ2fvNvI_0gHhbBYW8Jsf9gVBF5AHE0YpD8JtJd_LlR5Aftqb8lvXkTh/w640-h480/2%2020230728_173125.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The caterpillar tended to be quite inactive and remain on
its leaf, only moving once the leaf had more or less been completely eaten. I
was hoping to be able to determine which instar it was as it grew, but I became
completely confused! So, below are some pictures as it developed. In this one
it is two days old.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVDDFoyBDKI211UDUjhmZFI6s8g0socCmcxbaTzRI5iBpQoeXd8Hzil4x9VSThmiK4bpBMhbPqOcdq8ldLsnyykWrZZKyHNnhIf8nGKJpg8N3MdWWMt6WdL5ks6pURqVx4ahcaloQckHXm77GJOdo-Pa6gDKqGKhyphenhyphen58ypVbzuSrm6OpBzC9tEegBjvrkQ/s800/3%20IMG_1764.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsVDDFoyBDKI211UDUjhmZFI6s8g0socCmcxbaTzRI5iBpQoeXd8Hzil4x9VSThmiK4bpBMhbPqOcdq8ldLsnyykWrZZKyHNnhIf8nGKJpg8N3MdWWMt6WdL5ks6pURqVx4ahcaloQckHXm77GJOdo-Pa6gDKqGKhyphenhyphen58ypVbzuSrm6OpBzC9tEegBjvrkQ/w640-h480/3%20IMG_1764.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here it is 12 days old.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Krs7XDR2koD5LiVQvfqVn4TPcqSD_OfGWO74JSdqvuWQMVeFwsC1Pf3u6NMnf05mSMxCL_ChI1iUE6sfsuFIuNp-g_YpPsJOQudfbmMBLc8zDF987hWgQBRR4484jS3wby4Saiotm5Vh9S1k-9ykRDQFdpAqJCT8h5v6QMhsu0NiA-Tc8O9F7okKdbP-/s800/4%20IMG_1789%2012.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Krs7XDR2koD5LiVQvfqVn4TPcqSD_OfGWO74JSdqvuWQMVeFwsC1Pf3u6NMnf05mSMxCL_ChI1iUE6sfsuFIuNp-g_YpPsJOQudfbmMBLc8zDF987hWgQBRR4484jS3wby4Saiotm5Vh9S1k-9ykRDQFdpAqJCT8h5v6QMhsu0NiA-Tc8O9F7okKdbP-/w640-h480/4%20IMG_1789%2012.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And here it is at 20 days old. Every time I moved the nettle
in order to photograph the caterpillar it would contort.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSM67V2s9XX5rcb0jEh80WjXTgQXTqaPL9wWH8nsIZZju90-EYKqykn9ig5c04qhiqBiPFhwF6598dvUknkx-Htaa5PIpAF3NRnMW1MtU33S-UVl9CGLP3-Hy2TwlRZ8wdIyUx_ckKke4_noSVvBO4xBHOzMYyMeemePL5q6CBED5GtZH1Ide4RAwd265d/s800/5%2020230817%2020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSM67V2s9XX5rcb0jEh80WjXTgQXTqaPL9wWH8nsIZZju90-EYKqykn9ig5c04qhiqBiPFhwF6598dvUknkx-Htaa5PIpAF3NRnMW1MtU33S-UVl9CGLP3-Hy2TwlRZ8wdIyUx_ckKke4_noSVvBO4xBHOzMYyMeemePL5q6CBED5GtZH1Ide4RAwd265d/w640-h480/5%2020230817%2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And here it is at 21 days old.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrOqEvyLGe8FCAyZi4_T2NwXJu94LvLjDuKbPBBe_r4DAKBofN3dT0WBZMaQkl_jLs7OFpeWn2EBaMosogCwki4i-OqwM078eGmwvlgV_LF09-MLvivcNcMVuJEZA1DbdvHWHJrNcu0JN8bmxKeupaIVyrdhj1-r9Hu0ZEVm-3iwTY-EulsUpAGz-kWkF/s800/6%2020230818%2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrOqEvyLGe8FCAyZi4_T2NwXJu94LvLjDuKbPBBe_r4DAKBofN3dT0WBZMaQkl_jLs7OFpeWn2EBaMosogCwki4i-OqwM078eGmwvlgV_LF09-MLvivcNcMVuJEZA1DbdvHWHJrNcu0JN8bmxKeupaIVyrdhj1-r9Hu0ZEVm-3iwTY-EulsUpAGz-kWkF/w640-h480/6%2020230818%2021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When it was 29 days old it spun a silk pad on a leaf stem
and hung straight down from it. Of course it curled up as soon as I tried to
take a picture! It remained like this for a day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaf7JATRH1wR9T5cvQ9SXsBMtYefBSHW2-NR7apB3a4XbGxE2mvyvR8wLH7PTK_fUTvLZv7ysRVFuI_XGta_cjDQ1HqAdVo1Bj8p5bNCVWrkNds8ga9eui-2LSh6d7prlhAdJRNhzVAzL5lJWs_PmzdNtKRq5p4IbQpXsxsZDVHqw5giIA5Ogy-62aghB/s800/7%20IMG_1829%2029.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTaf7JATRH1wR9T5cvQ9SXsBMtYefBSHW2-NR7apB3a4XbGxE2mvyvR8wLH7PTK_fUTvLZv7ysRVFuI_XGta_cjDQ1HqAdVo1Bj8p5bNCVWrkNds8ga9eui-2LSh6d7prlhAdJRNhzVAzL5lJWs_PmzdNtKRq5p4IbQpXsxsZDVHqw5giIA5Ogy-62aghB/w640-h480/7%20IMG_1829%2029.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the 21st August it formed a lovely chrysalis, mostly dark
brown with two golden spots.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyj_lbv3GYdr3V2L9idgAqmGgtOsUugSI_cxhPk0u6F3Sh_OR847V9mQA8A8-WBacJPHZxBe73ibVo-EpluK0Z9E_zpo2kH89jt1V83_MCotw-i7YUki9ho_blAbpaBUio3CjDOgOzCJW6ire8UAgsjNzLM9lN7bcNlOhUHAJ8PKYVkYFaiO1vyTVJ4yk/s800/8%2020230822.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyj_lbv3GYdr3V2L9idgAqmGgtOsUugSI_cxhPk0u6F3Sh_OR847V9mQA8A8-WBacJPHZxBe73ibVo-EpluK0Z9E_zpo2kH89jt1V83_MCotw-i7YUki9ho_blAbpaBUio3CjDOgOzCJW6ire8UAgsjNzLM9lN7bcNlOhUHAJ8PKYVkYFaiO1vyTVJ4yk/w640-h480/8%2020230822.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Two weeks later on 4th September I noticed that the segments
on the abdomen area of the chrysalis had started to stretch apart, so I thought
the butterfly would soon emerge.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibc_QFTTvn5niCa6h7uahhXXsM_yQtzOE_hSXQZBJyDiI15RsWFzmbkdFNsq7URPdYZR3eOmvefb71RbIFOKRkIHRX6jSeBmtMMJOi2D8O_cOlTqPeOnWE9WRKmADh4HqWMvoKlUqeAN6bd-lnwL46XaZN-M8qax-fwNLb6Vt9PS7iLUgUGyNmLeX6YAVI/s799/9%2020230904_085853.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibc_QFTTvn5niCa6h7uahhXXsM_yQtzOE_hSXQZBJyDiI15RsWFzmbkdFNsq7URPdYZR3eOmvefb71RbIFOKRkIHRX6jSeBmtMMJOi2D8O_cOlTqPeOnWE9WRKmADh4HqWMvoKlUqeAN6bd-lnwL46XaZN-M8qax-fwNLb6Vt9PS7iLUgUGyNmLeX6YAVI/w300-h400/9%2020230904_085853.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I didn't expect it to emerge so soon, though. Half an hour
later when I looked, there was a butterfly hanging there!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGIzx0R6SKu2kijXbUYFOC0FMdcH1uElUDcY_3a_AWTHz0px3OTBs8MGNJe_LIBQ55h3VnP8NYWI5Gv_XGCe28XEoGqDDIBpFwatV9A_McR5j4dbC0h4zQOzoTdp2eQzQOq1t4eqiPol2EVhP5Mx-1cyDExQ2Otkj5UgMvblcO2QeU6pwB0-NNkYfZ3O9/s801/10%2020230904_100327.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGIzx0R6SKu2kijXbUYFOC0FMdcH1uElUDcY_3a_AWTHz0px3OTBs8MGNJe_LIBQ55h3VnP8NYWI5Gv_XGCe28XEoGqDDIBpFwatV9A_McR5j4dbC0h4zQOzoTdp2eQzQOq1t4eqiPol2EVhP5Mx-1cyDExQ2Otkj5UgMvblcO2QeU6pwB0-NNkYfZ3O9/w300-h400/10%2020230904_100327.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I took the stick that it was now on outside into the sun.
The butterfly remained on the stick for a couple of hours, then flew off onto a
fence post, where it remained until about 4pm before it flew off.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdBg_qqh2pSy9f0gYyn9_MblKL1yrmfxRdA3JAUBFQnGkpuh4-E5bIQ8pcS2CwlQthBENNZpIpWpfXfA0TMT0kR78_y9vXjEsSRCHSaFhMgwnxXslYSsIRfSmTEsGyhyDlFKGoeTx7F9T0H0zB0R-18DQTehXnc80aQvnBROQxXosny4EkCrwSvtjqtRk/s800/11%20P1000466.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdBg_qqh2pSy9f0gYyn9_MblKL1yrmfxRdA3JAUBFQnGkpuh4-E5bIQ8pcS2CwlQthBENNZpIpWpfXfA0TMT0kR78_y9vXjEsSRCHSaFhMgwnxXslYSsIRfSmTEsGyhyDlFKGoeTx7F9T0H0zB0R-18DQTehXnc80aQvnBROQxXosny4EkCrwSvtjqtRk/w640-h480/11%20P1000466.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the 13th of September I noticed another Comma
had formed a chrysalis on the outside of my study window. As I write this, on
the 7th October, it is still there. Yesterday I found a Comma caterpillar on a
nettle, close to where I found the egg in July. It looks as though it is fully
grown and about to pupate, but it seems really late in the season. It will be
interesting to see when these two emerge and if there will be any more Commas
flying this year.</span></span><div><span style="line-height: 115%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FTZHZ59X3oIrf-Hd2Y2xkwwKjkhzBzeU6ZJ4qnpX98gXPaHKoHICUY9bmNNaBkwgD_Qo1uNDYNomajTQm-EIdEHxFm0983x0EpwstefZ4DV1KodsHgFpZpbnbYxHj3K9dfXMuJjNrSmnHt_-MoWz4QidAkUMv7SmOLUJ9UKFgfB3OV2za2iykB5K-PG2/s800/12%20P1000467.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FTZHZ59X3oIrf-Hd2Y2xkwwKjkhzBzeU6ZJ4qnpX98gXPaHKoHICUY9bmNNaBkwgD_Qo1uNDYNomajTQm-EIdEHxFm0983x0EpwstefZ4DV1KodsHgFpZpbnbYxHj3K9dfXMuJjNrSmnHt_-MoWz4QidAkUMv7SmOLUJ9UKFgfB3OV2za2iykB5K-PG2/w640-h480/12%20P1000467.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-50875796907275460732023-09-16T14:30:00.000+01:002023-09-16T14:30:30.872+01:00Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I am lucky enough to have a large floor-to-ceiling window in
my study, which overlooks a weedy area of our woodland. I am often distracted
from my work by a butterfly fluttering past and on quite a few occasions I have
seen butterflies laying eggs there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the 1st July I spied a Red Admiral flitting about from
nettle to nettle. I made a mental note of one nettle where it had landed and
sure enough, when I looked later there was an egg. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EwOlU9c6FwRYOqB37Viok0NHwO6zRHH3fR_tscb8-P7RprVjE83UiDu5yRvdt6uWJz6SAJcC1Z-xr_hKH-Z1tVamVgu_7I1d3mr5tfvZVOrjykBS1Yv6xrf3Oad3S7IQwRDDtRd1Df8ofkSd41rWljBoQvtinj5wMcWwN8HFKgaSIu2Zyu0HxQa98Tj8/s800/IMG_1715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_EwOlU9c6FwRYOqB37Viok0NHwO6zRHH3fR_tscb8-P7RprVjE83UiDu5yRvdt6uWJz6SAJcC1Z-xr_hKH-Z1tVamVgu_7I1d3mr5tfvZVOrjykBS1Yv6xrf3Oad3S7IQwRDDtRd1Df8ofkSd41rWljBoQvtinj5wMcWwN8HFKgaSIu2Zyu0HxQa98Tj8/w640-h480/IMG_1715.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I picked the nettle and popped it in a jar of water. The
hole in the lid was only just large enough for the stem to fit through, so that
the caterpillar can't fall in! On the 9th July the egg hatched, producing a
little black caterpillar. It hung around on the small leaf the egg was laid on
for a few days, but the leaf started to dry up, so I cut the leaf and put it
onto a fresh nettle.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAkF7TYHTVQd5N0b6deyvf04_kzc0PoBbdeDdA3JisHU_P8Tar3TdDvnsHWtyuhQiQtWrisWE0nrm48fleu-mR3wn6c8ukp8Vn8hXBg_4KT9bm4hJpvgbeIa-7nkk_w9m4_In2Vcpqs3evC-ItYSavSTQXovwWNO_8UbUZ68_jgJcUZ5lmWkFncHimobQw/s800/IMG_1755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAkF7TYHTVQd5N0b6deyvf04_kzc0PoBbdeDdA3JisHU_P8Tar3TdDvnsHWtyuhQiQtWrisWE0nrm48fleu-mR3wn6c8ukp8Vn8hXBg_4KT9bm4hJpvgbeIa-7nkk_w9m4_In2Vcpqs3evC-ItYSavSTQXovwWNO_8UbUZ68_jgJcUZ5lmWkFncHimobQw/w640-h480/IMG_1755.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The caterpillar immediately climbed onto the fresh leaf and
tried to stitch the edges of the leaf together. This was rather ambitious for
such a small caterpillar. As it grew bigger it did manage to stitch the edges
of the leaf together to form a tent. The caterpillar would spend all day inside
its tent, only coming out at night to eat or construct a new tent. It was rare
to see the caterpillar in the daylight during this time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zqEUnChu25XDQKGpA93FUmrhLUzAbPf0cqIh5-pusOJWZw9rw2TG-Q2Fb290u8Kym_8y_GC8ZfK_gCIo0VPTLVYQU-2nledwVs21cslxJ0LOvf5AEFPTHAI6qFzxGULTsKVnj5Ib5xrKSPq_Ng4neyhS03nYmDmYIJAQL2fHZs2Tlf6hFaFIN1l4WhS4/s800/20230804_152305%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zqEUnChu25XDQKGpA93FUmrhLUzAbPf0cqIh5-pusOJWZw9rw2TG-Q2Fb290u8Kym_8y_GC8ZfK_gCIo0VPTLVYQU-2nledwVs21cslxJ0LOvf5AEFPTHAI6qFzxGULTsKVnj5Ib5xrKSPq_Ng4neyhS03nYmDmYIJAQL2fHZs2Tlf6hFaFIN1l4WhS4/w640-h480/20230804_152305%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By early August it had reached a good size and after a
period of frenzied eating I noticed that the caterpillar was hanging upside
down inside its tent. On the 7th August I saw that it had formed a chrysalis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4SqL1TAlx1CboRQYphhWfbuYRM8SjrOiTOTdamwPaLoNWBjBDO2332_IJS2WE3uwd2FHiB_6Pq0kG03hS_stNUPFuAR1uCHuYwwoZh4rMBFq3puRfyC4zXY7rm7Sgcm3z0dPs5pUBeYMtjfLHot0JhvaZMD4VQP7Iw92BErrx59VvVMjp0F59ed9tsNv/s800/IMG_1808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge4SqL1TAlx1CboRQYphhWfbuYRM8SjrOiTOTdamwPaLoNWBjBDO2332_IJS2WE3uwd2FHiB_6Pq0kG03hS_stNUPFuAR1uCHuYwwoZh4rMBFq3puRfyC4zXY7rm7Sgcm3z0dPs5pUBeYMtjfLHot0JhvaZMD4VQP7Iw92BErrx59VvVMjp0F59ed9tsNv/w640-h480/IMG_1808.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The chrysalises have amazing metallic green marks on them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xQelh2QmEtYPXiNdmFGdJb1qPrOkcGjfoIwu32g-y4uGdh8VKcVwvO49sdDFPr48OCYGKPHROGKQBvKnqB_ldarUY9yqkrOmrMJ52M65VnKqsoLF7gmsZirrc4Iy2WH_vPIaVCrwI_IxMPcRcTQiYcFGGZwuA9xuX9QX8Z3FgRzRecrs_fZL4JmMyCH-/s800/20230820_131607%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xQelh2QmEtYPXiNdmFGdJb1qPrOkcGjfoIwu32g-y4uGdh8VKcVwvO49sdDFPr48OCYGKPHROGKQBvKnqB_ldarUY9yqkrOmrMJ52M65VnKqsoLF7gmsZirrc4Iy2WH_vPIaVCrwI_IxMPcRcTQiYcFGGZwuA9xuX9QX8Z3FgRzRecrs_fZL4JmMyCH-/w640-h480/20230820_131607%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On 21st August, I noticed that the chrysalis had darkened
slightly, and I thought that the butterfly would be emerging in a couple of
days. However, about an hour later I looked round to see a butterfly hanging
from the leaf! </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirVdKjGSARkRy3pwzAC2D0MJtdHNxTLhx21Uv2dH-2iuw29-caFrVUMsPbYt5WU4RoPYOyobo9wsZLvwShMkBUbwa9aZYHgPKlMRMatKUQ5ri3fteknILWi-I7s9NcMjI1ObY6JzTzuZxYKLZpA07MJSRmpyuxQvyq9xG2KpAAOKZHAgQvR8FGnQC1dUuH/s800/20230821_095454%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="593" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirVdKjGSARkRy3pwzAC2D0MJtdHNxTLhx21Uv2dH-2iuw29-caFrVUMsPbYt5WU4RoPYOyobo9wsZLvwShMkBUbwa9aZYHgPKlMRMatKUQ5ri3fteknILWi-I7s9NcMjI1ObY6JzTzuZxYKLZpA07MJSRmpyuxQvyq9xG2KpAAOKZHAgQvR8FGnQC1dUuH/w474-h640/20230821_095454%20(2).jpg" width="474" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It wasn't a particularly sunny day, but after a few hours
the butterfly flew off to a nearby bush, to join the other Red Admirals feeding
there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So, this Red Admiral had been an egg for 9 days, a
caterpillar for 29 days and a chrysalis for 14 days. I found another, much
lighter, caterpillar in the nettles , which I put into a mesh cage on a nettle
stem. A few days later it formed a chrysalis, but this one remained in that
state for 21 days. It is interesting how much longer it took to emerge.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIUgeUBgm_pKSEf8aDOo5UwxwrWZxLsQRh9EOYK3FDj7ZLGF-ejx7u4_sBS7lt_cAdRP1OIRmQPw6oQ36Yycrl5OgfTeHKfyooGOxhAnEqqonO8WowK2QJcT93kcYFd5heLhSmrecJkIA-wESq-dDz7qWZEoAOKjOng1O9m8otLc90ZUCvwg2siCM0rDP/s800/P1000371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPIUgeUBgm_pKSEf8aDOo5UwxwrWZxLsQRh9EOYK3FDj7ZLGF-ejx7u4_sBS7lt_cAdRP1OIRmQPw6oQ36Yycrl5OgfTeHKfyooGOxhAnEqqonO8WowK2QJcT93kcYFd5heLhSmrecJkIA-wESq-dDz7qWZEoAOKjOng1O9m8otLc90ZUCvwg2siCM0rDP/w640-h480/P1000371.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As I write this in the middle of September, there are still
caterpillars and chrysalises on the nettles outside my window. The number of butterflies has dropped over
recent weeks, but Red Admirals have been really abundant. Last week I counted
67 of them on my Buddleias and I noticed a few days ago they are also feeding
on Yew berries.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKerPmVlzxVGOBHGO7-Cs0M19_7UOSNTqzk-y075u57MM3dbB5N1GqafzYNn_5rn4pT2EppHgJNNkiulqQNyjyHtNbgn1HRZLH8FkxvrchVaHh-80u6U8uwvCKfJRwNrICW-7bbXIT7qMpZGZmFeT7MiLRfsTykvn4f0oTNc1ABqrLBXqaE2uAAe6KXxi/s800/P1000522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBKerPmVlzxVGOBHGO7-Cs0M19_7UOSNTqzk-y075u57MM3dbB5N1GqafzYNn_5rn4pT2EppHgJNNkiulqQNyjyHtNbgn1HRZLH8FkxvrchVaHh-80u6U8uwvCKfJRwNrICW-7bbXIT7qMpZGZmFeT7MiLRfsTykvn4f0oTNc1ABqrLBXqaE2uAAe6KXxi/w640-h480/P1000522.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Red Admirals are usually the last butterflies I
see each year, with them sticking around until the end of October. I presume
they then fly south, but it always intrigues me that they stay here long after
the first frosts.</span></span>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-48126070201294134942023-08-27T20:36:00.001+01:002023-10-25T20:30:38.239+01:00Holly Blues, Celastrina argiolus, in East Lothian<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have mentioned the Holly Blue in many of my annual
round-ups, but think it deserves a post of its own!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Since I started collating the butterfly records for East
Lothian in 2007 there has been the odd record each year of a Holly Blue. When I
was working as a Countryside Ranger in the late ‘90s there was an established
colony of Holly Blues on the western boundary of East Lothian at Newhailes and
Brunstane. They were more or less unheard of anywhere else in Scotland at the
time and there was a bit of suspicion about how they had arrived there.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrWFdEE7eslPhrefTtxZBdkL04OxTe-K1hyaOXENCSsJw-7VqolI21vaVw07W9-coP9_OwtGBufqSqbPLYyo5EKL14fbhDOVEij4ft2kl4P78YeN7irpetJtNg_VrnqNjn18pHl9T2ao9AQ8Pah_Az8FQ0dXb7mpY-UX2XoC-1aw3OjzWrhCtwi5Sem4q/s800/P1250815.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrWFdEE7eslPhrefTtxZBdkL04OxTe-K1hyaOXENCSsJw-7VqolI21vaVw07W9-coP9_OwtGBufqSqbPLYyo5EKL14fbhDOVEij4ft2kl4P78YeN7irpetJtNg_VrnqNjn18pHl9T2ao9AQ8Pah_Az8FQ0dXb7mpY-UX2XoC-1aw3OjzWrhCtwi5Sem4q/w640-h480/P1250815.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Despite the knowledge that they were regularly seen in the
Newhailes/Brunstane area there are surprisingly few records for Holly Blues in
that area.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Over the next few years I received records of one or two
Holly Blues each year. These were mostly from coastal towns in the north of the
county. In the spring of 2011 there was great excitement when I spotted three
Holly Blues on a Holly bush in Aberlady. Unfortunately, there were no records
of a second generation that summer, or any subsequent records from that site.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbwYRhuvQ3Bm2QeNgOAfBxZ5eNLDB-Fc4DZH_3XimYGWva-Rldto54S0KVWPsVh4ZaTQdPeyCfur2SbkhiFwj-gQLcG0nQaF50F7Bfmdfb2XXLPWHzNHtFCmaEo2-FY7aqih4SL2T6g35jFnWZvKBm1t0nMMpSF5Gxgn88T07XObIxZyRmZ9trEdGNulW/s800/P1250957.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbwYRhuvQ3Bm2QeNgOAfBxZ5eNLDB-Fc4DZH_3XimYGWva-Rldto54S0KVWPsVh4ZaTQdPeyCfur2SbkhiFwj-gQLcG0nQaF50F7Bfmdfb2XXLPWHzNHtFCmaEo2-FY7aqih4SL2T6g35jFnWZvKBm1t0nMMpSF5Gxgn88T07XObIxZyRmZ9trEdGNulW/w640-h480/P1250957.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By 2013 the Newhailes colony appeared to have died out and I
feared that two poor summers in a row had wiped out Holly Blues in East
Lothian. However, I received one record in 2014, 2015 and 2016 from those towns
in the north of the county, leading me to believe that somewhere in that area
was a little colony, possibly in a large private garden.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nrV1oJltNisL6ZqIJO4Ralhvu7XSxPngV_RcOKit2JVDzgAhNV0zYif3dv4MgVivL067AI5Xz8EpRaJoN5Chh8a9WUSKaNqusBjud6ND6uW_Qegm_cu7ZqO85XywEISBmp9ZsdFhbwUKCez_ZYJ8QS3iEu1T1u5YLcG8DgQU-Bg1CTeA6X-r6MIn8CG3/s1122/Holly%20Blues%20to%202018%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1122" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nrV1oJltNisL6ZqIJO4Ralhvu7XSxPngV_RcOKit2JVDzgAhNV0zYif3dv4MgVivL067AI5Xz8EpRaJoN5Chh8a9WUSKaNqusBjud6ND6uW_Qegm_cu7ZqO85XywEISBmp9ZsdFhbwUKCez_ZYJ8QS3iEu1T1u5YLcG8DgQU-Bg1CTeA6X-r6MIn8CG3/w640-h452/Holly%20Blues%20to%202018%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Then in 2017 and 2018 I didn’t receive any records. But, in
2019 there was great excitement on Facebook, as someone had found a number of
Holly Blues outside a garden on the edge of a golf course in Gullane. Later in
the year they were also regularly spotted in two other locations in the village.
That year I received 28 Holly Blue records.<a name="_GoBack"></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The excitement grew the following year when Holly Blues were
spotted in various villages about 8 miles away from Gullane. By the end of 2020
I had received records of 90 Holly Blue being seen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgHsQwsmeQJ67wIg8SsBt_ylMCexWV4DRn1am0JUl0ZQ7AgPqMcIoH2A0jD-RJ0x32HDBowHPv4QfTtkh5W8vVg9jPo8xwn9kP_Mb_DnuOVQN5-8X5PkR6aL9nUlXq1QcLGDirkbgsb4NsJ62jNsnaPT_RLIx93SqXeI5YKN4vaW3ZDTVeYWXCsI_3GYl/s800/P1250832.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgHsQwsmeQJ67wIg8SsBt_ylMCexWV4DRn1am0JUl0ZQ7AgPqMcIoH2A0jD-RJ0x32HDBowHPv4QfTtkh5W8vVg9jPo8xwn9kP_Mb_DnuOVQN5-8X5PkR6aL9nUlXq1QcLGDirkbgsb4NsJ62jNsnaPT_RLIx93SqXeI5YKN4vaW3ZDTVeYWXCsI_3GYl/w640-h480/P1250832.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 2021 the expansion of the range and population continued,
with Holly Blues being quite regularly spotted and reported to me. Again they
had advance by about 8 miles <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>following
old railway walks and river valleys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By
the end of the year I had received records of 101 Holly Blues.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And in 2022 the trend continued with 288 Holly Blues being
reported to me from much of the county. By this time they had spread to
Edinburgh and there were some sightings in the Scottish Borders.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcWfZ7p_Up860JaTGfbdsEb1NBceK99dtyZg_x89He2mMqEJ2Nxs4psQ5ONigMrRUI4bd-n985N-O0UcPZzVh3SbkRtcxh7dZEjUS5ONUu2F_Xmob4ucI7hsggizDmH2wdQCMVSPdaPlGaVaBSgCE3gNgktlMKICfEw_eoNFRkV4_TDd4x3JXe0VxYB7W/s1122/Holly%20Blues%20to%202022%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1122" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcWfZ7p_Up860JaTGfbdsEb1NBceK99dtyZg_x89He2mMqEJ2Nxs4psQ5ONigMrRUI4bd-n985N-O0UcPZzVh3SbkRtcxh7dZEjUS5ONUu2F_Xmob4ucI7hsggizDmH2wdQCMVSPdaPlGaVaBSgCE3gNgktlMKICfEw_eoNFRkV4_TDd4x3JXe0VxYB7W/w640-h452/Holly%20Blues%20to%202022%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Already this year they have spread further across the county
and a good number have been seen in the Borders, Edinburgh and Midlothian. I
can't believe that this little butterfly has managed to colonise the entire
county in just four years!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Holly Blue has two generations a year. The first being
seen in April and May and the summer generation flying in late July and August.
We have also seen the odd Holly Blue in October and November, as a very small
third generation. During their flight periods it is worth checking any sunny
patches of ivy or holly for these little silvery-blue butterflies.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3IEVqg8-UJN8j0cBcKkQeUhrtiCbjWqTtajZY0Tr7V9kE5PA_yfi9_6xL9n2Qs0FWTdt-P4TrWGQsLQJ7W5EbBKEDJX_aqOh1ucDMCRQST8TZ-LqNOE4VD9u985SLtS0_N5UVpKpCnZ91X9Z9j26FjfC7dPI7NDe46SySDcBnsUBzMhSfKF-1Ll42KEO/s800/P1250963.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB3IEVqg8-UJN8j0cBcKkQeUhrtiCbjWqTtajZY0Tr7V9kE5PA_yfi9_6xL9n2Qs0FWTdt-P4TrWGQsLQJ7W5EbBKEDJX_aqOh1ucDMCRQST8TZ-LqNOE4VD9u985SLtS0_N5UVpKpCnZ91X9Z9j26FjfC7dPI7NDe46SySDcBnsUBzMhSfKF-1Ll42KEO/w640-h480/P1250963.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In England the populations of Holly Blues fluctuate
considerably over a five year cycle. This is because of a parasitic wasp,
Listrodomus nycthemerus, for which the Holly Blue is its only host. The
population of Holly Blues can be decimated, but the following year the wasp has
very few hosts causing a drop in its own numbers. As the Holly Blues continues
to extend its range in Scotland it will eventually join up with the English
population and, possibly, the parasitic wasp!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4homLH0_lBTzaEKo2r0YumUlOdEwyUF7UFJ79Q2exQf_XsDnfHVNCGfpxTST4XH55dpiNWtQrtXpdvMgE-Y3FTErTjgsosNrEKvk4mMUE6SggJzMlJ45NpH_2uDhA1VuJEdC0rXIWvELa5NLkwDFiKgHcPA7vO8s2S-TZQK7Ha3lwHdJtMi_LWBuVc4m/s800/P1250801.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4homLH0_lBTzaEKo2r0YumUlOdEwyUF7UFJ79Q2exQf_XsDnfHVNCGfpxTST4XH55dpiNWtQrtXpdvMgE-Y3FTErTjgsosNrEKvk4mMUE6SggJzMlJ45NpH_2uDhA1VuJEdC0rXIWvELa5NLkwDFiKgHcPA7vO8s2S-TZQK7Ha3lwHdJtMi_LWBuVc4m/w640-h480/P1250801.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-3830038518067814862023-07-23T19:42:00.002+01:002023-07-23T20:53:23.026+01:00Small White, Pieris rapae<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The pictures on this post were all taken with my phone, so
apologies for a little fuzziness!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Last year, much to my
wife’s annoyance, I found a number of Small White caterpillars feeding on some
Rocket plants that she was growing. As they grew larger and started to destroy
the plant, I put the pot in a mesh butterfly cage and fed the caterpillars with
cauliflower leaves.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GeTLqkJWAiUq9NVHAsFEpNvdicAlTl6H_QCvrKxEv7O2un-_E65WBu7viXmhGnXIBg2j4xNnAPIiBhlsfpHqpGfdaXs4fixTpPt3GbIlJpwMsX5Ga8GoByB45jaZ-qkR9Avjp-pFueaDKAsziP28HnsJbUHtMb43mI922rWoQU9VbKRYtDMdwkaRMwi1/s800/001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-GeTLqkJWAiUq9NVHAsFEpNvdicAlTl6H_QCvrKxEv7O2un-_E65WBu7viXmhGnXIBg2j4xNnAPIiBhlsfpHqpGfdaXs4fixTpPt3GbIlJpwMsX5Ga8GoByB45jaZ-qkR9Avjp-pFueaDKAsziP28HnsJbUHtMb43mI922rWoQU9VbKRYtDMdwkaRMwi1/w640-h480/001.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">The caterpillars grew quickly and started forming
chrysalises around the cage and under the rim of the plant pot saucer.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzZjXRxEAlrgQa9nZVN8hQ2v5GZvqU4U3-Qbi9Dgza-Xq4ZuMWrxPWjmwEygV0nuuTMGZD4EbWw0C50bfYJZgqDesEnvOG31_G9Iyj36CHJkgn6DGD-6Dj-E4SdnGP3WtTEGlns-ZRlVLG6GlKeRojyghXjaW8ggI4sPeNKbWjqQM_Ey1WaJMPT2OPeOy/s800/004.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzZjXRxEAlrgQa9nZVN8hQ2v5GZvqU4U3-Qbi9Dgza-Xq4ZuMWrxPWjmwEygV0nuuTMGZD4EbWw0C50bfYJZgqDesEnvOG31_G9Iyj36CHJkgn6DGD-6Dj-E4SdnGP3WtTEGlns-ZRlVLG6GlKeRojyghXjaW8ggI4sPeNKbWjqQM_Ey1WaJMPT2OPeOy/w640-h480/004.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A couple of days before they form a chrysalis they choose a spot and weave a small silk pad. They then hook themselves to the pad and loop another length of thread like a girdle around themselves.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGdtfyqbiC4Hlbfnq92iCVVo287q_Q0wLYRF50bshAAtwKKsl1gb0bDioqbncPk2sAlHCQuWMHlQTr950xl2jWDqZW3RFAQq5eNLew298ZxB3twKp_N6cEAV6m7Vq_WcEdP-oSRefrEoe3m7ovWIe1uPV9TWAzjTC9DP7Ic6Vcmlmw1Gs7Q10idjNPeOm/s800/002.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvGdtfyqbiC4Hlbfnq92iCVVo287q_Q0wLYRF50bshAAtwKKsl1gb0bDioqbncPk2sAlHCQuWMHlQTr950xl2jWDqZW3RFAQq5eNLew298ZxB3twKp_N6cEAV6m7Vq_WcEdP-oSRefrEoe3m7ovWIe1uPV9TWAzjTC9DP7Ic6Vcmlmw1Gs7Q10idjNPeOm/w480-h640/002.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The caterpillar then thickens over the next couple of days and sheds its skin one final time. The chrysalis then forms over the next few hours. The picture below shows a newly formed chrysalis.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ2yLCbq0ShqCkbDsyVZg8FzeInjS1id3wjj9bvV6kYu3jyeE-iXTmHb0Y5ow43s8F_krO14Bed9n2AKdiMRsxr_IFuiNFQM1ZRH5VOqqeWcOwAFpXUJNBcJTw8ziyxWFEet2b9h2SoXdOjvl8IXBhXeZ0BQtMk3gtls-mRbvJyWC8kkIs8oUzPhXWYB1/s800/003.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZ2yLCbq0ShqCkbDsyVZg8FzeInjS1id3wjj9bvV6kYu3jyeE-iXTmHb0Y5ow43s8F_krO14Bed9n2AKdiMRsxr_IFuiNFQM1ZRH5VOqqeWcOwAFpXUJNBcJTw8ziyxWFEet2b9h2SoXdOjvl8IXBhXeZ0BQtMk3gtls-mRbvJyWC8kkIs8oUzPhXWYB1/w480-h640/003.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I kept an eye on them and at the end of October I noticed
one of the chrysalises had started to colour up. Normally, this is something I
see about four days before a butterfly emerges. As they reach the final stages
of development the pattern on the underside of the wings becomes apparent
through the wall of the chrysalis. I had always thought that once this final
stage of development had started, there was no stopping it. So, I was expecting
to see a very late third generation Small White, but the weather took a turn for
the worse and the butterfly did not emerge.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpNLwbZtEyJ16hpyySkr1zQCYh5ZbtC1pkiU2lCo2mbHz372TjSasJ8Le5MlH-Np2uXEvibftGhnAQ_MRzpzBdy8sbWqIXYyj2v8ck9AyJY1ZzfHARpji210PlD51aCgLwVe4CMRaDhIvbTjYIUOK-39JiCZPGZX44m4hGAzZ1hILCYO1wfGjbprvsF2P/s800/005.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpNLwbZtEyJ16hpyySkr1zQCYh5ZbtC1pkiU2lCo2mbHz372TjSasJ8Le5MlH-Np2uXEvibftGhnAQ_MRzpzBdy8sbWqIXYyj2v8ck9AyJY1ZzfHARpji210PlD51aCgLwVe4CMRaDhIvbTjYIUOK-39JiCZPGZX44m4hGAzZ1hILCYO1wfGjbprvsF2P/w640-h480/005.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">I periodically checked the chrysalises over the winter and
this April when I turned the saucer over I saw that the butterfly had started
to emerge, but must have become stuck half way out and it had perished. Although
this was sad for this individual, it proved that a chrysalis is able to survive
for six months over the winter at this late stage of development.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaalLTarR4gXBfNiEuxDJpoLKJ1Mb2pvLHtbIITBpzhLFY-eJrUprug3n76Y-JqW6YvtNN8QE-mjSq8jieJcF5tDAkS7zIEKEndB4zVBlcbxQzn1i5FY1UaeFmLIJ2aSigZ0A4WTHlgqnJXMk86sEnv4b4nZL6Z0_U7Us3r4J9ooepXZMOUj-Qa4fb3qJ/s800/006.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaalLTarR4gXBfNiEuxDJpoLKJ1Mb2pvLHtbIITBpzhLFY-eJrUprug3n76Y-JqW6YvtNN8QE-mjSq8jieJcF5tDAkS7zIEKEndB4zVBlcbxQzn1i5FY1UaeFmLIJ2aSigZ0A4WTHlgqnJXMk86sEnv4b4nZL6Z0_U7Us3r4J9ooepXZMOUj-Qa4fb3qJ/w640-h480/006.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Between the 25th April and the 28th May 29 Small White butterflies
emerged from the 38 chrysalises around the cage. 22 of them were females and
only 7 were males.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY75ptaJPcNXvqxDLUb8fcKUWq67T98PJGcNMKS8h5xx2KoIeak9Qku04F2uF9ckLV6-mHjTFN1z17apJ2FXv24zQ5vZ3aaY68YSSC0YionpP74UlyZ_SAAwNGm8SFrvIGyPPNDPMuyH-xkzA8Cl32ctvkddlj1Ngsfx6XkuEz73uwW2oG8lqV3vZFhcMl/s800/008.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="601" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY75ptaJPcNXvqxDLUb8fcKUWq67T98PJGcNMKS8h5xx2KoIeak9Qku04F2uF9ckLV6-mHjTFN1z17apJ2FXv24zQ5vZ3aaY68YSSC0YionpP74UlyZ_SAAwNGm8SFrvIGyPPNDPMuyH-xkzA8Cl32ctvkddlj1Ngsfx6XkuEz73uwW2oG8lqV3vZFhcMl/w640-h480/008.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Seven of the chrysalises turned black or brown over winter and failed to develop. However, there is one in the cage that still looks as though it could be OK.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcX63jQHFrCr9at0gZyIF7n0YcpjNUEM5GQ7iG-ua9CVBbCrDYb4OCGEfiah_qr_vOCIPvc5OLfhTjQnKnR2hcBO_TUFRhZDfQuDKIPFuWy1bJ0KIGj917dMTOGrxEFwFkSwb-qVurxuWvxNiYS-_y_msMiAFgmQFOsf_BCJZrmwXxitY1sQRnL9p5tMAm/s800/007.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcX63jQHFrCr9at0gZyIF7n0YcpjNUEM5GQ7iG-ua9CVBbCrDYb4OCGEfiah_qr_vOCIPvc5OLfhTjQnKnR2hcBO_TUFRhZDfQuDKIPFuWy1bJ0KIGj917dMTOGrxEFwFkSwb-qVurxuWvxNiYS-_y_msMiAFgmQFOsf_BCJZrmwXxitY1sQRnL9p5tMAm/w640-h480/007.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9W8AhUXdgJqwoI-CVv0CAmOf1EbbP-JXExPrmWrkWNKD8z9m2pXZb42_VMD_1EYcm7f_A0PZwaCHSeWX1wW44BvRxH5n0XNFzhOXQo1pIzmkUjscVXNeibiiqTXQcw3IAiWmwyQNbQgOrL4SRfDJIwtL2eYhqbjE9AwxTgg8jllMMEklNYecL1fn3218D/s801/009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9W8AhUXdgJqwoI-CVv0CAmOf1EbbP-JXExPrmWrkWNKD8z9m2pXZb42_VMD_1EYcm7f_A0PZwaCHSeWX1wW44BvRxH5n0XNFzhOXQo1pIzmkUjscVXNeibiiqTXQcw3IAiWmwyQNbQgOrL4SRfDJIwtL2eYhqbjE9AwxTgg8jllMMEklNYecL1fn3218D/w480-h640/009.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzsp7WqPQ4rD6puDhI9cKlaSvaP8XZcb8Z0xtsc_CrOCwkPJxB4vwAYF-1BwWdQbE-8ZoD1Xxq3kkrZJpAOBK_lMzInKkXEGPjql2FgUn7kq5kLwr2eWeEYT-yYroP9fx6o2IoWgdvPkXCh3nhyw0zHAc-yqpD5O6B9XFPFOb27cMyH_g3lVzxOKih-75/s800/010.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzsp7WqPQ4rD6puDhI9cKlaSvaP8XZcb8Z0xtsc_CrOCwkPJxB4vwAYF-1BwWdQbE-8ZoD1Xxq3kkrZJpAOBK_lMzInKkXEGPjql2FgUn7kq5kLwr2eWeEYT-yYroP9fx6o2IoWgdvPkXCh3nhyw0zHAc-yqpD5O6B9XFPFOb27cMyH_g3lVzxOKih-75/w640-h480/010.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlfpaHlHYY4ecW03yu26XiQ1myOWf41LfnaH60CPryAadiOb4JLhwhEq6OgLeiPIJyF1SdBMlWCFOLOfygGUm___2omFZVtbdTHRSCq-Y-vrjAhNaj8XOdi2vonppeecvR-zKCoHQazYcoA9CvfH8ZwVhyuJykUzSJdUOlApAkIkBo7FQK4tgP4CpGfjo/s800/011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlfpaHlHYY4ecW03yu26XiQ1myOWf41LfnaH60CPryAadiOb4JLhwhEq6OgLeiPIJyF1SdBMlWCFOLOfygGUm___2omFZVtbdTHRSCq-Y-vrjAhNaj8XOdi2vonppeecvR-zKCoHQazYcoA9CvfH8ZwVhyuJykUzSJdUOlApAkIkBo7FQK4tgP4CpGfjo/w480-h640/011.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6oFcaZdxtSvY2dQOacZSEvStjGugpndo2vn_IqmGTAwcZNw3vTo0nsB8mFBfXshXCzR-TAz8QmlNsHTD4UUxXd4XnKPGqYJao7oVnvAdMp5hDDoLsfHJEDTwIRhBBPQkzK4TQ6JrYCcu6DH5wbWPUEbLjhXifWugRqmiB083PMwvzN3jTquKOMf8QqtQ/s800/012.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6oFcaZdxtSvY2dQOacZSEvStjGugpndo2vn_IqmGTAwcZNw3vTo0nsB8mFBfXshXCzR-TAz8QmlNsHTD4UUxXd4XnKPGqYJao7oVnvAdMp5hDDoLsfHJEDTwIRhBBPQkzK4TQ6JrYCcu6DH5wbWPUEbLjhXifWugRqmiB083PMwvzN3jTquKOMf8QqtQ/w480-h640/012.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><br />Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-57592634107369583622023-06-25T19:14:00.002+01:002023-06-25T19:14:56.422+01:00Tenerife Butterflies - June 2023<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We had a week’s break in Tenerife at the start of June. It wasn’t
planned with butterflies in mind, but more of a week’s relaxation in the sun.
We stayed at a lovely hotel in Costa Adeje, which was kept immaculately clean.
Sadly, that meant that there was very little biodiversity and I only counted
ten different creatures there in the seven days! Costa Adeje is a bit of an
urban sprawl in a very dry part of the island, so there weren’t many
opportunities locally to wander off to look for butterflies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I went for a longer-than-expected walk on the first day to locate the
car hire office and saw fleeting glimpses of Small Whites, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: normal;"><i>Pieris rapae</i>, </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: normal;">Long-tailed Blues</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: normal;">, <i>Lampides boeticus</i>,</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: normal;"> and an African Grass Blue</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: normal;">, <i>Zizeeria knysna</i></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: normal;">.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKAG9LpUfiz9iFQBjzZmxB7bZzQq4N-nu9LA_kzLxElxrLyIIoeFAA02KDtLlDm0eTkApBcvcjnMSUz0wM5-uP7m6v2HAL1UZhTFqzNqI5sdSFrhKEteyYmZVPE-FjTNeh00mkhjsnVXMlYbug3evtYf9v_xwRpKHT4OKFvuCVL-96UrQSUHjH7cheYg-/s800/P1260133.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKAG9LpUfiz9iFQBjzZmxB7bZzQq4N-nu9LA_kzLxElxrLyIIoeFAA02KDtLlDm0eTkApBcvcjnMSUz0wM5-uP7m6v2HAL1UZhTFqzNqI5sdSFrhKEteyYmZVPE-FjTNeh00mkhjsnVXMlYbug3evtYf9v_xwRpKHT4OKFvuCVL-96UrQSUHjH7cheYg-/w640-h480/P1260133.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Before I went I had arranged to hire a car on the Wednesday to take a
trip to the north east of the island, where it is much more vegetated, with
beautiful villages, cave houses, terraced vegetable gardens and lovely walks.
However, on Monday a note was slipped under our hotel door telling us that
Storm Oscar was arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday with strong winds and thunder
and lightning. We were advised to remain indoors and keep windows and doors
shut. This sounded serious, so I changed my hire car to the Thursday. However, Storm
Oscar turned out to be nothing more than a couple of showers and a pleasant
breeze where we were!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was keen to head to Punta del Hidalgo, where Peter Buchanan has seen
Plain Tigers, <i>Danaus chrysippus</i>, on three previous winter visits. I was
surprised to learn this, as I didn't realise they occur in Tenerife. However,
Peter has some great <a href="https://bestpartday.blogspot.com/2022/12/tenerife-pt-1.html?m=1"><b>pictures on his blog</b></a>, so they are certainly there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I followed his instructions and parked in the village. I found the walk
that he had been on, but sadly it was all very dried out and there were no
butterflies at all. There were loads of lizards, though!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnNmPs2rjZEKWt4eE5kbH7gJPyqHUx6oZ_1RtyZLA8lKHSvZ4Cb1zsZnEgYG9R2_PdP1_GBfc1HUthIgoPYrNT_Mprnqnv_pRuI289fvzuv0SmJuTJv6gD8c-yeA_fqsn7DVgq7r7VRYZ7AaBe17JycKhz5g-OnXW7IOQ52HbvwjUg0iEi6-hgLPgAZaf/s1065/20230608_123346%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1065" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnNmPs2rjZEKWt4eE5kbH7gJPyqHUx6oZ_1RtyZLA8lKHSvZ4Cb1zsZnEgYG9R2_PdP1_GBfc1HUthIgoPYrNT_Mprnqnv_pRuI289fvzuv0SmJuTJv6gD8c-yeA_fqsn7DVgq7r7VRYZ7AaBe17JycKhz5g-OnXW7IOQ52HbvwjUg0iEi6-hgLPgAZaf/w640-h360/20230608_123346%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I could see higher in the mountains that there was quite a bit of tree
cover, so I headed back to the car with the intention of driving up there. Back
in the village there was a turning circle, where they were re-surfacing the
road. I noticed a Lantana plant growing on the island, so thought it was worth
checking it out for butterflies. Imagine my surprise when a Plain Tiger drifted
around one of the diggers and then landed on a plant next to me. It stayed in
the area for quite a while feeding on a blue flower.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS17oT0y_mAXB4KGtX1QXw1J1KNV72xHpd0_iJRpAF4N_SobrbH-ogEtRC8H75wfSK2HkHtLTaLhYPB5kLf_8HORUSeaRYwlbT6Rf85FMWdzhidkgHLms7y2iQ5WDE197om6EInbKyyk5MVmIPloRtlESgbU1iVBf6k-FY_driWxIbCao1ZpJPmABhtO4S/s2735/2023-06-08%2019.24.52.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2037" data-original-width="2735" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS17oT0y_mAXB4KGtX1QXw1J1KNV72xHpd0_iJRpAF4N_SobrbH-ogEtRC8H75wfSK2HkHtLTaLhYPB5kLf_8HORUSeaRYwlbT6Rf85FMWdzhidkgHLms7y2iQ5WDE197om6EInbKyyk5MVmIPloRtlESgbU1iVBf6k-FY_driWxIbCao1ZpJPmABhtO4S/w640-h476/2023-06-08%2019.24.52.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn62lbOZKZRwT7dUhwDDm2UKd1QGEbUZfxC-AYStgq_y7NyKzGU_XFP3rzcziF9jWOWUxUCSn0-owDl_8-btkA4kz3CJMnvWK5gs1gQ0jwafJOtijn793RTCZDnHtrov40CUsCc3Oimbkz2GLZFFCo4d_SbnTY-OLgeMRvDlBrinPeijzFi1S9Rf2OA98Y/s2682/2023-06-08%2021.01.33.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2008" data-original-width="2682" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn62lbOZKZRwT7dUhwDDm2UKd1QGEbUZfxC-AYStgq_y7NyKzGU_XFP3rzcziF9jWOWUxUCSn0-owDl_8-btkA4kz3CJMnvWK5gs1gQ0jwafJOtijn793RTCZDnHtrov40CUsCc3Oimbkz2GLZFFCo4d_SbnTY-OLgeMRvDlBrinPeijzFi1S9Rf2OA98Y/w640-h480/2023-06-08%2021.01.33.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE61adlg2Bq0BWroS7YCNzFTYikoX5zqSEUybE2ewiNWPuw_xaCdvlmNRgbA6_q1r-FKmLyv8iQL3igPQ-ZdAHE7fQigFL_ujtdhNBYfqwUp0JFGOO2NhdRu_NBaDliU_BitLKkdQ4MBLa9lQkYEGJPWJRanj6UUQVphZMngVvHszWwnLS2VOuQ0nq-BMa/s2442/2023-06-08%2021.02.59.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1801" data-original-width="2442" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE61adlg2Bq0BWroS7YCNzFTYikoX5zqSEUybE2ewiNWPuw_xaCdvlmNRgbA6_q1r-FKmLyv8iQL3igPQ-ZdAHE7fQigFL_ujtdhNBYfqwUp0JFGOO2NhdRu_NBaDliU_BitLKkdQ4MBLa9lQkYEGJPWJRanj6UUQVphZMngVvHszWwnLS2VOuQ0nq-BMa/w640-h472/2023-06-08%2021.02.59.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On my way back to the car on a weedy patch next to the road I checked
out some white butterflies. Most of them were Small Whites, but
there was one Bath White, <i>Pontia daplidice</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt95kcK2i4PV2XDfV41Q4Dv07MAAUfOZjI9NM79JwV8ZGzQHkNcp3yn9ryzXa-8CWVOyqhL67HQSin8pmbeKPrwTb_wLlGrR2HIpI3xui94KZGi37M6ZzwQX9XqrW-k2b8ckjbwjwBXPA_ZVXSIJZzW9NnBdwD2Ivd7ruoL99xoJ6CMfM7F9E_m1CgNJqy/s800/P1260076.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt95kcK2i4PV2XDfV41Q4Dv07MAAUfOZjI9NM79JwV8ZGzQHkNcp3yn9ryzXa-8CWVOyqhL67HQSin8pmbeKPrwTb_wLlGrR2HIpI3xui94KZGi37M6ZzwQX9XqrW-k2b8ckjbwjwBXPA_ZVXSIJZzW9NnBdwD2Ivd7ruoL99xoJ6CMfM7F9E_m1CgNJqy/w640-h480/P1260076.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A male Canary Large White, <i>Pieris cheiranthi</i>, came flying by, chasing
off all of the smaller whites as it looked for a mate. Sadly it didn’t stop and
soon flew over a fence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As I was slowly driving out of the village a Monarch, <i>Danaus plexippus</i>,
flew past the car!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I headed up into the hills and parked on the outskirts of Pedro Alvarez
and walked up the road in the direction of Bejia. The road quickly became quite
forested, but there were wild flowers and brambles growing profusely at the
side of the road.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrQEJySM0fGYSmavXRrYTi1jGrMiP7AQ4voJz2I0uxt3kfyb0yToSjSWXrPgg_IUBs6i8CXbTsK7UkSIue5gWRIKAZmN5EjRIf8g48CUcywN328NJWrw_DVcVRwNlwXAM9LYWQ3G8dU2XLymioTPomYuPkw_g_Dbf8c4P7n4-LFON2UwV8iYbnzutwb7l/s800/20230608_132625%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGrQEJySM0fGYSmavXRrYTi1jGrMiP7AQ4voJz2I0uxt3kfyb0yToSjSWXrPgg_IUBs6i8CXbTsK7UkSIue5gWRIKAZmN5EjRIf8g48CUcywN328NJWrw_DVcVRwNlwXAM9LYWQ3G8dU2XLymioTPomYuPkw_g_Dbf8c4P7n4-LFON2UwV8iYbnzutwb7l/w640-h480/20230608_132625%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Unfortunately, it very quickly clouded over, but not before I
saw a few Canary Speckled Woods, <i>Pararge xiphioides</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQqNUB2p3irodYMk-9Utfq1qg-ykny5B89OejGTdxEZQfGG5aUg1hZqvDSgqxsQ0Gjs27fAIuwKetnqUzk5rCS1YThO7aa6efPMM0EuvvcdleOQ8fSAjbDZzm3iKCbas2jh5Llpz2t1aLiL_rAzxlPTeauNjUWmpVrurkaZhbs8u1P3ULHJIkCdtH8aZC/s2721/2023-06-08%2021.05.30.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2026" data-original-width="2721" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQqNUB2p3irodYMk-9Utfq1qg-ykny5B89OejGTdxEZQfGG5aUg1hZqvDSgqxsQ0Gjs27fAIuwKetnqUzk5rCS1YThO7aa6efPMM0EuvvcdleOQ8fSAjbDZzm3iKCbas2jh5Llpz2t1aLiL_rAzxlPTeauNjUWmpVrurkaZhbs8u1P3ULHJIkCdtH8aZC/w640-h476/2023-06-08%2021.05.30.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Q0mTXJB4nJqHy4hTZydYa-jreI4uC72kd3M-a2TWCkQIfaqmKgNciGKwb_DPWKXbBWiCyx1_O-NZf4xblI62cn8vTQaGK6dJeIIZB_jAKAz3I-P5ckd8hUl4IRmd7QtNoPeha-DRGu2fhVvtHK2YmWGgKHd5SW-OvAS9PX5xM9rMQFh9Kh7F83ybuS81/s2185/2023-06-08%2021.06.52.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1565" data-original-width="2185" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Q0mTXJB4nJqHy4hTZydYa-jreI4uC72kd3M-a2TWCkQIfaqmKgNciGKwb_DPWKXbBWiCyx1_O-NZf4xblI62cn8vTQaGK6dJeIIZB_jAKAz3I-P5ckd8hUl4IRmd7QtNoPeha-DRGu2fhVvtHK2YmWGgKHd5SW-OvAS9PX5xM9rMQFh9Kh7F83ybuS81/w640-h458/2023-06-08%2021.06.52.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Back at the car I was watching a Small White fly among some plants and
noticed it showed a particular interest in one plant. I took a look and saw a
Geranium Bronze, <i>Cacyreus marshalli</i>, roosting on a flower head. Funnily, I had
been checking all of the geraniums in the window boxes and gardens in the
village for this species earlier with no luck!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDAtyKeQfWlKzA0dD9deyLX2eD-bP_Vn_b-K8Bpc-ZCEsVDs_XTkMBPoel0I0NKsR_UbP7aT15RjJq1JBCY94yUYHpDBnugbvbkVAqmmYbybmKQTiNrUZIWzckyk8um0CtzbkMAOyQ_bGweAvJFg3ubo83pzZB6xIW8FjOTuUZpQcbR2eyWZC5TMGzxYN/s2735/2023-06-08%2019.21.35.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1994" data-original-width="2735" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDAtyKeQfWlKzA0dD9deyLX2eD-bP_Vn_b-K8Bpc-ZCEsVDs_XTkMBPoel0I0NKsR_UbP7aT15RjJq1JBCY94yUYHpDBnugbvbkVAqmmYbybmKQTiNrUZIWzckyk8um0CtzbkMAOyQ_bGweAvJFg3ubo83pzZB6xIW8FjOTuUZpQcbR2eyWZC5TMGzxYN/w640-h466/2023-06-08%2019.21.35.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJllA22l0XOtF3xjHWVYamtJsBET-cph4gyWmXp4lGxT4wrAH3oG8GBhmIUvpj_11A9PYFjUEsO4OR4jb-Yj5JTLXVIuq8h14ul0AxY3v2MMqaI6UyVnndXNPDFUGMybcZjMY_cKc9lM-e44tX2mhaAshpmlXW-vVQEbXrubLkLtE0Tp08NBkuwsfgjoqr/s2196/2023-06-08%2021.04.10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1611" data-original-width="2196" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJllA22l0XOtF3xjHWVYamtJsBET-cph4gyWmXp4lGxT4wrAH3oG8GBhmIUvpj_11A9PYFjUEsO4OR4jb-Yj5JTLXVIuq8h14ul0AxY3v2MMqaI6UyVnndXNPDFUGMybcZjMY_cKc9lM-e44tX2mhaAshpmlXW-vVQEbXrubLkLtE0Tp08NBkuwsfgjoqr/w640-h470/2023-06-08%2021.04.10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It had clearly been raining quite heavily in this area the previous
day, judging by the gravel washed onto the roads. I decided to take the more
scenic return journey along the north of the island and it rained most of the
way back. However, the south of the island had been dry all day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There is a large, rather un-loved park running through the middle Costa
Adeje. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXirFgPf7sC9XA4TtTz2fyViJbAUphTLcUY7OszAA_3Ehfj2rB8psGbZS6Z6FpzGotn6_bCLBro8bLaHVjcDcvb9qiJD16On_LjRs457iqm0NnzjYkL0jr1o9RY2HC4CUyVgbf5QMmst1kWuLj8zQyp5_GdIWz_tZTMB3z2Ms9xUsHZF6T1bth2-wVzvG2/s800/P1260272.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXirFgPf7sC9XA4TtTz2fyViJbAUphTLcUY7OszAA_3Ehfj2rB8psGbZS6Z6FpzGotn6_bCLBro8bLaHVjcDcvb9qiJD16On_LjRs457iqm0NnzjYkL0jr1o9RY2HC4CUyVgbf5QMmst1kWuLj8zQyp5_GdIWz_tZTMB3z2Ms9xUsHZF6T1bth2-wVzvG2/w640-h480/P1260272.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Much of it is very dry and gravelly but there was one shady spot where there were some flowering shrubs and dried out weeds, which seemed to attract Long-tailed Blues. Normally, when I have seen them around the Mediterranean they have been flying singly in gardens and shrub land. But, in this park there were hundreds of them flying low over the dried up weeds and grassy areas. They would occasionally land in the trees and on a particular plant that was still in flower in a couple of shady spots.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Mnv2v8p6I1Chn5hVi1oBHoTcl1KTDwG_ZcupfGpUatVQjZljNkUb0BXdeJc2DhXn2NxxAIx5uMWbHFrlEM20f8inBAqABw2MWnGW7hoj5UJOhZQ94MajzBZPgjdexZM8ZQPWLq1NSO1IV6wGtxryl7pizFk5FKp6SngudZbef1bNoBu5dws653Gt7K7l/s2385/2023-06-09%2016.32.31.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1759" data-original-width="2385" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Mnv2v8p6I1Chn5hVi1oBHoTcl1KTDwG_ZcupfGpUatVQjZljNkUb0BXdeJc2DhXn2NxxAIx5uMWbHFrlEM20f8inBAqABw2MWnGW7hoj5UJOhZQ94MajzBZPgjdexZM8ZQPWLq1NSO1IV6wGtxryl7pizFk5FKp6SngudZbef1bNoBu5dws653Gt7K7l/w640-h472/2023-06-09%2016.32.31.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoeQFDQOcXXkxbRAOEShy075jx5L6ozDHxjK7LNUL6zhfE2S5ZczOwS9e8XAYwvdhobUNNJhxX2l06xR1YYh-g8-ailHSYyUrjODjVf7GNMPY8HtB7XdBJnP97V5VtP1jXybzUlhZ28nJ3U-MdhUf6Vigh0gkQ8b99lUinJCiMZcbnrUUNMIrt1fxlQWF/s800/P1260270.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoeQFDQOcXXkxbRAOEShy075jx5L6ozDHxjK7LNUL6zhfE2S5ZczOwS9e8XAYwvdhobUNNJhxX2l06xR1YYh-g8-ailHSYyUrjODjVf7GNMPY8HtB7XdBJnP97V5VtP1jXybzUlhZ28nJ3U-MdhUf6Vigh0gkQ8b99lUinJCiMZcbnrUUNMIrt1fxlQWF/w640-h480/P1260270.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were a few African Grass Blues, flying among the
Long-tailed Blues, but far fewer. I am used to seeing these flying low to the
ground over grass and wild flowers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dvInFtzqkYVRAUaRXle9iuBUfNhNI2itUmNtDhxcdBOr1eRUAJce_JNXZ8bI4l_ai0o7sFh4cmqrujxekD1ItTg6ACQb-eLPYRY4lssBIqrd8Ybw7jS_gJpPXsLkvflpKQyU7nIpPIDEXTohJc354zOLPGV-VUsvNkN51Jm-C47AQfkKhKGQbrCa1LVO/s1825/2023-06-09%2016.33.10.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="1825" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dvInFtzqkYVRAUaRXle9iuBUfNhNI2itUmNtDhxcdBOr1eRUAJce_JNXZ8bI4l_ai0o7sFh4cmqrujxekD1ItTg6ACQb-eLPYRY4lssBIqrd8Ybw7jS_gJpPXsLkvflpKQyU7nIpPIDEXTohJc354zOLPGV-VUsvNkN51Jm-C47AQfkKhKGQbrCa1LVO/w640-h480/2023-06-09%2016.33.10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Everywhere I went there were always one or two Small Whites, flying by.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On my last day I checked out the park again. As well as the butterflies
I had seen previously there was a Clouded Yellow, <i>Colias croceus</i>, feeding on a
flowering plant. Another Canary Large White flew past, but it was on a mission,
so didn’t stop.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit48ecAOJ24Br0q7bmoojaNs_0YWcrkoTtBSbx82vLhkoBwySpaRfRWvZbZBrNk5dEGZBJy7C7yuya3W-Teps4JQfxit4nTdsNCg3ZtzsgOmqo3mO1_ZedZEJGPPCA2YJ9yOzaSwmleH1wEijdnVZEuJIlGqQfIkncGS1UGW6AwAFZrSpNRHUyL_4Y2iVF/s2724/2023-06-09%2016.34.16.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2055" data-original-width="2724" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit48ecAOJ24Br0q7bmoojaNs_0YWcrkoTtBSbx82vLhkoBwySpaRfRWvZbZBrNk5dEGZBJy7C7yuya3W-Teps4JQfxit4nTdsNCg3ZtzsgOmqo3mO1_ZedZEJGPPCA2YJ9yOzaSwmleH1wEijdnVZEuJIlGqQfIkncGS1UGW6AwAFZrSpNRHUyL_4Y2iVF/w640-h482/2023-06-09%2016.34.16.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By the end of the week, I had only see ten species of butterflies, but
it was still an enjoyable week. I would have loved to have seen some of the
other species I saw on <a href="https://nickmorgan-butterflypictures.blogspot.com/2013/08/tenerife-butterflies-july-2013.html"><b>my previous visit ten years ago</b></a>, but at least I have
added Plain Tiger to the list of species I have seen in Tenerife!</span></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-88243225026345208672023-05-28T09:25:00.000+01:002023-05-28T09:25:30.781+01:00Small Blues, Cupido minimus<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I had a week off work this week, so on Tuesdays I nipped
over to the Berwickshire coast to look for Small Blue butterflies. There are a
few small colonies of these lovely little butterflies along the coastal slopes,
where their food plant, Kidney Vetch, grows.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWpJ1ApUGfX0w8p0Owx8wetvoGyMF1DLQ6c-3Zi6_SGDrXO-sZPOSeuo5O0aMs2MzWaXWhhcsIAfayy4QwRg1_j2eh080q3fh9E8mH2_iwjZqgNDJsU6_uQ3kwKUB3sH5jCptCXxT4MaHr3L4i6vTi-laql32qXWTR_e8P0CvDm0h0W09mMTSscUg7g/s800/P1250999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWpJ1ApUGfX0w8p0Owx8wetvoGyMF1DLQ6c-3Zi6_SGDrXO-sZPOSeuo5O0aMs2MzWaXWhhcsIAfayy4QwRg1_j2eh080q3fh9E8mH2_iwjZqgNDJsU6_uQ3kwKUB3sH5jCptCXxT4MaHr3L4i6vTi-laql32qXWTR_e8P0CvDm0h0W09mMTSscUg7g/w640-h480/P1250999.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I visited a little earlier in the year than I have done
previously, so there were fewer butterflies around, but I was delighted to find
a few Small Blues all in lovely condition.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkevvsjisdbils7_Gq_ENgCx06XmBaN0xjLJnvla0EoID5OVDVShqA021p-eb8SXrFLtMGEIU1aHDbnjyw8u8obP8vdXuV-qsUH_9Jv2-cVmFDmWar217ihKJ5W1K9Mx8pBMMz5qquUdsA-kGO6HoTZuge7iaz1iPuutQivIJ0-YLo0K-FZOxUzOE_Fw/s800/P1250990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkevvsjisdbils7_Gq_ENgCx06XmBaN0xjLJnvla0EoID5OVDVShqA021p-eb8SXrFLtMGEIU1aHDbnjyw8u8obP8vdXuV-qsUH_9Jv2-cVmFDmWar217ihKJ5W1K9Mx8pBMMz5qquUdsA-kGO6HoTZuge7iaz1iPuutQivIJ0-YLo0K-FZOxUzOE_Fw/w640-h480/P1250990.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Kidney Vetch wasn't very apparent this year and I assume
it will grow quite quickly and come into flower, to provide somewhere for the
butterflies to lay their eggs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmto6t5OqFPBBARstJHzIfricWX-XtIO46CbycyNIJFIcOzrGTSkoICcVDwwYx7FGl3uD-gbyvP4MIF79rgTbLGOF3CHwNSrMIhktj9GUaMSJL0kaN7ctBrWAeEwo7L6P_cmIcaM2E0a6M_3Gw2VFbLpicSIBq2Afzz5CfXoMkwgOtw4cH1wtyPkFWw/s800/P1260041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDmto6t5OqFPBBARstJHzIfricWX-XtIO46CbycyNIJFIcOzrGTSkoICcVDwwYx7FGl3uD-gbyvP4MIF79rgTbLGOF3CHwNSrMIhktj9GUaMSJL0kaN7ctBrWAeEwo7L6P_cmIcaM2E0a6M_3Gw2VFbLpicSIBq2Afzz5CfXoMkwgOtw4cH1wtyPkFWw/w640-h480/P1260041.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In addition to the Small Blues, there were some Green-veined
Whites flying.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QAbQjKIM8ttu7jjwhjQg4otO7CVsj_AI-exNEaodK9lzWNKtM5x3IDwt_yCSXYIgu0XswuAb-IYgp9lkEeFhKlDJG_nvKKgqLv6d9r6D74s1wfESTw-vEndZYxm8lH24SrPcW2AdXHK9RjGHKa51IkfdEOT9MrjFRGAOZq9R_Oz3PhtpFgqExrgQIQ/s800/P1250984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QAbQjKIM8ttu7jjwhjQg4otO7CVsj_AI-exNEaodK9lzWNKtM5x3IDwt_yCSXYIgu0XswuAb-IYgp9lkEeFhKlDJG_nvKKgqLv6d9r6D74s1wfESTw-vEndZYxm8lH24SrPcW2AdXHK9RjGHKa51IkfdEOT9MrjFRGAOZq9R_Oz3PhtpFgqExrgQIQ/w640-h480/P1250984.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Also, two Wall Browns.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkoRpp_rPn3x4bY1ezwwIS3Yg9l-_0dLNA41qj1ShkBSq6205IoIJWb9nN7oBxRITYC2M6DdCu2qYxQWV4IpX_XhCM2VTnNEjHU3tqB8AxlSnCJ7EaHsVRh7iBdcYvs47NZuZBLerpeD4N5Xc7yqZuaUGygoc1-5krm2E3G0bPRangwt-3JcSx0NE1Q/s800/P1260013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtkoRpp_rPn3x4bY1ezwwIS3Yg9l-_0dLNA41qj1ShkBSq6205IoIJWb9nN7oBxRITYC2M6DdCu2qYxQWV4IpX_XhCM2VTnNEjHU3tqB8AxlSnCJ7EaHsVRh7iBdcYvs47NZuZBLerpeD4N5Xc7yqZuaUGygoc1-5krm2E3G0bPRangwt-3JcSx0NE1Q/w640-h480/P1260013.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Although the Gorse provides lovely flowers, which an amazing
scent, it can spread rapidly and smother the other vegetation in the area.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaUK9MAqas2FEdWbIL1BRoU_cPciGRW2r-uOcj6tdfaEA5zC925WWjG3le9F3BbzI2b4IXXmyB_l7pymrvF8IvI8iTbIdfqca8QruJ769pftM-Y4N3006qH4y5Mbwol6qpmvMMGCPb31sVZBln2YbCr-2NnUAmroqXmmVZ1VAn4KAJ_fRRK_39OSmlQ/s1065/20230523_110305%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1065" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaUK9MAqas2FEdWbIL1BRoU_cPciGRW2r-uOcj6tdfaEA5zC925WWjG3le9F3BbzI2b4IXXmyB_l7pymrvF8IvI8iTbIdfqca8QruJ769pftM-Y4N3006qH4y5Mbwol6qpmvMMGCPb31sVZBln2YbCr-2NnUAmroqXmmVZ1VAn4KAJ_fRRK_39OSmlQ/w640-h360/20230523_110305%20(3).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-40383759479885715002023-04-22T09:00:00.001+01:002023-04-22T09:00:38.876+01:00East Lothian Butterflies 2022 - Part 2<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> Continued from my previous <a href="http://nickmorgan-butterflypictures.blogspot.com/2023/03/east-lothian-butterflies-2022-part-1.html" target="_blank"><b>post:</b></a></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I received a record of a Clouded Yellow just outside
Haddington on 9th August. These are rare migrants in Scotland, but more
commonly seen in the south of England.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The exciting news was that in August Purple Hairstreaks were
seen at Dunglass Dean and Woodhall Dean. These are interesting little
butterflies that usually fly high up in Oak trees and they tend to fly in the
early evening, rather than earlier in the day. This behaviour may explain why
the butterflies haven't been recorded previously in East Lothian, although a
lot of effort has been put into searching potential areas of old Oaks and
particularly looking at fallen branches and twigs to check for eggs, which are
quite easily spotted in the winter. Personally, I think if they had been here
in previous years we would have seen them and when you consider how quickly
Holly Blues have spread across East Lothian, it is quite possible that Purple
Hairstreaks may have spread in from colonies outwith East Lothian.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCZiuhFOTTwZAv6GbAlDd3XU3vnOHoiDwpbRF2AA9JtuvDX7vDiTxvjvls4yr4oY_xsCgvMoQw0vdmxd244NcVG3AegkSb6O-CztBPKQICJadyUa_V1Pq92yb0BenI4nXIbN_jnEAdvix85O9mJ8_GqRiXqPlLZ_SSBdKnhfgXkLksvgwKn7jsuwXag/s800/01%20Purple%20Hairstreak%20P1140446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCZiuhFOTTwZAv6GbAlDd3XU3vnOHoiDwpbRF2AA9JtuvDX7vDiTxvjvls4yr4oY_xsCgvMoQw0vdmxd244NcVG3AegkSb6O-CztBPKQICJadyUa_V1Pq92yb0BenI4nXIbN_jnEAdvix85O9mJ8_GqRiXqPlLZ_SSBdKnhfgXkLksvgwKn7jsuwXag/w640-h480/01%20Purple%20Hairstreak%20P1140446.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were a few species that were not recorded in East
Lothian in 2022, but I am sure they were probably present, but just that no one
managed to be in the right place at the right time to record them. Green
Hairstreaks live in small colonies in the Lammermuir Hills. The colonies I am
aware of are quite remote, so require a bit of a hike to find. I thought I had
done well when I found them in good numbers at a site on Soutra, but when I
started entering the records I realised I had been just south of the East
Lothian boundary! There were bound to have been some just a few yards away in
East Lothian!!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMoho56U3hTOotsp12FzJPw2nVx7iNFvcy-xKz1nNYrAZlUMU6dymYPLKr616pYbibTceJjMSakYMXTB0k-W1rSwrRmxOXNcCqVE0SrSt9kM0piU61MoWqS5xqKnXP5RTgq4tXS9WVNZCJA6ZiuaQzoV9UtJKZlAm5JqCyDllf_xzmJCyXqqH0SWcmTA/s800/02%20P1230622%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMoho56U3hTOotsp12FzJPw2nVx7iNFvcy-xKz1nNYrAZlUMU6dymYPLKr616pYbibTceJjMSakYMXTB0k-W1rSwrRmxOXNcCqVE0SrSt9kM0piU61MoWqS5xqKnXP5RTgq4tXS9WVNZCJA6ZiuaQzoV9UtJKZlAm5JqCyDllf_xzmJCyXqqH0SWcmTA/w640-h480/02%20P1230622%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were no records of Northern Brown Argus butterflies,
although some eggs were found. These butterflies also live in small, scattered
colonies where Rockrose grows. There was a concerted effort to visit all areas
of known Rockrose in East Lothian in 2022 to search for signs of Northern Brown
Argus and to see if the Rockrose was doing well or under threat. Unfortunately,
by the time we organised ourselves we were a little too late in the year to see
the butterflies! However, eggs were found in areas where Northern Brown Argus
haven't been seen in years, if at all. We will make a concerted effort to
survey these areas a little earlier this summer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KY_JxMvOpwEyLZnHY0oy3weRqS0Z8-cseMXkQK6zV-fsWSZ00ssWbXyLlAhouM7AWvu63PRbvc3Uf8F29T0X0tKY46fvE-j-B0eJQEBmlxV-Z8YAh_qScSkEqVSweprrDyRj6ibI51EAXvWVKDLBJf_ksB-fl7tPkYS7gTgZ4Fe3KXA-TZZeJOEv-Q/s800/03%20P1240840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KY_JxMvOpwEyLZnHY0oy3weRqS0Z8-cseMXkQK6zV-fsWSZ00ssWbXyLlAhouM7AWvu63PRbvc3Uf8F29T0X0tKY46fvE-j-B0eJQEBmlxV-Z8YAh_qScSkEqVSweprrDyRj6ibI51EAXvWVKDLBJf_ksB-fl7tPkYS7gTgZ4Fe3KXA-TZZeJOEv-Q/w640-h480/03%20P1240840.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It was interesting that a number of us saw small, or bonsai,
butterflies this year. These included Small Whites and Speckled Woods. I saw a
butterfly at Longniddry that I thought was some sort of Hairstreak, but it
turned out to be an extremely small Meadow Brown, about the same size as a
Common Blue! I have seen very small versions of Large White, Green-veined White
and Orange Tips in the past. I wonder if they are a result of reduced food
during dry periods, meaning that the caterpillar doesn't grow to its normal
size before pupating.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZDOH0iCH5NmeuJU7dXSDfSf2cQjzd9c-PEs2euOTrYqsOkIVaR39lXQqE8NUyXnaHu-YhOdS1YdSg0hfbCC2mDkxoaR53wH1LJ1V_BgMY1KENOqzRiDk2if6zlT2-t07VsWo0y3wJlw2h7MxRczmV0yB7hpQ7u1qiAqZst_q8FOVNIdciVVsI_3F6w/s800/04%2020220817_144521%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="450" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZDOH0iCH5NmeuJU7dXSDfSf2cQjzd9c-PEs2euOTrYqsOkIVaR39lXQqE8NUyXnaHu-YhOdS1YdSg0hfbCC2mDkxoaR53wH1LJ1V_BgMY1KENOqzRiDk2if6zlT2-t07VsWo0y3wJlw2h7MxRczmV0yB7hpQ7u1qiAqZst_q8FOVNIdciVVsI_3F6w/s320/04%2020220817_144521%20(2).jpg" width="180" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The picture above was taken on my phone. It isn't that obvious from the picture, but the Meadow Brown is unusually small, about the same size as a Common Blue.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Here is a list of butterflies recorded in East Lothian in
order of appearance:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Small Tortoiseshell<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Peacock<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Red Admira<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Comm<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Brimstone<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Holly Blue<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Orange Tip<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Small White<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Speckled Wood<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Green-veined White<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Wall Brown<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Small Copper<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Small Heath<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Large White<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Large Skipper<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Small Skipper<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Common Blue<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Meadow Brown<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ringlet<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Dark Green Fritillary<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Painted Lady<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Grayling<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Clouded Yellow<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Purple Hairstreak</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQI1MvEc6lcOl4Dqkih2QviRE36L53_tifLEfG_EAmWVEgrmvBp_0yWMHQhG5RUR9QjbDznT2eVGTl2GFw7RVP6TN6rVwj0heftUNIk23eCtQPqxnoARbdJnAqJSEsrxIW1HDFviigNOvcrX9cRQbW3gCr7AgxqWUm79s2sDsWv7t2quHoD-AjKt3fA/s800/05%20P1250395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQI1MvEc6lcOl4Dqkih2QviRE36L53_tifLEfG_EAmWVEgrmvBp_0yWMHQhG5RUR9QjbDznT2eVGTl2GFw7RVP6TN6rVwj0heftUNIk23eCtQPqxnoARbdJnAqJSEsrxIW1HDFviigNOvcrX9cRQbW3gCr7AgxqWUm79s2sDsWv7t2quHoD-AjKt3fA/w640-h480/05%20P1250395.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">If we include the other three species that occur in isolated
colonies in East Lothian (Northern Brown Argus, Green Hairstreak and Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary) we get a grand total of 27 species of butterflies
for East Lothian in 2023.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25hSlwgCh7y7p8UPbZUx4wH7RXzj-nLRDHB_vEUanNjY0vetAfGsaGTLVZOA2wfVUzOicn27iR6bIrI9764MgT0qPctcaHjPVLRROXyTL34iV3pznnVTsW3CARXuW-pZRLlcg4OgOYGaWeEi6MWqi3xwQK6lP5q8LwZyxFzfQLjFslStuPfVtQ_B44w/s800/06%20P1230356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25hSlwgCh7y7p8UPbZUx4wH7RXzj-nLRDHB_vEUanNjY0vetAfGsaGTLVZOA2wfVUzOicn27iR6bIrI9764MgT0qPctcaHjPVLRROXyTL34iV3pznnVTsW3CARXuW-pZRLlcg4OgOYGaWeEi6MWqi3xwQK6lP5q8LwZyxFzfQLjFslStuPfVtQ_B44w/w640-h480/06%20P1230356.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I received 1,817 ad hoc records in 2022, totalling 7,278
butterflies. Add in the 5,149 butterflies that were recorded on the transects
and we get a grand total of 12,427 that we have collectively recorded. I am very grateful to everyone who has contributed records over the years. This has helped paint a great picture of how things have changed over the years in East Lothian.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzi2nS2o7nAPl4pHKI4qoX5785OYReGRVkTYGesI51upOLMjy6dlOaYiebPHPplR4QK2GV0xuutrK9BEM087TUTWVcVSdavSg4xEJVtGneO5nW6UwmYUTlP5feMuw20-1tyE7tU37uRonx8nU1vs6M4ab2PP6E8hlSQnRMzfcAkQEgy55xegrjhNz0iQ/s800/07%20P1250033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzi2nS2o7nAPl4pHKI4qoX5785OYReGRVkTYGesI51upOLMjy6dlOaYiebPHPplR4QK2GV0xuutrK9BEM087TUTWVcVSdavSg4xEJVtGneO5nW6UwmYUTlP5feMuw20-1tyE7tU37uRonx8nU1vs6M4ab2PP6E8hlSQnRMzfcAkQEgy55xegrjhNz0iQ/w640-h480/07%20P1250033.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-81151720385787846522023-03-26T10:32:00.000+01:002023-03-26T10:32:37.582+01:00East Lothian Butterflies 2022 - Part 1<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Every year when I report on the butterflies that have been
seen in East Lothian there is something exciting to report. I often wonder how
long we can go on finding new species here and 2022 didn't let us down!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The weather wasn't the best for butterflies and it is
interesting to speculate how temperature, wind, cloud cover or rain will impact
on the number of butterflies seen not only in the current year, but also the
impact the weather may have on next year's generations.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaWkgeXemXFiuvYpkRDz_mwgWB1AY4uyA2wKOnMpSKJgJ7VsPwEAjrJ6Vk8CUQT-sh16N0I6DKw01xZOM_VTMfcLLjU-3ahKw0eRncEzX8nOQC9jnzGKBjPbAOPOCcG1cI9QSizUzVAQNRE0omTSpkhUFWuOcTTKsi2PmZnHucdUlaV7VZIb6Lfr17Q/s3147/P1230393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2360" data-original-width="3147" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaaWkgeXemXFiuvYpkRDz_mwgWB1AY4uyA2wKOnMpSKJgJ7VsPwEAjrJ6Vk8CUQT-sh16N0I6DKw01xZOM_VTMfcLLjU-3ahKw0eRncEzX8nOQC9jnzGKBjPbAOPOCcG1cI9QSizUzVAQNRE0omTSpkhUFWuOcTTKsi2PmZnHucdUlaV7VZIb6Lfr17Q/w640-h480/P1230393.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Last winter was reasonably mild, but very windy and it
remained quite cloudy through till mid way through June. It then warmed up
nicely and we had a very dry summer, but after mid September there was a lot of
rain. There were one or two frosty days in October, but it wasn't until
November that the cold weather arrived. The year continued wet with a very cold
spell in mid December.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Many species of butterflies had a fairly normal year, so rather
than reporting on each species, I thought I would concentrate on some of the
more unusual sightings.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-78vQ8YV1x1WGb4neRrWIUazOMzAqkwMq7vdpfZhP5dodgJXlcN9AFpViz-zIlechNly2dg9kguDFzMtGTUFcMZpkcC27-Mwu8Uk0a-Xuj853hgE_AgdJc0zUPTaGPJOmi9DLYBLSOKUUZZ978eSJ-YkCWKZw7vJZYEVyQlHjF_W3o_BLd4PgHSxRQ/s800/Peacock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-78vQ8YV1x1WGb4neRrWIUazOMzAqkwMq7vdpfZhP5dodgJXlcN9AFpViz-zIlechNly2dg9kguDFzMtGTUFcMZpkcC27-Mwu8Uk0a-Xuj853hgE_AgdJc0zUPTaGPJOmi9DLYBLSOKUUZZ978eSJ-YkCWKZw7vJZYEVyQlHjF_W3o_BLd4PgHSxRQ/w640-h480/Peacock.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The first records I received were both on the 27th February,
with a Peacock at Gullane and a Small Tortoiseshell in Dunbar. After that there
were no more sightings until the 18th March when another Small Tortoiseshell was
seen and then a Red Admiral on the 19th March. The next species was a Comma on
the 23rd and then the exciting news that a Brimstone was seen on the 25th
March.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NsHP7FSRQmo5gHHKbV49jo7_DF55riPnFakS6ImdGWxoOnzK71aINJUvsDz_wkX8aLOaD1o0_SB5HJ1f-KGr5TJ3uiLb0btbNu761x0beMI906Pqp2bMSag-ZR3o9H5JW9aJZ47tsEH0KNfFduaXhvVmMvqedhy_swj0nOjQ7Ia7Wf9tTUP5mD_Xrg/s4000/P1230144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NsHP7FSRQmo5gHHKbV49jo7_DF55riPnFakS6ImdGWxoOnzK71aINJUvsDz_wkX8aLOaD1o0_SB5HJ1f-KGr5TJ3uiLb0btbNu761x0beMI906Pqp2bMSag-ZR3o9H5JW9aJZ47tsEH0KNfFduaXhvVmMvqedhy_swj0nOjQ7Ia7Wf9tTUP5mD_Xrg/w640-h480/P1230144.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There had been a few scattered sightings of Brimstones in
2021, so to have a sighting so early in the year suggested that it had
over-wintered in East Lothian, rather than flown up from England. Over the next
four weeks I received another six records of both males and females, all from a
small area on the west side of Haddington.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPInvUuAHQ7G6pliRf7HL9P17LEVBWEhXRIQkmh7YKIwV42-2PlG0wWx32TX0L960CqbdfvGqk52gLrcDR5SF6mryoM0CnlP7DWGDX3-IrIXBWBzCF_NAjAffQAbvJwIJHE8-o9FtTSAEtxpX8vhf-Uu_a6ABp7SNuGDw-rSlKtQ6wSeG0a6F7BJWnCw/s800/Brimstone%20P1140078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPInvUuAHQ7G6pliRf7HL9P17LEVBWEhXRIQkmh7YKIwV42-2PlG0wWx32TX0L960CqbdfvGqk52gLrcDR5SF6mryoM0CnlP7DWGDX3-IrIXBWBzCF_NAjAffQAbvJwIJHE8-o9FtTSAEtxpX8vhf-Uu_a6ABp7SNuGDw-rSlKtQ6wSeG0a6F7BJWnCw/w640-h480/Brimstone%20P1140078.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Brimstone is a very common butterfly over much of
England, but it doesn't occur much north of Yorkshire. It lays its eggs on
Alder Buckthorn and Purging Buckthorn, and these plants have a very similar
distribution to the butterfly. We speculated that somewhere in Haddington was
an Alder Buckthorn bush that had hosted a brood of caterpillars in the summer
of 2021. The resulting butterflies would have over-wintered and then appeared
in spring 2022. Sadly, though, there were no records of any Brimstones later in
the year, so it looks as though the new colony didn't continue. Possibly the
owners of the Alder Buckthorn saw all of the caterpillar damage and cut the
plant down! It will certainly be worth keeping an eye open for large yellow
butterflies over the coming years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklSzFF-TpxZVwHUCiLhjxyZjzWBgRpurZ7RwstKbVR95AhoPcOrT8QRPMcD9W-MRuFDtmg0opsQJVoHxvg6MYScxBRQjXNUz-TdczQ3GDbSt7pX4Gb0famtrm0e7rEIssMW948T-Bn1Srzsu6PXYI20VVePb-ameXtypGjxLFEBfmoWH38BS7TNMM9g/s800/P1230379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklSzFF-TpxZVwHUCiLhjxyZjzWBgRpurZ7RwstKbVR95AhoPcOrT8QRPMcD9W-MRuFDtmg0opsQJVoHxvg6MYScxBRQjXNUz-TdczQ3GDbSt7pX4Gb0famtrm0e7rEIssMW948T-Bn1Srzsu6PXYI20VVePb-ameXtypGjxLFEBfmoWH38BS7TNMM9g/w640-h480/P1230379.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Large Whites, Green-veined Whites and Small Whites all have
very similar life cycles, with a spring generation and a summer generation.
However, the Large White is never seen in big numbers, with the other two
species usually being very common. In 2022 the Small White did very well, but
the Green-veined White struggled a bit. In fact it was the worst year for them
since I started collating the records. I can only assume this was down to the
weather. I tend to associate Green-veined Whites with damper areas, along the
sides of rivers or in meadows, whereas Small Whites are more often spotted in
gardens. Possibly the dry first half of the year didn’t suit the Green-veined
White as much.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mv-S-ttZnlh2ojmgobiwI9x2K6S2fK9SQ3wPrQq2WLt0oJYc_A2X9gZtw3OUUAwcsqvLky2PraVDRe3VeS0SuCHCTtJ17gEqd48_7sEFUGLOtP5nwwVwjAchSXOYCoYKkOb54UZDgqk4215RpDRjOBxBlcY2GwWJg5-huEmtyguAzwN1w5PEnueL4w/s800/P1230417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-mv-S-ttZnlh2ojmgobiwI9x2K6S2fK9SQ3wPrQq2WLt0oJYc_A2X9gZtw3OUUAwcsqvLky2PraVDRe3VeS0SuCHCTtJ17gEqd48_7sEFUGLOtP5nwwVwjAchSXOYCoYKkOb54UZDgqk4215RpDRjOBxBlcY2GwWJg5-huEmtyguAzwN1w5PEnueL4w/w640-h480/P1230417.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Holly Blues have continued to do well in East Lothian. They
increased their range considerably, being seen as far east as Thorntonloch and
along much of the coast into Edinburgh. They were also seen in good numbers in
Haddington and into the foothills of the Lammermuirs. I can't believe how
quickly they have expanded. We had no records of Holly Blues in 2017 or 2018.
In 2019 there was great excitement when I received 28 records, mostly from
around the Gullane area. In 2020 I received 90 records, in 2021 101 records and
last year 288 Holly Blues were recorded.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2fVkc6VthlgVaM7gjBS2RuH6FSD-sAICAQjVzwcQPYuqcLQUye8hDm8VkbCXXwBrBy254CEOKrUbfGMtBVfrlhRAC2BUgZYGmdsl5P-UKrPw63LFX3urAXVGXh3VmeVbTTSe9DAIaIoqG13DS7dYlnUsJDMSVhVfW29FUXGuRch5rbJZrVnqFNJv3IA/s1122/Holly%20Blues%202021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1122" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2fVkc6VthlgVaM7gjBS2RuH6FSD-sAICAQjVzwcQPYuqcLQUye8hDm8VkbCXXwBrBy254CEOKrUbfGMtBVfrlhRAC2BUgZYGmdsl5P-UKrPw63LFX3urAXVGXh3VmeVbTTSe9DAIaIoqG13DS7dYlnUsJDMSVhVfW29FUXGuRch5rbJZrVnqFNJv3IA/w640-h452/Holly%20Blues%202021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB103kp_d_OWU3k75F5loda6MI8iAD0u7CR5vz2B3yBGnT6BFwBJvlae463iR5AldrEbjfJQ8g1kxgsKBoKxx2lZGtJ84uJg6d3AWUi5LGmBWkQucHsOuzNlwmusdLCn-Gkz-bzpt5u8S0qYKpO6i97beU8M3GmUXqZ0lIu4p6bTQn0jfiA2jVMZXVRg/s1122/Holly%20Blues%202022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1122" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB103kp_d_OWU3k75F5loda6MI8iAD0u7CR5vz2B3yBGnT6BFwBJvlae463iR5AldrEbjfJQ8g1kxgsKBoKxx2lZGtJ84uJg6d3AWUi5LGmBWkQucHsOuzNlwmusdLCn-Gkz-bzpt5u8S0qYKpO6i97beU8M3GmUXqZ0lIu4p6bTQn0jfiA2jVMZXVRg/w640-h452/Holly%20Blues%202022.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were two records of a very late Holly Blue spotted in
Aberlady. I am not sure if it was the same butterfly that was seen by two
people. The record I received was from 12th November. The second generation of
Holly Blues usually only goes on until the end of August, so I think this must
have been a third generation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklPmlYLa8467JMl14GMYIqamavOcUDR0fjbERA8qFjOfa5CsbTmIRs8n3jmlAro0IcMxr0v2QKNz24HFTE0HXun1MjTr3YcxV-GFFrZcIun61lJ0KlXbjFqI_K6Z-G8XS01kcknYs8PE8-J94kguMTyLKkAXEj2ZMuGU6J9PzZ28HH7OJMaulw7iEeg/s2605/P1230439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1954" data-original-width="2605" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhklPmlYLa8467JMl14GMYIqamavOcUDR0fjbERA8qFjOfa5CsbTmIRs8n3jmlAro0IcMxr0v2QKNz24HFTE0HXun1MjTr3YcxV-GFFrZcIun61lJ0KlXbjFqI_K6Z-G8XS01kcknYs8PE8-J94kguMTyLKkAXEj2ZMuGU6J9PzZ28HH7OJMaulw7iEeg/w640-h480/P1230439.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In order to keep this post to a reasonable length I will continue with the remaining species seen last year in my next post.</span></div><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-9185653323653566732023-02-18T22:07:00.005+00:002023-12-17T08:40:44.809+00:00Mauritius - Butterflies - January 2023<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We have just returned from a wonderful holiday to Mauritius
where we returned to the same hotel where we were married 25 years ago. The
hotel is set in over 60 acres of ground and the forecast wasn't particularly
positive, so we spent the whole short stay at the hotel, which was no hardship!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGlkJMRlMz-CEj2PdPO0_Z0YpFafHTWqTtL-3lywEZw4usWSqYOpQN-Q2QkAtEWXTJ99iyNs_xa7pykUMgu-lLLJ1qK7vrnYbaTKIG9YQaEQWJ4NV9SR2AtLtHBCYTCxQPa-S5KJax-6kAdRAuLWXIRAQZ0mNQI3sNDO72rtOo3QkpzOa_3bYjytpEg/s1100/20230117_120754.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1100" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPGlkJMRlMz-CEj2PdPO0_Z0YpFafHTWqTtL-3lywEZw4usWSqYOpQN-Q2QkAtEWXTJ99iyNs_xa7pykUMgu-lLLJ1qK7vrnYbaTKIG9YQaEQWJ4NV9SR2AtLtHBCYTCxQPa-S5KJax-6kAdRAuLWXIRAQZ0mNQI3sNDO72rtOo3QkpzOa_3bYjytpEg/w640-h360/20230117_120754.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When we were there 25 years ago I remember noticing how many
butterflies, birds and other wildlife there was around the island, but I wasn't
as obsessed about butterflies as I am now, so I didn't take so much notice of
them.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">However, we returned in 2011 with our children and my father
when I took a lot more notice of the butterflies, as noted in my <a href="https://nickmorgan-butterflypictures.blogspot.com/2012/06/mauritius-august-2011-butterflies.html" target="_blank"><b>post</b></a> then! Also,
having a digital camera it was possible to photograph the butterflies for
identification. The limited information available about the butterflies of
Mauritius suggests that there are more butterflies around in January, which is
the middle of summer there.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This time, as with our last visit, I noticed that there were
loads of small butterflies flying around the grass and flower beds. I struggled
to identify them because of their size and because there are a number of
similar species, so had to photograph any I had a chance to and then identify
them from the pictures. The vast majority of these butterflies turned out to be
African Grass Blues, <i>Zizeeria knysna</i>. There were hundreds of them flying around
all over the hotel grounds and even on the beach, where I noticed them flying
along the tide line and landing on the sand.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuSBZ_3kzUQmgX0FQ8zWCx3agv5i8uXrH1qj7knvuC2vYnIZDmHpJD0d2Jj27B4wePyedOjo20_d1fhXRNmWEX_Y92vVBY3I3x9m_LPaYvWtfwL02Z11FBZYpL95fBsJAHzY_PBkw-dvZ_GwVnt9i1jDaQWRJJRIWoufRmviwQw2cX1GnejX1ETomPg/s800/African%20Grass%20Blue%20P1250439.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuSBZ_3kzUQmgX0FQ8zWCx3agv5i8uXrH1qj7knvuC2vYnIZDmHpJD0d2Jj27B4wePyedOjo20_d1fhXRNmWEX_Y92vVBY3I3x9m_LPaYvWtfwL02Z11FBZYpL95fBsJAHzY_PBkw-dvZ_GwVnt9i1jDaQWRJJRIWoufRmviwQw2cX1GnejX1ETomPg/w640-h480/African%20Grass%20Blue%20P1250439.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The other little butterfly that I saw was the Common Zebra
Blue, <i>Leptotes pirithous</i>. In Europe I know these as Lang's Short-tailed Blue. I
think about 10% of the small butterflies I saw turned out to be these. I noticed
that these were a bit more active than the African Grass Blues and they often
landed a bit higher up in the vegetation.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsLMuLuctFbuL8fIGmWJHzm3o5lC9bNXCw52LFSOIQMBUp-B8kQicO-nCXKuuyhwJE_1tbeTGOPQ1o2JpaSFGfF2PtEYr00waQH3Qii9P0gUyIucAjnb70qhWLE00ZSMJYmeumDlP72Uwv48sLQz83j8wYjLXgCyIUd6uQA3fu2V_XORtykoVS4edMg/s800/Common%20Zebra%20Blue%20P1250518.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqsLMuLuctFbuL8fIGmWJHzm3o5lC9bNXCw52LFSOIQMBUp-B8kQicO-nCXKuuyhwJE_1tbeTGOPQ1o2JpaSFGfF2PtEYr00waQH3Qii9P0gUyIucAjnb70qhWLE00ZSMJYmeumDlP72Uwv48sLQz83j8wYjLXgCyIUd6uQA3fu2V_XORtykoVS4edMg/w640-h480/Common%20Zebra%20Blue%20P1250518.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Out of all of the pictures I took of these smaller
butterflies, only one turned out to be the Tiny Grass Blue, <i>Zizula hylax</i>. They
really are tiny, with a wingspan of between 11 and 15mm.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X6Or5TeuHjLR5Cvpds9Zb0WLUSlU6Ju09y-ttmDl2YyoTi2s1OGUZM5fkmSIwNgAzi28mGzop1Qpfz4gBKFtZV2-qZnp8W-mEsu7cCwr3XIdoU3VYOPpYWpDXn8Y4oXEiN06lou_I0eXxznYRvOKn29rW7fUv3q_yRxzWMWA8UYxYaFab61jyQ1AHw/s800/Tiny%20Grass%20Blue%20P1250510.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X6Or5TeuHjLR5Cvpds9Zb0WLUSlU6Ju09y-ttmDl2YyoTi2s1OGUZM5fkmSIwNgAzi28mGzop1Qpfz4gBKFtZV2-qZnp8W-mEsu7cCwr3XIdoU3VYOPpYWpDXn8Y4oXEiN06lou_I0eXxznYRvOKn29rW7fUv3q_yRxzWMWA8UYxYaFab61jyQ1AHw/w640-h480/Tiny%20Grass%20Blue%20P1250510.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Other single Lycaenidae sightings included a Long-tailed
Blue, <i>Lampides boeticus</i>. I saw this one laying eggs and only managed one fuzzy
picture.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbz3u8gDr42HKPeIpoV4Ub9nMqQ_fkOeEPBKCn4i_6_jhaZGD-ZJ-hwF6eq7WAQBCXnH9yI715sqrTEvGNjuG7reHKW1L_G99QlgTvL18KIts8HopVwSRxaGsE7ZphhuesQUWKMqG8ycCs3Fw4x79BEo75rUzcBlMvnTQJf4fFNuIRD-0YJ9tASdhBQw/s4000/Long-tailed%20Blue%20P1250463.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbz3u8gDr42HKPeIpoV4Ub9nMqQ_fkOeEPBKCn4i_6_jhaZGD-ZJ-hwF6eq7WAQBCXnH9yI715sqrTEvGNjuG7reHKW1L_G99QlgTvL18KIts8HopVwSRxaGsE7ZphhuesQUWKMqG8ycCs3Fw4x79BEo75rUzcBlMvnTQJf4fFNuIRD-0YJ9tASdhBQw/w640-h480/Long-tailed%20Blue%20P1250463.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I saw another larger <i>Lycaenidae</i>, flying high in the trees.
It eventually landed on a palm tree and as expected it turned out to be a Brown
Playboy, <i>Deudorix antalus</i>. I had noticed on my last visit that they tend to fly
among shrubs and the low branches of trees.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnTx7n7UhSUnGza-88rBX869qxmQClTq_ope4voXd2EsFeodZxFMZYDu8BWA5uan96ElxZjFMbfyq9_FrTDZDBlX6b1FdHJfgeaaDwiQljscFe_eswB4b9AIgDsWpLnjyDoSaSesXwNk-agPixS03pPeHc170yVRMiy8hSvptjkq-RrmwCHvIo8X2qg/s800/Brown%20Playboy%20P1250570.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSnTx7n7UhSUnGza-88rBX869qxmQClTq_ope4voXd2EsFeodZxFMZYDu8BWA5uan96ElxZjFMbfyq9_FrTDZDBlX6b1FdHJfgeaaDwiQljscFe_eswB4b9AIgDsWpLnjyDoSaSesXwNk-agPixS03pPeHc170yVRMiy8hSvptjkq-RrmwCHvIo8X2qg/w640-h480/Brown%20Playboy%20P1250570.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The final <i>Lycaenidae</i> I saw was a butterfly that appeared to
be behaving a little strangely on a highly scented flowering shrub. I only
managed to take one poor picture, but it is enough to confirm that it is the African
Line Blue, <i>Pseudonacaduba sichela</i>. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-v7Ta4f3TKvQ9umBUe4eNa4hqNyln_lq7F0kXGREv9UszTRsrZBRENkX5xCNTQZUMAeg8UOTkQTX7UX5mlg4M3XNX56AHpWPZiJWYy0f530PZXdC-IvypcKUse7rgFndZWcTri_be1-owirSplmRmRYWFxCQMLKf5NBANkugg11jnl5K472TsdVE8Zg/s800/African%20Line%20Blue%20P1250519.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-v7Ta4f3TKvQ9umBUe4eNa4hqNyln_lq7F0kXGREv9UszTRsrZBRENkX5xCNTQZUMAeg8UOTkQTX7UX5mlg4M3XNX56AHpWPZiJWYy0f530PZXdC-IvypcKUse7rgFndZWcTri_be1-owirSplmRmRYWFxCQMLKf5NBANkugg11jnl5K472TsdVE8Zg/w640-h480/African%20Line%20Blue%20P1250519.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I think that the second most common butterfly was the
African Migrant, <i>Catopsilia florella</i>. The male of this species is greenish-white, but
the female occurs in both a white and a yellow form. The female also has brown marks on the underside of the wings. All of those I saw this
time were white and possibly all males. I saw them flying all over the hotel grounds and
occasionally they would flit from flower to flower on a hedge which had cascades of
mauve flowers. On one occasion I saw one landing on the sand after a spell of
rain. I noticed that it was landing next to the mauve petals that had fallen
from a tree, possibly finding nectar, or just drinking the water caught within
it.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97dNVMKZrXrMhuEnZxbRJKEJucvvWexsSad8ZB2d5BYw3lchscNhbYvFJqTHIzB4JHGLRqzkJ9241jCiWLyDkhUGT7-T-jJGlKIe-vMtF1aFkz4aDf4KUu58kXt8qWavi93jXkaJJA437fH72HTsj6zYVaNrkZSy-0WLD6_J6Om1JOTyYpv4FUynLhg/s800/African%20Migrant%20P1250758.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97dNVMKZrXrMhuEnZxbRJKEJucvvWexsSad8ZB2d5BYw3lchscNhbYvFJqTHIzB4JHGLRqzkJ9241jCiWLyDkhUGT7-T-jJGlKIe-vMtF1aFkz4aDf4KUu58kXt8qWavi93jXkaJJA437fH72HTsj6zYVaNrkZSy-0WLD6_J6Om1JOTyYpv4FUynLhg/w640-h480/African%20Migrant%20P1250758.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I can't be sure that all of the white butterflies I saw were
African Migrants as, when I was sorting my pictures once I returned home, I
discovered that I had pictures of a Madagascar Migrant, <i>Catopsilia thauruma</i>.
The yellow showing towards the centre of the underside of the forewing is the
give-away.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc13qM5HH7oXWdEi7qEYQSpWO5bXCrQfFmY90vBqnW6Qw4fV_r4GoVnxKjarGQjCkxjUQo7xNdzTIKyxNVzrkKsbEeKGzne8GVJ42jrELYywZalxLRZwh2H5jsw4u0gyeEcPGYlG0boklR-a2WvBcN6cu5cg2LdfMWI-jEiLtsTqX5cPYRSL2oSHSj-Q/s800/Madagascar%20Migrant%20P1250672.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc13qM5HH7oXWdEi7qEYQSpWO5bXCrQfFmY90vBqnW6Qw4fV_r4GoVnxKjarGQjCkxjUQo7xNdzTIKyxNVzrkKsbEeKGzne8GVJ42jrELYywZalxLRZwh2H5jsw4u0gyeEcPGYlG0boklR-a2WvBcN6cu5cg2LdfMWI-jEiLtsTqX5cPYRSL2oSHSj-Q/w640-h480/Madagascar%20Migrant%20P1250672.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another, similar-sized butterfly was the Common Leopard,
<i>Phalanta phalantha</i>. As with all of the other butterflies these were really
active, but I did see them feeding occasionally on the small yellow flowers
favoured by so many butterflies.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43OIujpodLI8ON1ozuAUmq5p0mq19sHWFiSGld8UTP7xTeLEXdfkd-FqFxLLmYYQaODqxHoWVZy8GjwXKw2pl_1_KzhHL83Xxr6MPhVtl9OQreCBbhNAXQjYE72dK5CF-efqWaiDu1DjYcB9SPU9JMgNiXKL5yMPSAssWbtAooGtEHMheJc8FpVDrfg/s800/Common%20Leopard%20P1250427.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43OIujpodLI8ON1ozuAUmq5p0mq19sHWFiSGld8UTP7xTeLEXdfkd-FqFxLLmYYQaODqxHoWVZy8GjwXKw2pl_1_KzhHL83Xxr6MPhVtl9OQreCBbhNAXQjYE72dK5CF-efqWaiDu1DjYcB9SPU9JMgNiXKL5yMPSAssWbtAooGtEHMheJc8FpVDrfg/w640-h480/Common%20Leopard%20P1250427.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I spent a long time chasing after any Malagasy Grass
Yellows, <i>Eurema floricola</i>. I love these little bright yellow butterflies that
fly low to the ground and amongst the vegetation. Even when they were
egg-laying they wouldn’t stop for more than about a second in any one place.
They have a wingspan of about 35 to 40mm, just a little larger than a Small
Copper. I noticed that in mid-afternoon they would fly around busily among the
low branches of shrubs, eventually roosting. They would then remain there until
the following morning.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBoih90BZY_9LEDFiiZmvL9RZk7RbuFZWYbDrH72EkHTZIIg9ZvVdJHxBpaqY6f3wQqpRrWYiG2PUMgUqMIgrgX_5ZHQa2fK4pFh4EmbsowGfgRG5CByFO5Dhn5SgenHBeeaQyTbb7TD7qkBgvuh4XZ5eK3KsLtXpzkLC0yo9NGRkd02v3JdnN3TvzA/s800/Malagasy%20Grass%20Yellow%20P1250682.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBoih90BZY_9LEDFiiZmvL9RZk7RbuFZWYbDrH72EkHTZIIg9ZvVdJHxBpaqY6f3wQqpRrWYiG2PUMgUqMIgrgX_5ZHQa2fK4pFh4EmbsowGfgRG5CByFO5Dhn5SgenHBeeaQyTbb7TD7qkBgvuh4XZ5eK3KsLtXpzkLC0yo9NGRkd02v3JdnN3TvzA/w640-h480/Malagasy%20Grass%20Yellow%20P1250682.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One of the most spectacular butterflies in Mauritius is the
Brilliant Blue, <i>Junonia rhadama</i>. These are about the size of a Small
Tortoiseshell and the males are iridescent blue. They were usually seen flying
in the same places as African Migrants and Common Leopards.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FZfvdmmA3SpIbOHnf8mR2NrHfzourdjDaT7WUxPdVP2mGVClK_PNg4_uf13jDGg8pazrNet5kTUOpRuX4fzlEfhRTZSGrKncqssomOCAQeEqe1PNWpyHrRf7lrgqVMyxot-6Ne_1zmEewKkJoBuV4gB_GG8x5qryrjvwdr1j7AHHEiurfkI_W4423A/s800/Brilliant%20Blue%20P1250449.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FZfvdmmA3SpIbOHnf8mR2NrHfzourdjDaT7WUxPdVP2mGVClK_PNg4_uf13jDGg8pazrNet5kTUOpRuX4fzlEfhRTZSGrKncqssomOCAQeEqe1PNWpyHrRf7lrgqVMyxot-6Ne_1zmEewKkJoBuV4gB_GG8x5qryrjvwdr1j7AHHEiurfkI_W4423A/w640-h480/Brilliant%20Blue%20P1250449.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Most days I would see Citrus Swallowtails, <i>Papilio
demodocus</i>, flying past. These lovely big butterflies would never stop! Most of
the time they were flying quite high and with purpose, but occasionally they
would flutter around a flowering shrub, but I didn’t see one land or feed at
all. Obviously, they must do at some point, but I was never lucky enough to
witness it.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another busy butterfly was the Plain Tiger, <i>Danaus
chrysippus</i>. I would see one a couple of times a day drifting amongst the
vegetation, occasionally they would glide around me, but never stop. I did
manage to get a picture of one, just by firing off my camera as it flew past.
At least this confirmed that it was a Plain Tiger and not a Mimic butterfly,
the female of which mimics the Plain Tiger.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UXKxvrhs-uIAbNOed6P8eNKWCcQPeLukH5fx-xQVYEWWdCBLVrdYaqvjNwI0-Ev5d0_SlQwk98WzXE1qhDEbDlp7ecNi6vUN4IQ9znLzDpM2Me89TElYqpCCbnFLJ53AUBMkDoHo3JFIrRpX7PuCTaf1EZgDxz_Q-NAYtWqIQ73ZmlSW15hl4-t4nw/s800/Plain%20Tiger%20P1250729.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UXKxvrhs-uIAbNOed6P8eNKWCcQPeLukH5fx-xQVYEWWdCBLVrdYaqvjNwI0-Ev5d0_SlQwk98WzXE1qhDEbDlp7ecNi6vUN4IQ9znLzDpM2Me89TElYqpCCbnFLJ53AUBMkDoHo3JFIrRpX7PuCTaf1EZgDxz_Q-NAYtWqIQ73ZmlSW15hl4-t4nw/w640-h480/Plain%20Tiger%20P1250729.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The other two large butterflies I saw, but failed to
photograph were the Mascarene Crow, <i>Euphloea euphon</i>. I saw this spectacular
large black and white butterfly slowly gliding among some trees on just one
occasion. The other butterfly was the Mauritian Friar, <i>Amauris phaedon</i>. It flew
past me and around the corner of some ruins. I walked round the corner after it
and couldn’t see it until I caught sight of it basking on a rock just as it
took off!</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The little Bush Brown, <i>Henotesia narcissus</i>, was always seen in dappled sunlight under trees, settling on the leaf litter.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqcgTzQqq8-benzhqGc0mhj5BDdu_JWlqXxx9N2RAiNLAZRmmaoL15oNSQK7zIitm8aYFe9k4zsCeQNCDoJTYOHMJ3jw6HNu2LWftIP_pSc8qQtApQ83_7LREy36hGjbTRAMiSH1YzY1oIOVmwG8FlK4JYQ9GzwCZrhy2hFRu31P_YQi3cIVrXElWlXg/s800/Bush%20Brown%20P1250600.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqcgTzQqq8-benzhqGc0mhj5BDdu_JWlqXxx9N2RAiNLAZRmmaoL15oNSQK7zIitm8aYFe9k4zsCeQNCDoJTYOHMJ3jw6HNu2LWftIP_pSc8qQtApQ83_7LREy36hGjbTRAMiSH1YzY1oIOVmwG8FlK4JYQ9GzwCZrhy2hFRu31P_YQi3cIVrXElWlXg/w640-h480/Bush%20Brown%20P1250600.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>I saw two different skippers, just briefly. The first was
the Striped Policeman, </span><i>Coeliades forestan</i><span>. This is a quite large black and
white skipper with a wingspan of about 60mm. I saw it several times on my last
visit and noted that it continued to flutter its wings, even when feeding. On
the one occasion I saw it on this trip it was equally as active!</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5qsPI44IaBJ1fqLBBTi99koN6KIl8WxHuljGSq1WaQgjqYDfAjzM4LVNSjEPwodkCRLQrW2KKr1ZAr2gbGRizyf5nt640P32yE2QQ0dL52GUtLGU_4YXibc33bI-sI_SI7zS3-Y5TE8NaOWrC_sEYMcu_ytMmhTP_dSP4n99g_XRu1YFD5OlRjlvHA/s800/Striped%20Policeman%20P1250552.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB5qsPI44IaBJ1fqLBBTi99koN6KIl8WxHuljGSq1WaQgjqYDfAjzM4LVNSjEPwodkCRLQrW2KKr1ZAr2gbGRizyf5nt640P32yE2QQ0dL52GUtLGU_4YXibc33bI-sI_SI7zS3-Y5TE8NaOWrC_sEYMcu_ytMmhTP_dSP4n99g_XRu1YFD5OlRjlvHA/w640-h480/Striped%20Policeman%20P1250552.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The other skipper I saw briefly when it landed on a shrub
when I was trying to photograph the Mauritius Blue. This one was the Orange
Flat, <i>Eagris sabadius</i>, and it briefly landed behind some flowers on a shrub.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhF5S8f6SxgGdwpD7q0zdKkzXQbTPmD84Gpsp392u8TaLg3eWklB5dni3N_Mzm5gdrQUrmXGCKG3eNyrupyesLPI-ghbcYtIwdiAMMhJFRtDBUOojF45a0dJUexOudUzmF8i8UFalPv_UwWxM8Rp-geoJSGCHx_NZDR6lQOaclifsHKqWocOjeOvLsTg/s800/Orange%20Flat%20P1250522.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhF5S8f6SxgGdwpD7q0zdKkzXQbTPmD84Gpsp392u8TaLg3eWklB5dni3N_Mzm5gdrQUrmXGCKG3eNyrupyesLPI-ghbcYtIwdiAMMhJFRtDBUOojF45a0dJUexOudUzmF8i8UFalPv_UwWxM8Rp-geoJSGCHx_NZDR6lQOaclifsHKqWocOjeOvLsTg/w640-h480/Orange%20Flat%20P1250522.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It was interesting returning to Mauritius in January. This
is the middle of their summer and the hottest month, with average temperatures
of 26 degrees Celsius. When we were previously there in August, it was their
coolest month, but only by five degrees. January is also their wettest month
and we did have quite a few showers and it was very humid. I thought that the
butterflies were more active in January, but possibly the difference was that
the two favourite plants to feed on, Lantana and a String Bush were not in
flower, so they were not gathering at these two hot-spots. There were plenty of
other flowering plants, so maybe the choice was greater in January and they
weren't restricted to their two favourite plants!</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6npIluvjm_PaqQR-M4nH4RaHswhgUEZ3fJ4Qaebq8dYNBdpNIKpMzOEPDCcw7Rs7O_0s3dlmpYkUaSWy5dGMKPRiRf6JP4jWKz8kpjTFyvP1-6fpU2dI1N-fi8Br3VZD3xn_C6qTupGN7Y6oFCd4fJLcw41tTFaL2kZenP5Wtr-YvHvCyav14RU5WQ/s1100/20230115_113044.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="1100" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl6npIluvjm_PaqQR-M4nH4RaHswhgUEZ3fJ4Qaebq8dYNBdpNIKpMzOEPDCcw7Rs7O_0s3dlmpYkUaSWy5dGMKPRiRf6JP4jWKz8kpjTFyvP1-6fpU2dI1N-fi8Br3VZD3xn_C6qTupGN7Y6oFCd4fJLcw41tTFaL2kZenP5Wtr-YvHvCyav14RU5WQ/w640-h360/20230115_113044.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">However, when I was there in 2011 I only had a little
compact camera, so had to get really close to the butterflies to photograph
them. I couldn’t imaging getting that close when I visited this time, as they
just didn't settle for any time at all.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It was really interesting that the little blue butterflies were
active all day from early morning until the evening. The larger butterflies
were only around in the morning and all disappeared at about 2pm. I don't know
why that would be, as the temperature remained constant.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02cOXD7HWiijw5tpqlF2dmIAKZE5qUnwIL8e6ka-MpC2II8nOWyvX05da2CDS6M7qZO4nXA4agYrdAIUDzudFwH-_METwTPKtTLueccFrrrsmPIAGtQ1IAkLCB8fHrT8DXoXdvcOj8lpT8oya1jjLWR2v2PrWOR1mJXp4lj2G-X0vyPWnHHtI0cmWuw/s800/African%20Grass%20Blue%20P1250624.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02cOXD7HWiijw5tpqlF2dmIAKZE5qUnwIL8e6ka-MpC2II8nOWyvX05da2CDS6M7qZO4nXA4agYrdAIUDzudFwH-_METwTPKtTLueccFrrrsmPIAGtQ1IAkLCB8fHrT8DXoXdvcOj8lpT8oya1jjLWR2v2PrWOR1mJXp4lj2G-X0vyPWnHHtI0cmWuw/w640-h480/African%20Grass%20Blue%20P1250624.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">41 different species of butterflies have been recorded on
Mauritius. Some are rare migrants and others are sadly now extinct. I think it
could be said that 35 species regularly occur on the island. I was lucky enough
to see 18 different species, which I am very pleased with considering I was
only looking in the hotel grounds. Some species only occur in the mountains and
others have only been seen on particular areas of the coast.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On our visit in 2011 I saw 17 species, mostly the same as this time, but there were four species I saw then, but not on this visit.<br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">We love Mauritius so much we are determined to go back. I
would like to go back for longer next time and visit a bit more of the island.
It would be interesting to go at a different time of year to see if the
butterflies are any different.</span></p><p></p></div>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-71823864967524795832023-01-29T18:24:00.008+00:002023-01-29T18:24:47.822+00:00Three year garden butterflies<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It has been almost three years since we moved to our house
in the Scottish Borders. We have actually owned the house since 2016, but only
popped down at weekends while we were having building work done. We finally
moved in two days before lockdown for the Covid pandemic, which means I have
been mostly working from home, allowing me pop out at lunchtime to look for
butterflies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have a set lunchtime dog walk, past all the best butterfly
spots and around a little path through my meadow and each day I walk the route
I keep a note of the butterflies I have seen.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have just had a look at all of my sightings over the last
three years to see if there are any increases in butterfly numbers, which may
be a result of the work I have done to try to enhance the place for
butterflies.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTE0QEe7Mi5Q_ata035KIBiOQuq1_U2NSq7g7JWBHS4PmOb1EXoaNFA16X--F_fEic2h0J6alvnAjDqF1crcf2KkavUpujjdMT66aQK5TyqRqw0TJyP4KxiqDr-7no2rtX_uHYPLnH0nvfqjH-YczoHPbuqkiReMGw_WpAGx4QgMgNrSW9vgoqmN5NHQ/s800/P1230367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTE0QEe7Mi5Q_ata035KIBiOQuq1_U2NSq7g7JWBHS4PmOb1EXoaNFA16X--F_fEic2h0J6alvnAjDqF1crcf2KkavUpujjdMT66aQK5TyqRqw0TJyP4KxiqDr-7no2rtX_uHYPLnH0nvfqjH-YczoHPbuqkiReMGw_WpAGx4QgMgNrSW9vgoqmN5NHQ/w640-h480/P1230367.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have seen 19 different species
of butterflies here, which I am very pleased about. The numbers of some of the
more common species seem to fluctuate quite a bit, so don't really show
anything. Each year I have seen good numbers of Orange Tips and 2022 was a
particularly good year for Green-veined Whites. Small White had a really poor
year in 2020, a great year in 2021 and an average year last year! Large Whites
tend to be seen in much smaller numbers than the other whites, but they had a
particularly good year in 2021. I am expecting to see a good number this year,
as I planted nasturtiums last year and the house is currently covered in Large
White chrysalises!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nsrg4SgpQ2GfB7LiGWq3GaBhVms8JefPiHU9pyuVj2xIC5NfyrFV5MAsUbx7WrqGsPTIPFVgcYN15ClHkJhsVhjiLePEVXOWTf1BMib2pHoOD-fe71hHk0LBF_2i3aQA8_SW2mUclhYrbh96Jhi2gJ_domc9pXvw5P2GhdTpEpGnPlImqmTWrI-SXw/s800/P1230599%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nsrg4SgpQ2GfB7LiGWq3GaBhVms8JefPiHU9pyuVj2xIC5NfyrFV5MAsUbx7WrqGsPTIPFVgcYN15ClHkJhsVhjiLePEVXOWTf1BMib2pHoOD-fe71hHk0LBF_2i3aQA8_SW2mUclhYrbh96Jhi2gJ_domc9pXvw5P2GhdTpEpGnPlImqmTWrI-SXw/w640-h480/P1230599%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ringlet and Meadow Brown numbers
have increased year on year. Possibly these grassland species are benefiting
from the management of the meadow area and I have seen them in the area that
had been a spruce plantation, so they are certainly benefiting from the grass
that is growing amongst the young broad leaves there.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP25wUoou2xEho8HmxkJKyFd0WuKAA08MNtlCbnlCGBvQJmBdU-Ns4AiJflQ4hwv8dJvYsxXuh54wrLAGZbDtQ0tifPfdkkpD__DHPokiijaS-bMAzCzemBL1ABpN_Q5ZoUL8c1yK3vltwtswqyb3QjOn2_eIyWNruy-a0dKDmBncxtbsTuBN0WWD_fw/s800/P1240907%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP25wUoou2xEho8HmxkJKyFd0WuKAA08MNtlCbnlCGBvQJmBdU-Ns4AiJflQ4hwv8dJvYsxXuh54wrLAGZbDtQ0tifPfdkkpD__DHPokiijaS-bMAzCzemBL1ABpN_Q5ZoUL8c1yK3vltwtswqyb3QjOn2_eIyWNruy-a0dKDmBncxtbsTuBN0WWD_fw/w640-h480/P1240907%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The other grassland species, the
Small Heath, hasn't done so well. Each year I have only seen one or two<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>here. It seems strange, as they are really
common in the valley above the house and I would have thought the habitats here
are perfect for them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The number of Small
Tortoiseshells has gone up and down. 2021 was particularly good, but numbers
dropped back down last year. I think the cool and cloudy spring didn't help
them this year. In the past I have found several groups of caterpillars on
nettles, but I didn't find any this spring.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAeHlOIJgOq9hFMofUYKceIevfPN6YMJw0PnwUj4FdXyOfYUIeLyWiglu8omBf_oE2Iuj9hvzY6q3OMy0lBHD8oA2M_1sJ1G-ij3bddF22E_Yf1vw7e_pYUKLnoPIm8BWwerFpSPI-0L-oWpUD6RXpS8LDZSo1W0nebpKss91woR9LyqQfzX_U9Ahzw/s800/P1250103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAeHlOIJgOq9hFMofUYKceIevfPN6YMJw0PnwUj4FdXyOfYUIeLyWiglu8omBf_oE2Iuj9hvzY6q3OMy0lBHD8oA2M_1sJ1G-ij3bddF22E_Yf1vw7e_pYUKLnoPIm8BWwerFpSPI-0L-oWpUD6RXpS8LDZSo1W0nebpKss91woR9LyqQfzX_U9Ahzw/w640-h480/P1250103.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">However, the Peacock, which has a
similar life cycle to the Small Tortoiseshell did really well in both 2021 and 2022.
I did find a couple of groups of caterpillars, so they were possibly more successful
breeding. In 2019 I recorded 48 Peacocks, in 2020 99 Peacocks, 2021 I saw 196
and last year I recorded 192 Peacocks. Maybe the numbers reflect how my
Buddleia bushes have grown over the last four years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLRmfKX2hwZHbETj8lUFQik4wLv9d0VXEUFE8zwixBeOHwiIimUj3suurg72YE8iJVypfhv3p3XbYnLZq_fvFouvZFH_uYBrp1fIMQi4u5WwEIDCT66Tii8RDgwAo1a6xsVydxLC9HMigAtr-GKkh4DPf4duQCd7SYSnm90fHKLwqqclPvnFDeM-W-Q/s800/P1250238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLRmfKX2hwZHbETj8lUFQik4wLv9d0VXEUFE8zwixBeOHwiIimUj3suurg72YE8iJVypfhv3p3XbYnLZq_fvFouvZFH_uYBrp1fIMQi4u5WwEIDCT66Tii8RDgwAo1a6xsVydxLC9HMigAtr-GKkh4DPf4duQCd7SYSnm90fHKLwqqclPvnFDeM-W-Q/w640-h480/P1250238.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Red Admirals have been remarkably
consistent and I have seen almost the same number each of the last three years.
In late summer the Buddleia bushes are covered with them and they remain here
long after the first frosts.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpEYrP4Rp_2OxZViZ2jpwp7HPVFNsmspeAQ_kX5wqWI207ujhA09racyFcsZKrEcB7Dyr17W_XQqjUC7tQNQapSgzVqoIrqXB1h1MAF1lMUMUQA_mgChiU8PxfYwg3HZVMRNr9S9fDNTedi9oCun7msPH82Z_qet61AVPd1zPa9_RfOQ3yMg3eP556Q/s800/P1250243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpEYrP4Rp_2OxZViZ2jpwp7HPVFNsmspeAQ_kX5wqWI207ujhA09racyFcsZKrEcB7Dyr17W_XQqjUC7tQNQapSgzVqoIrqXB1h1MAF1lMUMUQA_mgChiU8PxfYwg3HZVMRNr9S9fDNTedi9oCun7msPH82Z_qet61AVPd1zPa9_RfOQ3yMg3eP556Q/w640-h480/P1250243.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Commas are not considered a
common butterfly in Southern Scotland, but their numbers have increased year on
year here. Since 2018 the numbers I have seen each year were 9, 20, 25, 38 and
58. It is lovely to see them doing so well and I hope their numbers continue to
increase.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoIWBVq7-W3RTNz9qUK3QCbNf5NzuC7NQrPoxmLCOtAjmGJKIh2kV_tUXc0soN98WZTiAFzRB9HIS-I6nUj66P6ivwCQU2VLebqcAPqbEzjIgS-1Fmtw-VNyAl_h5hig7hy9kQZjOahgnUTK4Dvwp7Xtd4toc1WcHo6lnSe6JHAEkD-8SE7qKeWyj4MQ/s800/P1250250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoIWBVq7-W3RTNz9qUK3QCbNf5NzuC7NQrPoxmLCOtAjmGJKIh2kV_tUXc0soN98WZTiAFzRB9HIS-I6nUj66P6ivwCQU2VLebqcAPqbEzjIgS-1Fmtw-VNyAl_h5hig7hy9kQZjOahgnUTK4Dvwp7Xtd4toc1WcHo6lnSe6JHAEkD-8SE7qKeWyj4MQ/w640-h480/P1250250.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The number of Painted Ladies
varies considerably, as it does all over the country. Last year was the best
year I have seen here, with 11 sightings, but in 2021 I didn't see any at all.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwh_CW_FsyWw9ms5qi4FqXwlGpQlt9g7Fdtq2V6v_B-xQt9feGJ6WbxxLYD9BoDKLpWw3Lp0Mo64ULXEF9wYDzR694DMIpfU2mFasLiF8_fDE04wNQT_a-kJODpGTQ1C5AHPQnIQPFceEWoOuYyshoi8TFpJPHJZTriPSrd64Apai75dIHHJ_nKWZAUw/s800/P1250395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwh_CW_FsyWw9ms5qi4FqXwlGpQlt9g7Fdtq2V6v_B-xQt9feGJ6WbxxLYD9BoDKLpWw3Lp0Mo64ULXEF9wYDzR694DMIpfU2mFasLiF8_fDE04wNQT_a-kJODpGTQ1C5AHPQnIQPFceEWoOuYyshoi8TFpJPHJZTriPSrd64Apai75dIHHJ_nKWZAUw/w640-h480/P1250395.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In 2020 I was happy to see 13
Dark Green Fritillaries feeding on thistles in my meadow. I thought that my new
cutting regime was really paying off, but in 2021 I only saw 3 and last year
only 5, despite there being really good numbers on the hill above the house.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCnJ41cB4Cb8itTQlNRY64HvqaT5X7i9MKeAgsnuTvmDIicONWxOlyozenWrv9cWrGFZulw3alnWakmURIxaAdjQkCRR2XTm_hjpXQIjwmvIOG1kMOxdchD_67M8EoxibprPQFnmJmmxRIJogSd_8bIwcAElhlE9Io_sNWRYQTXdvfwSH9fUh3wnBAw/s800/P1250115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCnJ41cB4Cb8itTQlNRY64HvqaT5X7i9MKeAgsnuTvmDIicONWxOlyozenWrv9cWrGFZulw3alnWakmURIxaAdjQkCRR2XTm_hjpXQIjwmvIOG1kMOxdchD_67M8EoxibprPQFnmJmmxRIJogSd_8bIwcAElhlE9Io_sNWRYQTXdvfwSH9fUh3wnBAw/w640-h480/P1250115.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was really excited in 2020 to
see a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in the meadow. Unfortunately, I didn't
see any here in 2021, but last year I saw another here for a few days. There
are good numbers in the valley above our house and we have a lot of violets
growing in our woodland, so I am hopeful I may continue to see them here in
future years.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8cJuA1lFAIn_11BzeEysQBDFgZKsdgeZYiv64v5VTKPygt8frr3Obc7orQwNmoYNzxOkKs3pvxc0ie0bOqNF0EEospmbddtPE3LgneK7c6unF0MBy_Z26F1bNcTMBw_0211KV_wNzZv6kNJ-DukO6yC5Ioqf6BMmKgH-OmWBOgb0VssjuqD8s-SOQw/s800/P1240896%20-%20Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8cJuA1lFAIn_11BzeEysQBDFgZKsdgeZYiv64v5VTKPygt8frr3Obc7orQwNmoYNzxOkKs3pvxc0ie0bOqNF0EEospmbddtPE3LgneK7c6unF0MBy_Z26F1bNcTMBw_0211KV_wNzZv6kNJ-DukO6yC5Ioqf6BMmKgH-OmWBOgb0VssjuqD8s-SOQw/w640-h480/P1240896%20-%20Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I am really pleased that the
number of Small Coppers I have seen has increased over the last three years. In
2020 I only saw 1, in 2021 I saw 8 and last year I saw 17. I don't really
understand why I don't see more as the place is covered in Common Sorrel and Dock
Leaf. Maybe their numbers will continue to increase.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbh3n-Z1cCYOJdiNFK4-VEd1wfuCfcRUQFeJa8AZPDcJQdh5ZAUoz0168799OpYoNN5PfKK5XbX5HpoasC0oR4v8NpQZvoPVLRgd-y9HxuEkJyuZ8lJcmKjxdO4LqNFs2tn6pkArKmnQ4KwTqiigp91PyeZnZnli8D6NJFRRj0tZRclPPO82vY31roQ/s800/P1250196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbh3n-Z1cCYOJdiNFK4-VEd1wfuCfcRUQFeJa8AZPDcJQdh5ZAUoz0168799OpYoNN5PfKK5XbX5HpoasC0oR4v8NpQZvoPVLRgd-y9HxuEkJyuZ8lJcmKjxdO4LqNFs2tn6pkArKmnQ4KwTqiigp91PyeZnZnli8D6NJFRRj0tZRclPPO82vY31roQ/w640-h480/P1250196.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I saw one Large Skipper zipping
around the meadow in 2020 and another in 2022. I have seen them in the valley
above the house, but only one or two. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I didn't see any Small Skippers
in 2020, but I was excited to see 7 in 2021 and 17 last year. I am hoping that
they will like the way I am managing the meadow, but I am always a bit worried
that I may be destroying their eggs when I cut the vegetation in the autumn.
There are areas that I leave uncut in the hope that it will help.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RLOGExPYLQ9YYamRYoePQ34caub6J-dREMGfx7LKnJeVq2tLJrads7T0GUhZpEDdCkmg4V_Ev7lqwRuikzB9oexpy8xSkvHmiaQcVdys4xALvOy6AeSsIa4ff_ucngCe7MIAgDa0ThO4OZ11lzQEiLs8FFIm9FKoUBZvoeDexwZj_4ptIxKuLH3LLQ/s800/P1250057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RLOGExPYLQ9YYamRYoePQ34caub6J-dREMGfx7LKnJeVq2tLJrads7T0GUhZpEDdCkmg4V_Ev7lqwRuikzB9oexpy8xSkvHmiaQcVdys4xALvOy6AeSsIa4ff_ucngCe7MIAgDa0ThO4OZ11lzQEiLs8FFIm9FKoUBZvoeDexwZj_4ptIxKuLH3LLQ/w640-h480/P1250057.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have been amazed that every
year since 2019 I have seen a Scotch Argus on our land. A couple of years I
have recorded 2, but I can't be sure they were different individuals.
Strangely, we don't have any Purple Moor Grass here, but I have seen one egg
laying on another species of grass. The other strange thing is that there are
no records of any Scotch Argus anywhere near. I can only assume that there is a
colony somewhere nearby that hasn't been recorded.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIOXmSVJszET0Hwb8kPZlk2aQ0K2ZuN9YUJE2reN2e--V0vWO_n-1XPDlOt2e_BVilJx8VllMjvCToIWjqbgxavqmGqH_hzeO2ydcJ0hH5qKdTPPJRaWpsIz9iUbfiQ84pjnSNqYvLknGAU-3qiO8eTMQmZ6NQ0RL_m_bPbnGBf7GVskw1e9Myc8Neg/s800/P1190311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNIOXmSVJszET0Hwb8kPZlk2aQ0K2ZuN9YUJE2reN2e--V0vWO_n-1XPDlOt2e_BVilJx8VllMjvCToIWjqbgxavqmGqH_hzeO2ydcJ0hH5qKdTPPJRaWpsIz9iUbfiQ84pjnSNqYvLknGAU-3qiO8eTMQmZ6NQ0RL_m_bPbnGBf7GVskw1e9Myc8Neg/w640-h480/P1190311.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The other really exciting record
has been Northern Brown Argus. I saw one in 2020 and another here in 2022.
There is a good colony in the valley about 800 metres above the house, but I
have always understood that Northern Brown Argus don't travel any distance.
Even more exciting last year was that I found Northern Brown Argus eggs on the
Rockrose that I have planted on a little bank near the house. I am really
looking forward to seeing if I now have my own little colony here and I am
already planning to extend the area of Rockrose.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-B7a1bYgprg_UdQKRI88cfISZsU8lm9DGeKAn_jHFE3i-UVA304TGjdfWqDC94mjpTtbvFItIysu_gZlcQKEt-w1VdVMTARcTEz8iXoWLNDnWG00CJgT5uiaqzps0qYIL9FgtF6PaYyOc870AGqSMQMkGWIh0U38ZgdPPHUkh3U8HXum-EkoyUhgURw/s800/P1240859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-B7a1bYgprg_UdQKRI88cfISZsU8lm9DGeKAn_jHFE3i-UVA304TGjdfWqDC94mjpTtbvFItIysu_gZlcQKEt-w1VdVMTARcTEz8iXoWLNDnWG00CJgT5uiaqzps0qYIL9FgtF6PaYyOc870AGqSMQMkGWIh0U38ZgdPPHUkh3U8HXum-EkoyUhgURw/w640-h480/P1240859.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are two species of
butterfly that I watched arrive and spread across East Lothian when we lived
there. Speckled Woods arrived in 2010 and are now a really common site across
the county. Wall Browns arrived in 2011 and they have also spread right along
the coast and along river valleys and are now seen regularly. It has always
seemed odd not having either species here, but being further from the coast, we
have a shorter season, so they haven't made their way here yet. However, last
year Speckled Woods were recorded about three miles from here and there was a
Wall Brown seen in the village less than a mile from here. So, both species are
spreading in this direction and I live in hope that I may see them later in
2023.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There has also been a lot of
excitement here in the Borders with more and more sightings of White-letter
Hairstreaks and Purple Hairstreaks, particularly in the east of the county.
White-letter Hairstreaks are heading along the river valleys in this direction
and there used to be a colony of Purple Hairstreaks just the other side of the
valley from here. So, there is much to look forward to.</span></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-21234265398751879752022-12-27T16:49:00.000+00:002022-12-27T16:49:29.555+00:00Habitats<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There are various areas of our ground that I have tried to
enhance for butterflies over the last four or five years. I know that this is
quite a contentious subject, as habitats constantly evolve – grasslands turning
into scrub, scrub turning into woodland and even woodland evolves from birch
and rowan trees through to oaks. Each of these habitats is valuable but we often
tend to favour one stage over another.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There has been a big push in this part of Scotland to plant
trees, but this is often to the detriment of other species. Quite a number of
sunny banks where wildflowers once grew are now planted with trees. Even if such
areas are left unplanted, then without being grazed they can often be taken
over by bracken, heather or thick grasses.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnMi4kD26KkAgMpIekbxDbYsqRT4A0b-eHkvHpNlX5NNyB_GKE__3fPNic60ALnpQOFsEKoknSvSDZEQ3-dxLMkMc-zzJyPPV5olq1bdMHm9Iv5MRn1ibxzAj9WcKjKLovjGM89xWgrq9uast0EWhSyZW263cn9BxH54Y6GgG6U4Jt486-auhRrGtsQ/s800/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnMi4kD26KkAgMpIekbxDbYsqRT4A0b-eHkvHpNlX5NNyB_GKE__3fPNic60ALnpQOFsEKoknSvSDZEQ3-dxLMkMc-zzJyPPV5olq1bdMHm9Iv5MRn1ibxzAj9WcKjKLovjGM89xWgrq9uast0EWhSyZW263cn9BxH54Y6GgG6U4Jt486-auhRrGtsQ/w640-h480/001.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As I have discovered, it takes a lot of work to keep an area
frozen in time! Here is an update on some of the projects I have previously
written about.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I continue to have to cut the vegetation under the trees
annually. Last year the grass cutter was broken down and it is amazing how many
small beech, sycamore and willow trees are growing up. I usually leave this
until after the first frosts in the hope that any caterpillars will be deep in
the grass. The topper is set at about 5 inches, so it still leaves a good
cover. The intention with these areas is to predominantly have grassland with
wild flowers growing in it.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISFfIMrwNUyvrEUJNRhh-354-6no7KapuVMVFHMN0nY1CJs5h21oDeTGN1CRI2WUGbbLr92Xn_XE2nhdUObcJV3jlFH6Ry67eU-r--r75OvqNfcVJxHwhtSv6WJ2MfK_Eware7yq0A8l10SuOlh9bHyttMwRN4EQBL2di1DsG2UjiTXyiNihyH5tKMg/s800/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiISFfIMrwNUyvrEUJNRhh-354-6no7KapuVMVFHMN0nY1CJs5h21oDeTGN1CRI2WUGbbLr92Xn_XE2nhdUObcJV3jlFH6Ry67eU-r--r75OvqNfcVJxHwhtSv6WJ2MfK_Eware7yq0A8l10SuOlh9bHyttMwRN4EQBL2di1DsG2UjiTXyiNihyH5tKMg/w640-h480/002.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The area that was a spruce plantation has really greened up
well. The spruce were very dense and there was no vegetation growing under
them. This is the third year since they were felled and initially there were a
lot of annual plants such as woodland groundsel. Last year there were hundreds
of foxgloves, which are biennials, and this year there is a lot of grass cover,
but also still plenty of wildflowers. The 13 species of native broadleaved
trees I planted have mostly reached the top of their tree tubes and there is
quite a bit of elder growing between them.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKXAGjrS5nMwVXM-dnGcY0e7HB-0kfhuUkqbXCKrTMqsw6qCoLQgizdoelm0A4sWUuh_ew3CE6P6fxjv2saXUoJsc7yakl8YfwSlWRJhl6u-6RdGkrF9SSRQaZXgM9j6mJDBOGp-9O1rlu6VtnhPVdzz_4e1COLEtgGgWYJeCDzv6ZZcWmv4UuVPAaA/s4000/P1220625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKXAGjrS5nMwVXM-dnGcY0e7HB-0kfhuUkqbXCKrTMqsw6qCoLQgizdoelm0A4sWUuh_ew3CE6P6fxjv2saXUoJsc7yakl8YfwSlWRJhl6u-6RdGkrF9SSRQaZXgM9j6mJDBOGp-9O1rlu6VtnhPVdzz_4e1COLEtgGgWYJeCDzv6ZZcWmv4UuVPAaA/w640-h480/P1220625.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I am seeing a gradual improvement in my wildflower meadow
over the years. The ground there appears to be quite fertile, so had a lot of
nettles and thistles growing in it, as well as thick, rank grasses. The scythe
mower has made a real difference by cutting the grass below the thatch,
revealing the soil, which has allowed the wild flowers to come through. I then rake
off the hay and pile it up at the side of the meadow. I had left some areas
uncut for several years, but they were taken over by wild raspberries and I
noticed willow trees seeding in there, so this winter I cut these areas down
too. I have also taken off the lower branches of some of the surrounding trees,
which will allow a lot more light in. It is interesting that wild flower plugs
that I planted two years ago, which I thought had died, have reappeared this
year.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcm4txy9p4frxaAX2Ouxj-Z9XU9KWT3eU3o8KsjP_Oo5BTnFZI7ZYR9FIeVHv4MHup6KucIUW9LRMI5l63X7kl4lskFkqts-fRKBpciBW7lYRFL7wyf8AvgN10-mQh7nSC4a-0C3Fsn9-qQEd4XLzPXm4DsgPhKtbEteO2CJEoY583pzx-WeV4h_K33Q/s800/20221016_151446_resized%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcm4txy9p4frxaAX2Ouxj-Z9XU9KWT3eU3o8KsjP_Oo5BTnFZI7ZYR9FIeVHv4MHup6KucIUW9LRMI5l63X7kl4lskFkqts-fRKBpciBW7lYRFL7wyf8AvgN10-mQh7nSC4a-0C3Fsn9-qQEd4XLzPXm4DsgPhKtbEteO2CJEoY583pzx-WeV4h_K33Q/w640-h480/20221016_151446_resized%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GLZBfv8pHlTPVO7xAqKSSgTRwctkgfzel9UE4e4bCRZgj7RDJojvGz6H8ngjfxzRE4LyhA-0hCQ2_iZmlaDQDDz38428Ljoth2PGo5N7EqINyrv4c0cdmFhoCFFW_5y2zZYBioZxGfjjWRwZ0GosNAm4DzKVfsu_p8gB2t_GmMUC2jlxS_yEcJkXbg/s800/20220713_124753%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GLZBfv8pHlTPVO7xAqKSSgTRwctkgfzel9UE4e4bCRZgj7RDJojvGz6H8ngjfxzRE4LyhA-0hCQ2_iZmlaDQDDz38428Ljoth2PGo5N7EqINyrv4c0cdmFhoCFFW_5y2zZYBioZxGfjjWRwZ0GosNAm4DzKVfsu_p8gB2t_GmMUC2jlxS_yEcJkXbg/w480-h640/20220713_124753%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Not long after we moved here I was standing at the top of
the drive looking at all of the rhododendron growing all over the place. I
thought to myself that if I didn’t start removing this invasive species it
would soon take over the whole place. My wife and I have put a lot of work into
removing it and I have sown wildflower seeds where it was. Although it must
provide some shelter birds don’t tend to nest in it, the leaves are toxic and apparently
the nectar is toxic to bees, it spreads quickly preventing other plants from
growing, it can also host a fungus which kills oak and larch trees. So it is a
plant that I am keen to remove. There are still acres of it to get rid of and I
want to plant something like holly to provide shelter and nesting spaces.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Jc6ZCoc3z0dbtaPU9CZIlgnTyEoPN7kk90LSlF28BmZtWvkA9CsT5fVTJE0VIGxF0u2TUSELqex0bghxU09uXg_yUwO9s0U2hqwyZ-p9gQbhi3g828PVaC0-BROH9M9E0HDjRPbjEejo1sQB1ciUfRVZZwDw3W2wVLgPR554M5b4B051oOweaDLEzw/s1067/003%2020210708_122348%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1067" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Jc6ZCoc3z0dbtaPU9CZIlgnTyEoPN7kk90LSlF28BmZtWvkA9CsT5fVTJE0VIGxF0u2TUSELqex0bghxU09uXg_yUwO9s0U2hqwyZ-p9gQbhi3g828PVaC0-BROH9M9E0HDjRPbjEejo1sQB1ciUfRVZZwDw3W2wVLgPR554M5b4B051oOweaDLEzw/w640-h360/003%2020210708_122348%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">And here is a picture I took from the same spot today.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNra5Ne3Y_L8TQsIny5-z3vZ3UUuTurS0Rrg7FIp4h0Xo6A041oXfp7dsQoUE_7mfey8dHSFBhty_loCl1vJQz4WLstzj0UkfVKmWW3z2XLd1NC_NkX0201PYIINBMxWRyXahksv178qZZdHpO84DSb5K_5BTu6RH0F8vXKaA4cRycjQ9wi6G3iLSwmA/s1067/004%2020221221_124104%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1067" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNra5Ne3Y_L8TQsIny5-z3vZ3UUuTurS0Rrg7FIp4h0Xo6A041oXfp7dsQoUE_7mfey8dHSFBhty_loCl1vJQz4WLstzj0UkfVKmWW3z2XLd1NC_NkX0201PYIINBMxWRyXahksv178qZZdHpO84DSb5K_5BTu6RH0F8vXKaA4cRycjQ9wi6G3iLSwmA/w640-h360/004%2020221221_124104%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One of my smaller projects was a bit of an experiment to see
if I could get rockrose to grow on a bank close to the house. I took cuttings
from wild plants further up the valley and have successfully produced ten
healthy plants. These were planted out four years ago and have done well. Two
years ago I was amazed to see a Northern Brown Argus in the garden. This year I
saw another Northern Brown Argus, but this one was closer to the rockrose. It
stayed around for a few days and later I spotted eggs on the rockrose, so it
looks as though I may have my own mini colony of Northern Brown Argus. So, next
spring I will take a lot more cuttings and hope to expand the area of rockrose.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3wp0fXDjO1iUfUqvcbueddZh9aByvHGiGXilCy5Qq5t3EY3d30B_5HW2PAzFL5ABQ2D6nACK6KOFmsGu7vsD8tQeVblGYlKkncieKPgpWZx_WTbd2uGn3TpMJIvgu8BenFGo0g3yF98EpV5SbJp6YFmtjLirm8nKZW7ylJMKuykssopXmASIruszcA/s800/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO3wp0fXDjO1iUfUqvcbueddZh9aByvHGiGXilCy5Qq5t3EY3d30B_5HW2PAzFL5ABQ2D6nACK6KOFmsGu7vsD8tQeVblGYlKkncieKPgpWZx_WTbd2uGn3TpMJIvgu8BenFGo0g3yF98EpV5SbJp6YFmtjLirm8nKZW7ylJMKuykssopXmASIruszcA/w640-h480/009.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The wildflower meadow is in quite an exposed area, so I
decided to plant a mixed hedge almost six years ago. You would think it would
be a good solid hedge by now, but sadly events conspired to restrict its
growth! First the neighbour put cattle in his field and they just reached over
the fence and pulled up the young plants! An electric wire prevented that
happening again, but later his sheep managed to push the fence over and they
gave the hedge a good prune! Initially I used plastic spirals to protect the
young plants, but they were inadequate to stop rabbits and deer eating the
plants. So, I invested in some wide shrub tubes. With a new sheep-proof
boundary fence the hedge has done well this year for the first time!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL79z_VkNHMf-lwngUiagtXF-bkrzThCCnTzTOOZ4HzEJs-2CmGyvTghsXXtyqb_lyB4hzZTW4ewA9XQogRR5bmTkaQz6g-zavMjWZvSVyZDDxM4uqJjwBmSyvmR-zbfv-ANtVH_O3EPiA6jHJ-Vifd6tMWWbZ4nHIh_0C-Z_BZ5EAF1CraGFiOwuubQ/s800/P1240916.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL79z_VkNHMf-lwngUiagtXF-bkrzThCCnTzTOOZ4HzEJs-2CmGyvTghsXXtyqb_lyB4hzZTW4ewA9XQogRR5bmTkaQz6g-zavMjWZvSVyZDDxM4uqJjwBmSyvmR-zbfv-ANtVH_O3EPiA6jHJ-Vifd6tMWWbZ4nHIh_0C-Z_BZ5EAF1CraGFiOwuubQ/w640-h480/P1240916.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The hedge is a mix of hawthorn, blackthorn, crab apple,
hazel, guelder rose and alder buckthorn. These were mostly chosen because they
will provide flowers and fruit for wildlife. Alder buckthorn is the food plant
of the caterpillars of Brimstone butterflies and although the butterfly doesn’t
exist in Scotland, other than the odd visit, I hope that one day a passing
Brimstone may find my plants! This has actually sparked off a project that I
will write about in a future post.</span></p>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A lot of work has gone in to all of these projects,
but it has all been very enjoyable and rewarding.</span></span>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-66443228378636140962022-11-28T19:55:00.002+00:002022-11-28T19:57:01.256+00:00Peacock caterpillars, Aglais io<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After a cooler than normal April and May and a cloudy June I
was worried by the low number of butterflies I had seen in the spring. I
wondered if they would have an opportunity to breed and despite searching
patches of nettles I hadn't noticed any nests of Small Tortoiseshell or Peacock
butterflies. Normally, they are quite obvious.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Much to my relief on the 19th July I found some Peacock
caterpillars on nettles in my meadow. It was just the one patch, rather than
the normal two or three groups of caterpillars of both Peacocks and Small
Tortoiseshells.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzl8jDH356Ucq3GxiYXK3xJaMsyCi04qMSsCXkdAjWfi4fLdpc-c4zfe4DSjk_GkJpUmqwjv9uCqm8PQyb3q_qTAwzkKLSsEv7OGDYl3Q9U2bOd1AWRVqfQR0_VmOePaLUWXN6Eh-pgZAYr2s_rhotT2GCGPFO8UXSr0zdqQ2qdzmyBpML9pi-mZkh_g/s800/0%20P1250040.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzl8jDH356Ucq3GxiYXK3xJaMsyCi04qMSsCXkdAjWfi4fLdpc-c4zfe4DSjk_GkJpUmqwjv9uCqm8PQyb3q_qTAwzkKLSsEv7OGDYl3Q9U2bOd1AWRVqfQR0_VmOePaLUWXN6Eh-pgZAYr2s_rhotT2GCGPFO8UXSr0zdqQ2qdzmyBpML9pi-mZkh_g/w640-h480/0%20P1250040.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I kept an eye on them for a few days and by the 26th July they
started to disperse a bit, so I collected two caterpillars to rear in a cage
away from predators.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9FtdMcOxpcFLAnsFj6igW8EHw-C0JMITDPgP_9d2sMshQGsiedRphu3kxuL7HI2AfDPunhQhNJW3ZFPELdCp_cMedxx08JUUsGz9Zww4P8FXnItrG4kaV5glfvG-p7IUlnCfjXZgF68qn7yGsgdd3xoi_t1o51Wk3ZLq1nQnOM9RTsvorRgx5nomvA/s800/1%2020220726_174846%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9FtdMcOxpcFLAnsFj6igW8EHw-C0JMITDPgP_9d2sMshQGsiedRphu3kxuL7HI2AfDPunhQhNJW3ZFPELdCp_cMedxx08JUUsGz9Zww4P8FXnItrG4kaV5glfvG-p7IUlnCfjXZgF68qn7yGsgdd3xoi_t1o51Wk3ZLq1nQnOM9RTsvorRgx5nomvA/w640-h480/1%2020220726_174846%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was amazed by how active they were and how much they ate,
requiring a new nettle stem each day.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">By the 31st July one had formed into a chrysalis and the
other was hanging from a silk pad it had spun on a leaf stem.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Bu3bK241rieEVPfAdIke3kLdHlZDfDf53NFbhLBj_09Tfffask0HECLytvXBYdmeeKSp0iTPKIzAgmJgnCyCVM6tJ2ok-Uoj7YBGdY8AW3aG1WUAUGMmh93BFufra33NkJ194lj8-JS1Z4hJ6EuXVMH91O7mJycuDLCljnZuZ60tmHD_tvOhM-lB8A/s800/3%2020220803_073007%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Bu3bK241rieEVPfAdIke3kLdHlZDfDf53NFbhLBj_09Tfffask0HECLytvXBYdmeeKSp0iTPKIzAgmJgnCyCVM6tJ2ok-Uoj7YBGdY8AW3aG1WUAUGMmh93BFufra33NkJ194lj8-JS1Z4hJ6EuXVMH91O7mJycuDLCljnZuZ60tmHD_tvOhM-lB8A/w480-h640/3%2020220803_073007%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On 1st August I carefully carried the jar with nettle stem
outside to photograph. I then put it back in its cage and when I looked ten
minutes later its skin had split and it was starting for form a chrysalis. Yet
again, I missed the actual moment when the skin split!</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonzhD-KxVrxxkakBKNI2ljTsmuSIkCuoG_lUkZBNah6ipmzZp8TH0gBLmlMWBtZ49rruIFCsnwWqFzCephJd4b5CULRtL1xjTqeCcFqo2z4D324UdjXaI2Wklf2R7pqz7kTTKolLrcQgIOm87wpRzf7RYcBEZD2IkKYGpCXGax-RFvCTb2HpqS2B2Mg/s800/4%2020220803_073042%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonzhD-KxVrxxkakBKNI2ljTsmuSIkCuoG_lUkZBNah6ipmzZp8TH0gBLmlMWBtZ49rruIFCsnwWqFzCephJd4b5CULRtL1xjTqeCcFqo2z4D324UdjXaI2Wklf2R7pqz7kTTKolLrcQgIOm87wpRzf7RYcBEZD2IkKYGpCXGax-RFvCTb2HpqS2B2Mg/w480-h640/4%2020220803_073042%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the 13th August the first chrysalis emerged. It was the
same story. Earlier in the day I had checked the chrysalis and when I checked ten
minutes later there was a butterfly!!</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeHhJ7K3TQYLnCqG2hPMHg725IKSMenb8v9sIsd7zz3e9KWyguCBG2Bvx1JijVDsCWkoPJfnlFJHARs4YgImb7Rh_jSKe4Bsr1XCJpFjN3jUpiH9f0-aK7XDYvn0gu56aj6nm15stY5JfXjyGyLyoOJbyuI8yingiUXl_fdb_gb38vpz8hB21Vw3s6g/s800/5%2020220803_081522%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCeHhJ7K3TQYLnCqG2hPMHg725IKSMenb8v9sIsd7zz3e9KWyguCBG2Bvx1JijVDsCWkoPJfnlFJHARs4YgImb7Rh_jSKe4Bsr1XCJpFjN3jUpiH9f0-aK7XDYvn0gu56aj6nm15stY5JfXjyGyLyoOJbyuI8yingiUXl_fdb_gb38vpz8hB21Vw3s6g/w480-h640/5%2020220803_081522%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Normally the chrysalis darkens a couple of days before the
butterfly is due to emerge and the pattern of the underside of the wings can be
seen. This give a pretty good indication of when the chrysalis will emerge. An
hour-or-so before emergence the abdomen section of the chrysalis lengthens
slightly and you can see the gaps between the segments pull away from the
chrysalis as seen in the picture below.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOEpIF3sHgcM5x6YGmv8XrI4tOA1GBZUvn2r1asAHqyyBOfc_4IqVZ-_BAqMkkVRESLgN3mStIjdTQrY8JtZ96r_IoiPV-a8XC4O04YhXz0TtN-F2guHHJ8HQ_g4FvTaM23wWR8-X66NXHFUF8EngSZu3oMDjnk7YEkgy0AXbTFGYDLMihv1cc7imZjA/s800/6%2020220815_132402%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOEpIF3sHgcM5x6YGmv8XrI4tOA1GBZUvn2r1asAHqyyBOfc_4IqVZ-_BAqMkkVRESLgN3mStIjdTQrY8JtZ96r_IoiPV-a8XC4O04YhXz0TtN-F2guHHJ8HQ_g4FvTaM23wWR8-X66NXHFUF8EngSZu3oMDjnk7YEkgy0AXbTFGYDLMihv1cc7imZjA/w480-h640/6%2020220815_132402%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The following day the second chrysalis emerged, again
without me actually experiencing it! I am not complaining though, as I did witness
this happening two years ago.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrV9N_ieOu9qQsV8v-HZorYFdIr5YHFZ_brH1I1xGOTnxN_76qCCYjOF4oAcjvjQQGLFh5fWxXqXilvVrBhZC8zYqzrh4v8KZ2-v75eHj6ikwr2SYpwWOiX1Xist_MDUb2aqjvT2srFmXWj8a5lp15S46rFEdNfTS1HzpuRSejMXtGVMsYtOdChQMyQ/s800/7%2020220814_103939%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHrV9N_ieOu9qQsV8v-HZorYFdIr5YHFZ_brH1I1xGOTnxN_76qCCYjOF4oAcjvjQQGLFh5fWxXqXilvVrBhZC8zYqzrh4v8KZ2-v75eHj6ikwr2SYpwWOiX1Xist_MDUb2aqjvT2srFmXWj8a5lp15S46rFEdNfTS1HzpuRSejMXtGVMsYtOdChQMyQ/w480-h640/7%2020220814_103939%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_5OtwU9n-pkmWhDpNWDp7vtsFMl6AuePPVvGXTcgA7p1QajxB4WdsHKRz6tPkNmli2pUK9QnHU2z272-aRckBPRtbw6OC0-ihyeeVjTCXCzZOYmQbYQS5StpexJA1X7wF4cq5FWHlSx64PopXeIlH_x8MMWrhmqfj1cp9CjHQdDV4F0PSNPIQc9_lw/s800/820220815_132445%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_5OtwU9n-pkmWhDpNWDp7vtsFMl6AuePPVvGXTcgA7p1QajxB4WdsHKRz6tPkNmli2pUK9QnHU2z272-aRckBPRtbw6OC0-ihyeeVjTCXCzZOYmQbYQS5StpexJA1X7wF4cq5FWHlSx64PopXeIlH_x8MMWrhmqfj1cp9CjHQdDV4F0PSNPIQc9_lw/w640-h480/820220815_132445%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-6401327225211419462022-10-30T17:32:00.002+00:002022-10-30T17:36:05.006+00:00Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have only seen a Painted Lady laying an egg on three
occasions. The first time was on a Creeping Thistle in a horse field, so I
picked the thistle leaf and decided to raise the caterpillar on a thistle at
home in my garden. Sadly a few days after hatching we had torrential rain and I
never saw the caterpillar after that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Two years ago I saw a Painted Lady lay and egg on a Woodland
Groundsel plant in my woods. I marked the plant and kept an eye on it, but two
days later we had torrential rain again and the egg disappeared. I searched the
ground around the leaf it had been on, but couldn’t find the egg.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This June, when I was up in East Lothian I watched a Painted
Lady as it laid several eggs on a Spear Thistle at the side of a path. I
decided to pick one flower head and try raising the butterfly in the safety of
a cage at home. The picture below was taken on my work phone. The others were
all taken on my Samsung phone, so not the best of quality, but they give an
idea of the different stages.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YSMfjEmKarni0dNFImQ3S6xWHHFxiM9XDKPnzlZjzyOazzLtxNM5wdI-dxjx2B-oULuKB22XDDzgpzmZbtBWlWVEyz5H1VSS6f0zJ7LyMIiGRHRIjOJ9VVNNIRAD1qIS8p45QqNMjptQar3oTYyY55S6M1-bqBnS2gCqRaaGuoA673KAJ1JtOGXFxQ/s800/0_thumbnail_IMG_0483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YSMfjEmKarni0dNFImQ3S6xWHHFxiM9XDKPnzlZjzyOazzLtxNM5wdI-dxjx2B-oULuKB22XDDzgpzmZbtBWlWVEyz5H1VSS6f0zJ7LyMIiGRHRIjOJ9VVNNIRAD1qIS8p45QqNMjptQar3oTYyY55S6M1-bqBnS2gCqRaaGuoA673KAJ1JtOGXFxQ/w640-h480/0_thumbnail_IMG_0483.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Seven days later, on the 6<sup>th</sup> July, I noticed that
the egg had hatched, but despite searching the flower head for ages, I couldn’t
find a caterpillar anywhere. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAu8QxOq-x12cNohE2N1Kdcn33ZohPUUZGEnQIkqH0EZWuSrb7dYFuwiqd4qxA-COwsk8myRZ13Bnl1H7KsoSzayVI_LJIlx59yuhnWg8Fni0o7Wb_49_oEv3XvSOg6DZkikpAq9aus4GPFLV7StwrF_kUbvwCuuzcFdpYdEwpBs-eRN4PO2tmUpD07Q/s799/1_20220629_221620%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAu8QxOq-x12cNohE2N1Kdcn33ZohPUUZGEnQIkqH0EZWuSrb7dYFuwiqd4qxA-COwsk8myRZ13Bnl1H7KsoSzayVI_LJIlx59yuhnWg8Fni0o7Wb_49_oEv3XvSOg6DZkikpAq9aus4GPFLV7StwrF_kUbvwCuuzcFdpYdEwpBs-eRN4PO2tmUpD07Q/w480-h640/1_20220629_221620%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Three days later I found it at the base of the
flower. At this stage it was dark brown with three rows of three yellow spines.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsfQ0X8wlXItXmO9moowEaCSNX5kzK1fRfFFHeQNz5LOWWDFzTh4ZDWAKm1C2rMpFLDd2v3WJWmPhfxY-w4xmPSUFeLjLnt1JVAu-vlMMHAmfr2Vy3DjiFAG1mzDP-ca9_mIqQ1AU8mn9suWcn9MPj4-aRYorKD2KcvfaTJ7sfVNDLkJkfjgN6tvijw/s800/2_P7090019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsfQ0X8wlXItXmO9moowEaCSNX5kzK1fRfFFHeQNz5LOWWDFzTh4ZDWAKm1C2rMpFLDd2v3WJWmPhfxY-w4xmPSUFeLjLnt1JVAu-vlMMHAmfr2Vy3DjiFAG1mzDP-ca9_mIqQ1AU8mn9suWcn9MPj4-aRYorKD2KcvfaTJ7sfVNDLkJkfjgN6tvijw/w640-h480/2_P7090019.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I picked a stem of Creeping Thistle and put it in a jar of
water with a hole in the lid, but the caterpillar didn’t seem to like this, so
I tried a much less palatable-looking Spear thistle and it happy ate that!</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQ3z5SacxB0JOKt3GqwA8aIYBIL9EK6RsdTAeBavWaTg790XGUtfYZWQnr9Y6_FF5nvGyx3dA2ADR51YbehMGnqpv8g446zlRIaLdgO4ByERNFg0PdDxdCEplX8zf8eCq6IbTm8OSzPHD7AbZHFSnYKIv-z4nUvqn8TuT2x4JvWCP-6wyDgX-hmghXw/s800/3_P7110055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQ3z5SacxB0JOKt3GqwA8aIYBIL9EK6RsdTAeBavWaTg790XGUtfYZWQnr9Y6_FF5nvGyx3dA2ADR51YbehMGnqpv8g446zlRIaLdgO4ByERNFg0PdDxdCEplX8zf8eCq6IbTm8OSzPHD7AbZHFSnYKIv-z4nUvqn8TuT2x4JvWCP-6wyDgX-hmghXw/w640-h480/3_P7110055.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I then realised that I had two caterpillars, so there must
have been another egg on the flower. Unfortunately, though I wasn’t thorough
enough checking the leaves and I discovered that I had introduced a Flower Bug
into the cage, which devoured one of the caterpillars. I didn’t know anything
about these creatures, so I looked it up and discovered that they area a
“gardener’s friend”, as they kill aphids and caterpillars by piercing their
skin and sucking out the contents!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDoJty5BGODtIYifFyJeGGb_QbhA6ZlYvnpmZ0W_cdmUI5Ok1-DmdqDoI302p5bor5kn18nmGlsr_V8wIPczxy135gqNK8bYkp6vViBliRKAeXLnytE8KPylyKGbhkLVo33GFVh10BC-7UrwaJbC0TeVz4HPyt1DR56xFlST-j8weOMsRiXrAbcfDprw/s800/4_20220723_110309%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDoJty5BGODtIYifFyJeGGb_QbhA6ZlYvnpmZ0W_cdmUI5Ok1-DmdqDoI302p5bor5kn18nmGlsr_V8wIPczxy135gqNK8bYkp6vViBliRKAeXLnytE8KPylyKGbhkLVo33GFVh10BC-7UrwaJbC0TeVz4HPyt1DR56xFlST-j8weOMsRiXrAbcfDprw/w480-h640/4_20220723_110309%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The remaining caterpillar munched its way through several
leaves, but didn’t seem to have as much of an appetite as the Red Admirals or
Peacocks I was rearing at the time.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yYwuHSbDxqP5PKirOeD3iylPQAznbqQOyms22uK2Jyi4AgXQgRP9-APWhkowrpycFFJs7cx7p3SapfumG5kxtIftlSH95-9jVN1ugatKoD5928HX8tc1lLv9h_r73B-_9FxEjGBR04gc10KQlPYzF0dmRYa-LOXnR5lxBVj_5nGPm5aVKlOT-N1MAg/s800/5_IMG_1660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yYwuHSbDxqP5PKirOeD3iylPQAznbqQOyms22uK2Jyi4AgXQgRP9-APWhkowrpycFFJs7cx7p3SapfumG5kxtIftlSH95-9jVN1ugatKoD5928HX8tc1lLv9h_r73B-_9FxEjGBR04gc10KQlPYzF0dmRYa-LOXnR5lxBVj_5nGPm5aVKlOT-N1MAg/w640-h480/5_IMG_1660.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">After going through various very attractive instars the
caterpillar left the thistle on the 25<sup>th</sup> of July and made its way up
to the top of the cage, where it spun a silk pad and hung in a J-shape for a
couple of days.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQ7q9ZPKPViKMXWPMdp5n9mHJ1fLM_XjsaQDYSVLgS8PEyvKDM25CMcRybVKTvPtcuCQXtF_KorEdNbneBe3BH5OAxOklv5oDzyarC70gPwdGW6zlRx4cqUsJ1q4W7qrKAC2OI-9-1kH-cthRqLunbCPe3Objve92sYKFiV9QypaGPjLfr_eDhXs7_w/s801/20220726_175300%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQ7q9ZPKPViKMXWPMdp5n9mHJ1fLM_XjsaQDYSVLgS8PEyvKDM25CMcRybVKTvPtcuCQXtF_KorEdNbneBe3BH5OAxOklv5oDzyarC70gPwdGW6zlRx4cqUsJ1q4W7qrKAC2OI-9-1kH-cthRqLunbCPe3Objve92sYKFiV9QypaGPjLfr_eDhXs7_w/w480-h640/20220726_175300%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Two days later it had formed a beautiful chrysalis.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqndeFlMHdEOmuEvXRl3VpQOgpUNurMZA7kJ9vf_ENwFhgoFKqzHK9BeVo2_f8BvF8XFcz5pmpFMUK0N4A_4mNYiqbUYOQoO4Jr_MUEyqx1TqwaXTQPFokW4KTFz0boVQ3va_tPE30MbNwu2i1Ih0k1IVX1Qv142816uojV7Bl-EPpANrU7gzZNAC3g/s800/20220728_102106%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqndeFlMHdEOmuEvXRl3VpQOgpUNurMZA7kJ9vf_ENwFhgoFKqzHK9BeVo2_f8BvF8XFcz5pmpFMUK0N4A_4mNYiqbUYOQoO4Jr_MUEyqx1TqwaXTQPFokW4KTFz0boVQ3va_tPE30MbNwu2i1Ih0k1IVX1Qv142816uojV7Bl-EPpANrU7gzZNAC3g/w480-h640/20220728_102106%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It only remained as a chrysalis for 12 days and it emerged
as a butterfly on the 8<sup>th</sup> August.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLfBXizM6XM-lCpWsS1iQvvimijGTciFcZS1xycSjzNO-oKhO2ba753J7dUPp6lPfnnHNu0nZKS9GzOWqtInSNFkd2ekrOn76ohI0Hnx7wasgrIKoqtA9YgemUomkqJglSGjitneQFgF8IIwwvugEwDUUhEsFXP9MlvDM92VvVG3FZXlMM7GURubiDw/s800/20220808_144007%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLfBXizM6XM-lCpWsS1iQvvimijGTciFcZS1xycSjzNO-oKhO2ba753J7dUPp6lPfnnHNu0nZKS9GzOWqtInSNFkd2ekrOn76ohI0Hnx7wasgrIKoqtA9YgemUomkqJglSGjitneQFgF8IIwwvugEwDUUhEsFXP9MlvDM92VvVG3FZXlMM7GURubiDw/w480-h640/20220808_144007%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-d6TRFtOGK7E470uuXiWvwZH2hRhdJgk71X80kY9hVijbwqRrQ7oYOSu0mFXTXf9-LobVWwhlKsPmevTFZJ_3upHLXJ6K4pgbnl893gE25AMDimHlxjXeLiYBSUiPZYt5sOaPOyU1Dqled8byHFphpHDBLilXv5XynRZIXAg_OyAWN-Y8X7oTA5H15w/s800/20220808_144432%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-d6TRFtOGK7E470uuXiWvwZH2hRhdJgk71X80kY9hVijbwqRrQ7oYOSu0mFXTXf9-LobVWwhlKsPmevTFZJ_3upHLXJ6K4pgbnl893gE25AMDimHlxjXeLiYBSUiPZYt5sOaPOyU1Dqled8byHFphpHDBLilXv5XynRZIXAg_OyAWN-Y8X7oTA5H15w/w480-h640/20220808_144432%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Once it had dried its wings I took it outside into the
afternoon sun. Almost immediately it took off and flew across the orchard never
to be seen again!</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeIwsM65cG8p1UqxGZ1bpvNOV9KVDkxEJim8HGsjowtqep8X782WffyGPXQ12DdDPYr4oqgYphly-BdusZp7INEjGLEz77md3YaMlModOvNXdbafI6umT2w6Sp_PVTdC9pooszadrY6ZEdy7CXiWa9ypoeZtOGzUrvxzJiWLnifC2XnJn38ETLwlRjA/s800/20220808_162358%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfeIwsM65cG8p1UqxGZ1bpvNOV9KVDkxEJim8HGsjowtqep8X782WffyGPXQ12DdDPYr4oqgYphly-BdusZp7INEjGLEz77md3YaMlModOvNXdbafI6umT2w6Sp_PVTdC9pooszadrY6ZEdy7CXiWa9ypoeZtOGzUrvxzJiWLnifC2XnJn38ETLwlRjA/w480-h640/20220808_162358%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I checked my Buddleia plants daily and it wasn’t until the 5<sup>th</sup>
of September that I saw another Painted Lady. I had quite a few regularly
feeding until late September when the weather started to cool down.</span><a name="_GoBack"></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPXw4rFa6zrrzZQO_gYGfmIVczAVrUrvAunQkZDV4jfmvl6NAFwZkSr2TNYuLmE00aiD11eT5q-yOxBPeVvDKuy6U1pWrmNimFuHPJ9Ik9z7DRN3-sSWSFB83zcbaDPej024bxshfMMJqEueTe5xViB0Q55syGRGQszAQaki99XFX2W_o0WIDlW7ezg/s800/P1250395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPXw4rFa6zrrzZQO_gYGfmIVczAVrUrvAunQkZDV4jfmvl6NAFwZkSr2TNYuLmE00aiD11eT5q-yOxBPeVvDKuy6U1pWrmNimFuHPJ9Ik9z7DRN3-sSWSFB83zcbaDPej024bxshfMMJqEueTe5xViB0Q55syGRGQszAQaki99XFX2W_o0WIDlW7ezg/w640-h480/P1250395.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-65276912435617008902022-10-26T20:02:00.001+01:002022-10-26T20:02:53.656+01:00Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On 22nd June I was working in my study when I notice a
butterfly out of the corner of my eye. I am easily distracted that way, so
looked round and saw it was a Red Admiral and it was inspecting the nettles
right outside my window. I spotted it laying an egg and, as I have mentioned
before, my study window looks out on the hen run, so I doubt any caterpillars
would last long.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At lunchtime I popped out and picked the nettle that the egg
had been laid on. I kept it in a jar of water with a hole punched through the
lid. All of these photos were taken with my phone. This one was taken looking
through a microscope.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsfwOx0WXJDChrVys-J8ZQ7zbeb1cm-9_o6aWkj0Lr_3uMwdfw0q9-FVJls_MaxJ2lbQS3AqmFmsl_PiQNdq6qx_uGxXMrbh6miBtohojuGSorHU-kGIJkypTIJNBdUB0dJ0RKF0H_D45nKMfqEwtm8cFqbf3_y_Phk3DlHXz5XhCtfPqO-iNAR4oew/s800/20220623_110732%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsfwOx0WXJDChrVys-J8ZQ7zbeb1cm-9_o6aWkj0Lr_3uMwdfw0q9-FVJls_MaxJ2lbQS3AqmFmsl_PiQNdq6qx_uGxXMrbh6miBtohojuGSorHU-kGIJkypTIJNBdUB0dJ0RKF0H_D45nKMfqEwtm8cFqbf3_y_Phk3DlHXz5XhCtfPqO-iNAR4oew/w640-h480/20220623_110732%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Seven days later the egg hatched, but I couldn't find the
caterpillar. After three days I spotted it in the young shoot at the top of the
nettle stem. It stayed there for another five days in a sort of web it had made
and once it had eaten most of the young leaves it moved to a larger leaf
further down the stem, where it started constructing a tent.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIT-xBpdhRNWMZw9fGitY1zZVt7njVUQKnugm27Q3kZ--zQ46DWVX_IiJMsvKZR3MJGXVT70jKe99eqfT9MoR2Gn10RiteveZVNi_B3xIkKabrYi3Qdnd2uHbK5651cfThqxVCVH3_U5r2HiPanbg5gIeLNkPJQAdB_6VP-OqlNRhG9RBYXgWvKaCIw/s800/P7110024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIT-xBpdhRNWMZw9fGitY1zZVt7njVUQKnugm27Q3kZ--zQ46DWVX_IiJMsvKZR3MJGXVT70jKe99eqfT9MoR2Gn10RiteveZVNi_B3xIkKabrYi3Qdnd2uHbK5651cfThqxVCVH3_U5r2HiPanbg5gIeLNkPJQAdB_6VP-OqlNRhG9RBYXgWvKaCIw/w640-h480/P7110024.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I kept putting fresh nettle stems in the jar and I noticed
that the caterpillar would spend the day inside its tent. The following morning
I would find the tent completely eaten and a new tent formed on the new stem.
This happened for a further 19 days during which I didn't see the caterpillar.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">On the 25th July no new tent had been formed and I managed
to see the caterpillar hanging in a characteristic J-shape inside the leaf
tent. The following day it had formed a chrysalis and I was able to open up the
tent to get a better look.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pTRzWvrCpezpaq2jOw_7BQMnvUzkIuU2gP9MzxceU7PakfHxUd2F0kon49RdHAm6jqzME_IiEe4sc7HxnOl8173fPKt29LMC-qEzx_ud33mvVh06NGD2tFjJN82k5IhmpeS2hT1UL3IYr3OPq6sALvrBPLJh2QQ2jaOI5SGERzH96Ieg3Ml1X-PU6Q/s800/20220728_102200%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3pTRzWvrCpezpaq2jOw_7BQMnvUzkIuU2gP9MzxceU7PakfHxUd2F0kon49RdHAm6jqzME_IiEe4sc7HxnOl8173fPKt29LMC-qEzx_ud33mvVh06NGD2tFjJN82k5IhmpeS2hT1UL3IYr3OPq6sALvrBPLJh2QQ2jaOI5SGERzH96Ieg3Ml1X-PU6Q/w480-h640/20220728_102200%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">It remained as a chrysalis until the 8th August, when it
emerged as a butterfly. Over the previous two days the chrysalis darkened and I
was able to make out the pattern of the top sides of the wings. A couple of
hours before it emerged I could see the abdomen section of the chrysalis lengthen
slightly, however, I still managed to miss the actual point of emergence!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFT0yR_Cx06qE7uSfdJhTWHR3XUz9nh0O3aYH7XAXF3TNUC9jYiGv8GJQgz0cj8nZFCf9OF5R6d_aZzOFwWjRdPR9a8ZVoPyR-RHJrcyOuRLdGDvjqi8pHX03jNLXxVxcEx0qFp6DNbkOOOzzMCjzsac8X6UAYONWzVeR71YhxzxXP4c8eCKZb9ZW9Cg/s800/20220808_144407%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFT0yR_Cx06qE7uSfdJhTWHR3XUz9nh0O3aYH7XAXF3TNUC9jYiGv8GJQgz0cj8nZFCf9OF5R6d_aZzOFwWjRdPR9a8ZVoPyR-RHJrcyOuRLdGDvjqi8pHX03jNLXxVxcEx0qFp6DNbkOOOzzMCjzsac8X6UAYONWzVeR71YhxzxXP4c8eCKZb9ZW9Cg/w480-h640/20220808_144407%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So, it was seven days as an egg, 26 days as a caterpillar
and 13 days as a chrysalis.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is an almost identical story to the Red Admiral egg
that was laid in the hen run last year. On that occasion the egg hatched after
only four days, it also remained as a caterpillar for 26 days and it remained
as a chrysalis for 16 days.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Once its wings had dried I took the butterfly outside. It
spent a while warming up in the sun, then took off and did a couple of laps of
the patio before flying off to join the other Red Admirals on the Buddleia.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuSWQNZbdOBGN-6KPKbwEu4RmDsqd-Oz6z7dwN_uJQgvr0aZSvEl6DGHO0SNRXfoiHCrnR7ASmXQsc5EhQNS8XrCgYX6ksyDFJFcPndeK0I8OqLElXg4HuVXl5h6ZW513P9xjmFjEbh49OB6WeNn3NdrLLVbKNUh2UKVBlzBTFBa1J-aXzKJgNxyT5g/s800/20220808_162457%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuSWQNZbdOBGN-6KPKbwEu4RmDsqd-Oz6z7dwN_uJQgvr0aZSvEl6DGHO0SNRXfoiHCrnR7ASmXQsc5EhQNS8XrCgYX6ksyDFJFcPndeK0I8OqLElXg4HuVXl5h6ZW513P9xjmFjEbh49OB6WeNn3NdrLLVbKNUh2UKVBlzBTFBa1J-aXzKJgNxyT5g/w480-h640/20220808_162457%20(2).jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-58806413698254175482022-10-01T12:25:00.004+01:002022-10-02T08:10:45.942+01:00Sierra Nevada, Spain Flora<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I remember back in 2014 before I went to the Sierra Nevada I
asked for information about good walks there where I would be able to see
butterflies. I was surprised when the recommended walk was up at the Hoya de la
Mora carpark, which is over 2,500 metres up in the mountains.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was told it was a great place to find Zullich’s Blues,
Sierra Nevada Blues, Spanish Brassy Ringlets and various other endemic or rare
species. A look at Google aerial views showed a very baron, rocky environment.
I was particularly surprised that I was also told that July was the perfect
time of year to see butterflies, thinking that it would be particularly hot and dry then.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOCk7sp6Qowo0jaQ063ZRt8ruheBKXKDUqPUgNa3v7L-npbEH88_eYF5oB_AvEdfI993UMMn7FGNE52-zq-qGqZ60PKY7Tvj9ZaAsHDIP3_vEK36ea24t7Afz6V1xBZIz_nX-trgpVLBGte6NCPXJNxPHkXUhiXXbkFR6fCE-RIYIRB004NdDh5Gikw/s800/P1120143.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCOCk7sp6Qowo0jaQ063ZRt8ruheBKXKDUqPUgNa3v7L-npbEH88_eYF5oB_AvEdfI993UMMn7FGNE52-zq-qGqZ60PKY7Tvj9ZaAsHDIP3_vEK36ea24t7Afz6V1xBZIz_nX-trgpVLBGte6NCPXJNxPHkXUhiXXbkFR6fCE-RIYIRB004NdDh5Gikw/w640-h480/P1120143.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">What I didn’t take account of was altitude. What I
discovered when I visited was that at 9am it was only 10 degrees Celsius at
Hoya de la Mora, rising to 17 degrees by midday. Only 15 kilometres away in
Granada the temperature was over 35 degrees.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Hoya de la Mora is a popular ski resort and for seven months
in the year is covered in snow. Even in July there are odd pockets of snow in
shady spots.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSd1o-lWBZ2UeRWT9Vp2HoZ7zuT1nCjIIddFJp2B42REmg-cI9azDKfwqdEpWmKkq5wqu3iBw_2DLTOOE2XTqG9Pwuv3bh6mResSxlX4l2OlJRwnEAJ7vf3aO2G56tzy0q2s_64e1qsjynk8swISXGkevgSMGCsADXMaDb9Chv4l1Atfox9MZEB-9YQ/s800/P1160227.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSd1o-lWBZ2UeRWT9Vp2HoZ7zuT1nCjIIddFJp2B42REmg-cI9azDKfwqdEpWmKkq5wqu3iBw_2DLTOOE2XTqG9Pwuv3bh6mResSxlX4l2OlJRwnEAJ7vf3aO2G56tzy0q2s_64e1qsjynk8swISXGkevgSMGCsADXMaDb9Chv4l1Atfox9MZEB-9YQ/w640-h480/P1160227.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">All of this makes the high Sierra Nevada mountains a unique
habitat supporting a very interesting variety of flora. It wasn’t until I
started walking that I notice all of the small plants tucked into cracks in the
rocks. Here are a few examples that I have tried to name, although I am no
expert.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was very intrigued to see what looked like Kidney Vetch, <i>Anthyllis vulneraria,</i> but instead of the yellow-flowered plant I am used to seeing on the east coast of Scotland, in the Sierra Nevada it is pink. I think this is the subspecies <i>arundana</i>, although there are other pink subspecies found in mountain ranges across Europe.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhmwLPBGzb9vWyNTykLehoVPm6PMWB2p9XRkTBKGQ--q3_NEx4svkUsjZ_frFnYGv2rynqJfKClQHBi_l58R-pNc3MWoybimlBaGCjbDxXxoJgN8FpUdojpt7FIhTupqPtZrqkyG3U8gsnarTr7MaFUraPO0PEoIU2K8INX8wUnK5qGJlRFu8fvfKSg/s800/Anthyllis%20vulneraria%20pseudoarundana%20P1240008.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhmwLPBGzb9vWyNTykLehoVPm6PMWB2p9XRkTBKGQ--q3_NEx4svkUsjZ_frFnYGv2rynqJfKClQHBi_l58R-pNc3MWoybimlBaGCjbDxXxoJgN8FpUdojpt7FIhTupqPtZrqkyG3U8gsnarTr7MaFUraPO0PEoIU2K8INX8wUnK5qGJlRFu8fvfKSg/w640-h480/Anthyllis%20vulneraria%20pseudoarundana%20P1240008.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One of the many lovely cushion-forming plants I saw is <i>Arenaria tetraquetra, </i>which I think is endemic to the Sierra Nevada.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTZIgMmVrxoW0zGvvXYvOGM6uoWik2HLvURuTOHcMoM8wRLGcPF9XIc2opd1RnLPQSxukSpfncUu3hzkOCrzHCR0wlrh2kULKbHVG2Nbd25TsPjUBq6ZK5rm3TZXpoia__T2OPMkoPARkyiS5FUSJGFjOEADlnRUxZEOkA404bDQizXcFAfYIxCk62g/s800/Arenaria%20imbricata%20P1240009.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTZIgMmVrxoW0zGvvXYvOGM6uoWik2HLvURuTOHcMoM8wRLGcPF9XIc2opd1RnLPQSxukSpfncUu3hzkOCrzHCR0wlrh2kULKbHVG2Nbd25TsPjUBq6ZK5rm3TZXpoia__T2OPMkoPARkyiS5FUSJGFjOEADlnRUxZEOkA404bDQizXcFAfYIxCk62g/w640-h480/Arenaria%20imbricata%20P1240009.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The plant below is a <i>Cerastium</i> species. There are many very similar species. An endemic of the Sierra Nevada is <i>Cerastium alpinum</i> ssp.<i> nevadan</i>, but I can't be sure that this is what this one is.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Wgquh6tg4YPruATevBmpOghkJv2HX8fS24Q1zzG8yMMWCh7ZCnj_gR4lzlST8MDklwRtHoTq3KNDywXP9NyRUCxR3f54LSNTBMpjHsQG5HAC-e4Noc0Sa3arzJIq5I4VT5ygWL6yEkPxQlCC5vFzyu0wCX_ys-3L_wrl_cQWcc5R2dRJ-_VbgAua7g/s800/Cerastium%20boissieri%20Purple-shot%20Copper%20P1240083.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Wgquh6tg4YPruATevBmpOghkJv2HX8fS24Q1zzG8yMMWCh7ZCnj_gR4lzlST8MDklwRtHoTq3KNDywXP9NyRUCxR3f54LSNTBMpjHsQG5HAC-e4Noc0Sa3arzJIq5I4VT5ygWL6yEkPxQlCC5vFzyu0wCX_ys-3L_wrl_cQWcc5R2dRJ-_VbgAua7g/w640-h480/Cerastium%20boissieri%20Purple-shot%20Copper%20P1240083.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I am a great fan of <i>Dianthus</i>, so I was delighted to see this one dotted around the rocks there. I think it is <i>Dianthus brachyanthus</i>, although there seem to be many different names given for species and sub-species depending on which book or website you look at!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQ8vdmVrB1Du_X8bW6zTnzmVT7CCyrdN-qoiLDcoqLI_6wsL7Oidb_dskCb40XM3RElpgljE80kVhxcDWn_o3fvLK6SUpRufbOBQ68eBhivvtqrHFQI5cZI1u-iye0kHdxJ3vICDkSZBi6nY6NQgsMpDgfIc9Ls3cB671-98NfVGfiCnOoCR0iOcOZQ/s4000/Dianthus%20brachyanthus%20P1160881.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVQ8vdmVrB1Du_X8bW6zTnzmVT7CCyrdN-qoiLDcoqLI_6wsL7Oidb_dskCb40XM3RElpgljE80kVhxcDWn_o3fvLK6SUpRufbOBQ68eBhivvtqrHFQI5cZI1u-iye0kHdxJ3vICDkSZBi6nY6NQgsMpDgfIc9Ls3cB671-98NfVGfiCnOoCR0iOcOZQ/w640-h480/Dianthus%20brachyanthus%20P1160881.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This is <i>Erodium cheilanthifolium</i>, which is found on many mountain ranges in Spain.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GU1g-p75OAUV_wDAu5EL8U3PgtRVXb5NrvzSmdGv3YrUPf0x-mJNYR_Q3P2S-_k7ElUmkURlE9snrZvfCByM0wVTQwiV0WaDJl1XQlIY9gP0893PKz3e8JiprcD1Vty5tN1aYgrYt_unRD1zmLsCMi1qamJGG-5ILN1lohSXtWE-GtnNJSxhJyx-5Q/s800/Erodium%20cheilanthifolium%20P1160779.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GU1g-p75OAUV_wDAu5EL8U3PgtRVXb5NrvzSmdGv3YrUPf0x-mJNYR_Q3P2S-_k7ElUmkURlE9snrZvfCByM0wVTQwiV0WaDJl1XQlIY9gP0893PKz3e8JiprcD1Vty5tN1aYgrYt_unRD1zmLsCMi1qamJGG-5ILN1lohSXtWE-GtnNJSxhJyx-5Q/w640-h480/Erodium%20cheilanthifolium%20P1160779.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There was a lovely white Rockrose growing amongst the rocks and scree. I think this is <i>Helianthemum apenninum</i>, which is said to occur in the Sierra Nevada, although there is another very similar-looking <i>Helianthemum almeriense</i> that occurs in southern Spain.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsOHI-uwR7sLEKKk9Cvwzpsrssgk48uXbIG1TKKYJ63Q1HAN38_Y2nRj7HuDC6Yko-stYJuPcHK18P41tcN8P8O8nRp0gucIRqszMRrvokQD4NZYoWLGsY_RSDppMhEOQS-Zh_KsZ0t9t9mAQ8PydpyQvcpT9Vw5-bUed-khboRPpCH7CGJZl3yxKvA/s800/Helianthemum%20apennium%20P1110967.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsOHI-uwR7sLEKKk9Cvwzpsrssgk48uXbIG1TKKYJ63Q1HAN38_Y2nRj7HuDC6Yko-stYJuPcHK18P41tcN8P8O8nRp0gucIRqszMRrvokQD4NZYoWLGsY_RSDppMhEOQS-Zh_KsZ0t9t9mAQ8PydpyQvcpT9Vw5-bUed-khboRPpCH7CGJZl3yxKvA/w640-h480/Helianthemum%20apennium%20P1110967.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Back in Scotland I have spent many hours searching Rockrose for the eggs of Northern Brown Argus. I didn't think to have a look to see if there were any eggs on this white Rockrose!</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A plant that I have specifically looked for on each visit to the Sierra Nevada is Androsace vitaliana, which is the food plant of the <a href="http://nickmorgan-butterflypictures.blogspot.com/2020/02/zullichs-blue-agriades-zullichi.html" target="_blank">Zullich's Blue</a> caterpillar. As with so many other plants there is a subspecies, <i>nevadensis,</i> which occurs in Sierra Nevada and it is only found above 2,400 metres. I have only ever found it on very loose scree on exposed, windswept slopes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhed9-WSw3a08bXTMtCEdzY4cEylyOUk42HO89HWBro3ahSorsS7P5IopivoIWoPsHSqhgdppmLrlC7Rb9gwJ89I4-h-g96nyyCC22487cAKd689XBg3U0Za3pIT6lTMlZr8mmIM0KNwbQV13kIj51-VzAhgx7CLnh5n4ki579cUNGhwv3Cdt2-zXrKeg/s800/Androsace%20vitaliana%20P1240022.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhed9-WSw3a08bXTMtCEdzY4cEylyOUk42HO89HWBro3ahSorsS7P5IopivoIWoPsHSqhgdppmLrlC7Rb9gwJ89I4-h-g96nyyCC22487cAKd689XBg3U0Za3pIT6lTMlZr8mmIM0KNwbQV13kIj51-VzAhgx7CLnh5n4ki579cUNGhwv3Cdt2-zXrKeg/w640-h480/Androsace%20vitaliana%20P1240022.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhS9__Ldmetwn5m6RH6OQNqy4I0u6Eq4Z1L2W6ZbfZ_E0lTCQBm1F6cWpMO2wms35kFMWIcorSCNbkxDbsNqlcZgZdSKTmETGehxdemyaoZr1Pz_cXkK4aNLeePp8aLhxDwij5DFit9NCaUSghirN7hshTwSNbgtOjqNly1cZNuNgglFBrP1sIXNOVA/s800/P1240015.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhS9__Ldmetwn5m6RH6OQNqy4I0u6Eq4Z1L2W6ZbfZ_E0lTCQBm1F6cWpMO2wms35kFMWIcorSCNbkxDbsNqlcZgZdSKTmETGehxdemyaoZr1Pz_cXkK4aNLeePp8aLhxDwij5DFit9NCaUSghirN7hshTwSNbgtOjqNly1cZNuNgglFBrP1sIXNOVA/w640-h480/P1240015.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">In these same areas I have seen this lovely little pink flower, <i>Nevadensia purpurea</i>. It forms lovely cushions, covered in flowers and only occurs in the Sierra Nevada.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2dRtxM2AsMgXgRgbdcVZJS-p2YSE9INlyW0zhDzEqOCpzMKFGS2vVojCAzAUIpRc_i0w5sc59fqwcyMaLULIwZFBcewMoU9PuH5MgDMnfmCexOLchgYdZYWhMuDz2c2ZlbJMkShKNu1hon7Sr2jrDiScL3ocpUCf4pn7Bf08EAxeBrlB4B--NXWIFQ/s800/Nevadensia%20purpurea%20P1240017.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG2dRtxM2AsMgXgRgbdcVZJS-p2YSE9INlyW0zhDzEqOCpzMKFGS2vVojCAzAUIpRc_i0w5sc59fqwcyMaLULIwZFBcewMoU9PuH5MgDMnfmCexOLchgYdZYWhMuDz2c2ZlbJMkShKNu1hon7Sr2jrDiScL3ocpUCf4pn7Bf08EAxeBrlB4B--NXWIFQ/w640-h480/Nevadensia%20purpurea%20P1240017.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Another lovely little prostrate flower found high in the Sierra Nevada is <i>Leontodon boryi</i>, which also appears to be endemic to the Sierra Nevada.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC748KBGSPdLk9BL94lvB2FAgxKLTlAJKZ1LNUR-rp2p9QPNp-SUenhHuuh4q-JJnciSPIbz0TuR2LQoZSTCUNvyKQKUpf0tqhYTEY-ZlsLDd81dByU0chcRgWjr50oTHeF_4o45kYMbQu4EHF1sPb0YXc3KzNjoI1uXuNGKag4QdJ4mU8ye5j_O0gMg/s800/Leontodon%20boryi%20P1160804.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC748KBGSPdLk9BL94lvB2FAgxKLTlAJKZ1LNUR-rp2p9QPNp-SUenhHuuh4q-JJnciSPIbz0TuR2LQoZSTCUNvyKQKUpf0tqhYTEY-ZlsLDd81dByU0chcRgWjr50oTHeF_4o45kYMbQu4EHF1sPb0YXc3KzNjoI1uXuNGKag4QdJ4mU8ye5j_O0gMg/w640-h480/Leontodon%20boryi%20P1160804.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><i>Jurinea humilis</i> gave a lovely splash of colour on some of the exposed slopes. It is found over much of Spain above 1500 metres.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbqgrW6XAxDBiJZoCirIUJln-0Htsx2LI6NnX7hajdap8_X282VJIN5tDvoG_rq_ofOb9EUzSIytuYmNGu_Fsqy9b69dLgoOoKV6N6q-cHQL2V91tFQy8u6JUtkGFV6_SJmfI8d7n3Yu_cdnWvIgXTxPdOYN-7u76-4eC1dITmG84M4Md34Ep7gMhkQ/s800/Jurinea%20humilis%20P1160805.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizbqgrW6XAxDBiJZoCirIUJln-0Htsx2LI6NnX7hajdap8_X282VJIN5tDvoG_rq_ofOb9EUzSIytuYmNGu_Fsqy9b69dLgoOoKV6N6q-cHQL2V91tFQy8u6JUtkGFV6_SJmfI8d7n3Yu_cdnWvIgXTxPdOYN-7u76-4eC1dITmG84M4Md34Ep7gMhkQ/w640-h480/Jurinea%20humilis%20P1160805.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />There were so many other flower amongst the rocks and scree and I mostly photographed those that were in flower. I believed that over 2100 different species of plants have been recorded in the Sierra Nevada, so what I saw was only a fraction of those. Just a few more!!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Sierra Nevada Violet, <i>Viola crassiuscula</i>, seemed to be quite common along the side of the paths that I walked on. Yet again, this plant is endemic to the Sierra Nevada.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IVWuZEVm9k5b5IGsP3-Bxc4ZlVy8249y3vwlzO_UBJTBrXY3URTK5dLgQBd6V_ZXsz7GKy4O6g1KFaTZZqFpdsC0uP57KX75oUnyTFPNvcAoPhkelf_X6-s3roXjtDcuqyD2NSTusonv99cebrN-wfb8ZANcDvYgOOmQYEW3pZoA8bZkhzljhkflZw/s800/Viola%20crassiuscula%20P1230941.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IVWuZEVm9k5b5IGsP3-Bxc4ZlVy8249y3vwlzO_UBJTBrXY3URTK5dLgQBd6V_ZXsz7GKy4O6g1KFaTZZqFpdsC0uP57KX75oUnyTFPNvcAoPhkelf_X6-s3roXjtDcuqyD2NSTusonv99cebrN-wfb8ZANcDvYgOOmQYEW3pZoA8bZkhzljhkflZw/w640-h480/Viola%20crassiuscula%20P1230941.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I particularly liked the <i>Sempervivum vicentei</i>, which squeezed into small cracks in the rocks.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoI0yddvp5Ks2e6VHpyYNikyXJmnYAYGZDwgwt26hzc_-dL_80D52frcN_suvHW5iwks6KqzCGOlemP8r8BPgHwbkHaep-3hwhkz0ucdwhe0sWlOxdxbleYPHFAwit3fGjGV2xC6AZ8BM6I2UWZkbyWtPoTOtcSn3SRRGku6rbLFMguTn3DzZrJm6mg/s800/Sempervivum%20vicentei%20P1160918.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoI0yddvp5Ks2e6VHpyYNikyXJmnYAYGZDwgwt26hzc_-dL_80D52frcN_suvHW5iwks6KqzCGOlemP8r8BPgHwbkHaep-3hwhkz0ucdwhe0sWlOxdxbleYPHFAwit3fGjGV2xC6AZ8BM6I2UWZkbyWtPoTOtcSn3SRRGku6rbLFMguTn3DzZrJm6mg/w640-h480/Sempervivum%20vicentei%20P1160918.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was intrigued by this woody plant that I spotted between two large rocks at the bottom of a scree slope. It is <i>Prunus prostrata</i>, a little cherry tree!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HlTZEJXCHN5Bv8QXAthCUkzhN_2m-44pVNCOc6ZorH0HQBP8io60ttGit68eJykn1Wuiju7geWS_ok3BGUQI5IkVO9rJL7JWQZxC2asMUvzs1Pg6PTwldEdevn49Wi56gzt3KTtVLe6I3si0m9fZ2yC1L7IPVe4oVVQFaccg4NBAs5n8wUqOk3xTkA/s800/Prunus%20prostrata%20P1230961.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4HlTZEJXCHN5Bv8QXAthCUkzhN_2m-44pVNCOc6ZorH0HQBP8io60ttGit68eJykn1Wuiju7geWS_ok3BGUQI5IkVO9rJL7JWQZxC2asMUvzs1Pg6PTwldEdevn49Wi56gzt3KTtVLe6I3si0m9fZ2yC1L7IPVe4oVVQFaccg4NBAs5n8wUqOk3xTkA/w640-h480/Prunus%20prostrata%20P1230961.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This prostrate Juniper, <i>Juniperus sabina</i>, was quite common in some areas. It gave off a lovely scent when I brushed against it trying to get pictures of butterflies!!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQfUelAQL-rnyMyyG19X2f3RGDnLf9WXEdQsfNqiEHyXAiulyz1G1wUpAAjkdCqULPpKeUwpWlay7ojAVwzZbnrE781o4eYe4hbw3j8Y53JQy8ERI8CwKVBGMhp4wizF-PYvvouhoUm3DyvkXOpvH4LGULQvQef6lKV_pf9kOMS7rI1hFcmEuoB65Hg/s800/Juniperus%20sabina%20Escher's%20Blue%2013.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLQfUelAQL-rnyMyyG19X2f3RGDnLf9WXEdQsfNqiEHyXAiulyz1G1wUpAAjkdCqULPpKeUwpWlay7ojAVwzZbnrE781o4eYe4hbw3j8Y53JQy8ERI8CwKVBGMhp4wizF-PYvvouhoUm3DyvkXOpvH4LGULQvQef6lKV_pf9kOMS7rI1hFcmEuoB65Hg/w640-h480/Juniperus%20sabina%20Escher's%20Blue%2013.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Not all of the area up there was so bare and rocky. Next to a stream and in damper areas below springs there were green areas of grass with wild flowers.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CII_FXV1JhJdB9yknxDMOUH0ixn5u4QdE5_HZu08PTIa3kJJq4r9W_KmtOT9bWppRWCOOwCf55nCDTmRFC6i9veazjAKSy4Rrk2rgbsnaY33mmReLE-CmP4L4VobY-jPB3BoMkZTSaTVgQcWB7f3lyBOY0KkNGoL7ls7nTzG_STOraMTQWlHpseEZA/s800/P1230945.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_CII_FXV1JhJdB9yknxDMOUH0ixn5u4QdE5_HZu08PTIa3kJJq4r9W_KmtOT9bWppRWCOOwCf55nCDTmRFC6i9veazjAKSy4Rrk2rgbsnaY33mmReLE-CmP4L4VobY-jPB3BoMkZTSaTVgQcWB7f3lyBOY0KkNGoL7ls7nTzG_STOraMTQWlHpseEZA/w640-h480/P1230945.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUbBlhcBFKXoJL7z1R4i1EpGyqtjJDTkuJbKjD2daMfIA1oIbhsEb53tkcH0GKr0WbIe2_CiIXJa7krz9lU9RGiNIJlNilpqeiALNEqCepiefkUmF4i4Z-WL-Qjrx04TtO4EkJTF4ncP5NDhiyKiA-aL6YP507SzAkBMznjs76eNoSyL_Ny9vkjsSDQ/s800/P1230991.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUbBlhcBFKXoJL7z1R4i1EpGyqtjJDTkuJbKjD2daMfIA1oIbhsEb53tkcH0GKr0WbIe2_CiIXJa7krz9lU9RGiNIJlNilpqeiALNEqCepiefkUmF4i4Z-WL-Qjrx04TtO4EkJTF4ncP5NDhiyKiA-aL6YP507SzAkBMznjs76eNoSyL_Ny9vkjsSDQ/w640-h480/P1230991.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">These areas supported a variety of flowers. The most striking was a gentian, <i>Gentiana sierrae</i>. This only occurs in Sierra Nevada and Sierra de Baza.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJfHeO8Xry0QfpUlD7dLgi1LXm1hXs4ICYyvS5vSNZaDXT8H1Q3Df3Csg34lYOr_5phIjjrnL5MYvkh6pYJBH4ZxOUcPPiWHpTPoTiuauo7ezFj1s7cdP1Q_RtZrR3xW_XHWhksml6gGH3mO437pMwAPSPVh9BQ6MEC8q_6RjWrqOwyRP7IGbsRtQUg/s800/Gentianella%20tenella%20P1230978.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJfHeO8Xry0QfpUlD7dLgi1LXm1hXs4ICYyvS5vSNZaDXT8H1Q3Df3Csg34lYOr_5phIjjrnL5MYvkh6pYJBH4ZxOUcPPiWHpTPoTiuauo7ezFj1s7cdP1Q_RtZrR3xW_XHWhksml6gGH3mO437pMwAPSPVh9BQ6MEC8q_6RjWrqOwyRP7IGbsRtQUg/w640-h480/Gentianella%20tenella%20P1230978.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">They were often seen near <i>Pinguicula nevadensis</i>, an insectivorous plant which is endemic to the Sierra Nevada.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHBm1UeM6iQwd_-ZPu2qPtk1yCeOmeCx7JkqJ19C7pbiJ7_PaH5XdrFHWdmu9PXfWqNi0xD2_j-nsIHIpdMlj-z825iW61g7tRsPQLcqQvDxvcOT6csGfNAvghsoCQC2T_BMaBHyqQHNgPppbq-ydviIejWJIxpYyxFxqwnYjUrmV4l-L1VTLjB9Bkw/s800/Pinguicula%20nevadensis%20P1160892.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHBm1UeM6iQwd_-ZPu2qPtk1yCeOmeCx7JkqJ19C7pbiJ7_PaH5XdrFHWdmu9PXfWqNi0xD2_j-nsIHIpdMlj-z825iW61g7tRsPQLcqQvDxvcOT6csGfNAvghsoCQC2T_BMaBHyqQHNgPppbq-ydviIejWJIxpYyxFxqwnYjUrmV4l-L1VTLjB9Bkw/w640-h480/Pinguicula%20nevadensis%20P1160892.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">So many of these species are only found on the Sierra Nevada
mountains and they are quite vulnerable to erosion. I noticed this summer when
I was there that the National Park have blocked off some of the paths and are
encouraging walkers to stick to the main paths. They are also preventing
cyclists using the rough paths, asking them to stick to the road, to try to
reduce erosion of the mountainside.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was always very conscious not to stand on any plants and often I felt as though I was in the middle of an amazing rock garden!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFqDvdlS8VEOs850ufWv4py077Nl5OYP98KPRW8pcfyG2aRsRgk-P8VnQOoDgzJar7QOnQCEZgdzIMZvuuOddPLetmIb51RNz7vE9XkRb2-j9lVtLlYryysRb6B2fc1fw75109JWrDlcIU_k-eeiOHfmeJarvJiKLC4pck6LIPbpcY8iuq8XnFzJ8KQ/s800/P1160935.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNFqDvdlS8VEOs850ufWv4py077Nl5OYP98KPRW8pcfyG2aRsRgk-P8VnQOoDgzJar7QOnQCEZgdzIMZvuuOddPLetmIb51RNz7vE9XkRb2-j9lVtLlYryysRb6B2fc1fw75109JWrDlcIU_k-eeiOHfmeJarvJiKLC4pck6LIPbpcY8iuq8XnFzJ8KQ/w640-h480/P1160935.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Further down the mountains by about
1500 metres above sea level there were a lot more shrubs and trees and the flowers there are taller and very similar to what can
be found in other areas of meadow in Spain.</span></p></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I can highly recommend the <a href="https://wastemagazine.es/" target="_blank">WASTE Magazine</a> website, where I have found so much useful information about the flora and fauna of Sierra Nevada and southern Spain. It was Merche from this website who first recommended that I should visit Sierra Nevada to look for butterflies.</span></div>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-25101377879862033962022-09-21T20:25:00.003+01:002022-09-21T20:25:41.996+01:00Antequera Butterflies June 2022<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Two days before the end of our holiday, on 11th June, I
decided to drive up to Antequera to walk along an amazing little track I found
in 2019 when we were last in Spain. This track runs along the north side of El
Torcal de Antiquera, which is an amazing area of limestone rock. In April 2019
I had seen an amazing variety of spring butterflies and when I returned in
September that year there were still a lot of butterflies there, despite the
local goat herd having grazed all of the flowers down.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGMcOxOjVm-Mho6IRXl7DU_U4JBqRphwzowVb5ArqMl5B68Yy9ecvMau5Sw9Rm4YVr8s2estOxl9cLSKqYLvvF3R2sTDYG3cinYpWgh0ffCLKy8OmZ7FKRteuPwiWepLjaEpF_HFubi82G9kLlDiAM10uoKqC6T7wR2TYT_T_KuOZP-8cScAklNdboQ/s800/P1240733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGMcOxOjVm-Mho6IRXl7DU_U4JBqRphwzowVb5ArqMl5B68Yy9ecvMau5Sw9Rm4YVr8s2estOxl9cLSKqYLvvF3R2sTDYG3cinYpWgh0ffCLKy8OmZ7FKRteuPwiWepLjaEpF_HFubi82G9kLlDiAM10uoKqC6T7wR2TYT_T_KuOZP-8cScAklNdboQ/w640-h480/P1240733.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I had great hopes for this year, but noticed as I drove up
that the wind was getting stronger and stronger. When I arrived it was
incredibly windy, but as I was there it would have been silly not to have gone
for a walk. The gusts of wind whipped up sand from the track and bent the
vegetation. Despite this, there were still a few hardy butterflies hanging on!
They were mostly species I had seen elsewhere on our holiday, such as Bath
Whites, Clouded Yellows and Sage Skippers.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQvPVPx1e5j81475ppc6JqdnGj8ITKxnBuFJPiBS2EYwiStlIrVxEnvhCj_68p-qiJ2UqyKrbXSbpd_PC_fp76redHV4U54XOtzNpZH4AAMy466PfRiiLi0Wyu_4uhGwP8UmO30TKgr0F1372bxL_AOduEJz5PCV5ifeXl7dp5pAS8NhcCH2Coxrszg/s800/Sage%20SkipperP1240688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQvPVPx1e5j81475ppc6JqdnGj8ITKxnBuFJPiBS2EYwiStlIrVxEnvhCj_68p-qiJ2UqyKrbXSbpd_PC_fp76redHV4U54XOtzNpZH4AAMy466PfRiiLi0Wyu_4uhGwP8UmO30TKgr0F1372bxL_AOduEJz5PCV5ifeXl7dp5pAS8NhcCH2Coxrszg/w640-h480/Sage%20SkipperP1240688.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were one or two Spanish Gatekeepers and Southern
Gatekeepers sheltering amongst the vegetation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglJDNscdzTwEPfSZEjypAg06Fekr4baz1ueeFTMJgk9OhIBq00CkwAQMfZqh4rDGTCgyat-MeGRfJSsNZkK774WiBZNN-jyTpEci_lx_kR3oj1ov2r-B5fHUW3vq33vSLhDcw6usxRMDq8ho1SIQ08uHf8TvxYjkJLhzM6UCbCBDyka2HnErWnk5jjw/s800/Spanish%20Gatekeeper%20P1240671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglJDNscdzTwEPfSZEjypAg06Fekr4baz1ueeFTMJgk9OhIBq00CkwAQMfZqh4rDGTCgyat-MeGRfJSsNZkK774WiBZNN-jyTpEci_lx_kR3oj1ov2r-B5fHUW3vq33vSLhDcw6usxRMDq8ho1SIQ08uHf8TvxYjkJLhzM6UCbCBDyka2HnErWnk5jjw/w640-h480/Spanish%20Gatekeeper%20P1240671.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPHDh7Wuu1EoodiQzjT7xRTOImQOGBRb7mi_Fc2Ov5h-oBzhx_kc440jQwL0WDHezyZLyO2bhIGLU_y3s_Fo-gQGcIOvE0VxRzlxpErgYsuyh4SvDpM-QssPhsPY5znvg8Giuqfh25Z1M6SUaNXRLxCAZYj_m-Xwa3FTvM2gf1D6ZVrLZK6bSSDT_Bw/s800/Southern%20Gatekeeper%20P1240478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPHDh7Wuu1EoodiQzjT7xRTOImQOGBRb7mi_Fc2Ov5h-oBzhx_kc440jQwL0WDHezyZLyO2bhIGLU_y3s_Fo-gQGcIOvE0VxRzlxpErgYsuyh4SvDpM-QssPhsPY5znvg8Giuqfh25Z1M6SUaNXRLxCAZYj_m-Xwa3FTvM2gf1D6ZVrLZK6bSSDT_Bw/w640-h480/Southern%20Gatekeeper%20P1240478.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was really pleased to see an Iberian Marbled White.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSGsLqZYSGBA7pQnNVm1P16LY3WRef9DrS8G32-FFeCXyXWRDSJVH1UJIVvtGW1gwFtzVuk02VjXziM_y8L81QJqbqCgJir-pkzr_1UMwT7Vav3pqa_GJrPkVF2nyi2FZcSV4BeNtMExpHezenpeM9TOM3Aemk-Y6pYQGaq5k4Jdp0jG68iY7KcP_ig/s800/Iberian%20Marbled%20White%20P1240636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSGsLqZYSGBA7pQnNVm1P16LY3WRef9DrS8G32-FFeCXyXWRDSJVH1UJIVvtGW1gwFtzVuk02VjXziM_y8L81QJqbqCgJir-pkzr_1UMwT7Vav3pqa_GJrPkVF2nyi2FZcSV4BeNtMExpHezenpeM9TOM3Aemk-Y6pYQGaq5k4Jdp0jG68iY7KcP_ig/w640-h480/Iberian%20Marbled%20White%20P1240636.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were also Small Whites, Large Whites, Painted Ladies,
Meadow Browns and Mallow Skippers. I didn’t want to pursue any of them for
pictures, as when they took off they were immediately taken by the wind and I
was concerned they would be blown into some scrub and sustain damage.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_afe1Ub7-o9iPGyi-FzoCi40E9GwCfqCmECaIW0BaSSA3nPFacvMPkKJJj4KEKo8lV__StL3r5gkZcfNCot_OOQp9IeVzTaFCHHnAwvqQKq3g6w8wum-3esTcR7ko8HF5QkrkCccUbti7x8XkxIP6wi_5euTTV_bedy8PqXkfrVDZ4xU1opK0SbVSxg/s800/Painted%20Lady%20P1240757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_afe1Ub7-o9iPGyi-FzoCi40E9GwCfqCmECaIW0BaSSA3nPFacvMPkKJJj4KEKo8lV__StL3r5gkZcfNCot_OOQp9IeVzTaFCHHnAwvqQKq3g6w8wum-3esTcR7ko8HF5QkrkCccUbti7x8XkxIP6wi_5euTTV_bedy8PqXkfrVDZ4xU1opK0SbVSxg/w640-h480/Painted%20Lady%20P1240757.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I was amazed to see a Swallowtail doing some acrobatics,
trying to feed on a flower that was blowing violently in the wind.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5Hj_a9Fws1sIOTgprJSix48qxwdTkkyWMgoG3pIuw5MdOAkKMaiyg9dIK5V3gQJx8B5odo4-c5lskqarWRl8Xg7Mj6zr5UWlucLJszBrXwhVfG1uNI2jQ5VaXXwMQDSWn3_CUTNwJ7aU_IxoqtHERJJX7-ifTyNPmeGxkZXcsAXluuY0fKVKGskKfg/s800/Swallowtail%20P1240695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5Hj_a9Fws1sIOTgprJSix48qxwdTkkyWMgoG3pIuw5MdOAkKMaiyg9dIK5V3gQJx8B5odo4-c5lskqarWRl8Xg7Mj6zr5UWlucLJszBrXwhVfG1uNI2jQ5VaXXwMQDSWn3_CUTNwJ7aU_IxoqtHERJJX7-ifTyNPmeGxkZXcsAXluuY0fKVKGskKfg/w640-h480/Swallowtail%20P1240695.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The last butterfly I saw was a Red-underwing Skipper.
Normally I see a lot of these, but this was the only one I saw this holiday.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaANt9LsC8D_5JML_gLknrao0JfA7Jd9urFbfyhnpKTUH16GSN1jytJNsYPuynpRAxAOPAHywiJFvBo2-FKT0cHQ5-4rhIDLR2RL5pyvcF_wj5EMbLLRRWbXEUroOu0wmHYhro9ttFj1BKZHCjKv1U7hpCRw2uTF_cj_6bu_nxm68nhv_kX5RebRM2lQ/s800/Red-underwing%20Skipper%20P1240702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaANt9LsC8D_5JML_gLknrao0JfA7Jd9urFbfyhnpKTUH16GSN1jytJNsYPuynpRAxAOPAHywiJFvBo2-FKT0cHQ5-4rhIDLR2RL5pyvcF_wj5EMbLLRRWbXEUroOu0wmHYhro9ttFj1BKZHCjKv1U7hpCRw2uTF_cj_6bu_nxm68nhv_kX5RebRM2lQ/w640-h480/Red-underwing%20Skipper%20P1240702.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Despite the wind I saw 15 species. I couldn’t manage a decent picture of any of
them, as they were being battered by the wind and so was I! I can only imagine
how many more butterflies there would have been had it not been windy.</span></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-88227745683169868982022-08-27T10:18:00.000+01:002022-08-27T10:18:35.232+01:00Sierra Nevada continued<p><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">There is a meadow is just off the road at about 2,000 metres
above sea level that I always visit when I go to the Sierra Nevada. It has a
little stream running through it, which I expect is quite ferocious during the
snow melt, but is mostly dry in the summer months. It is such an amazing spot,
as there are so many butterflies in quite a small area. Again, the butterflies I
saw this June were quite different from what I am used to seeing in July. There
were far fewer, but they were lovely nonetheless.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7PXzRj32nTf8KgMHArKVXg-pXIsSK46jn2CracvZHP_iqiJkqm6itsJjd2aib5JUdoOvmjBfc5mCgn3N3rSnqfMqMJoPfluz5bTaptI7CzAbWgkAXYmZK_llm4fTTcZBuVwwbV4VZsOSx_QeCJ_ZQn4Go3hGkh4GzmTjXIX00is3a8lH7U_b9LQU5A/s800/P1240193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7PXzRj32nTf8KgMHArKVXg-pXIsSK46jn2CracvZHP_iqiJkqm6itsJjd2aib5JUdoOvmjBfc5mCgn3N3rSnqfMqMJoPfluz5bTaptI7CzAbWgkAXYmZK_llm4fTTcZBuVwwbV4VZsOSx_QeCJ_ZQn4Go3hGkh4GzmTjXIX00is3a8lH7U_b9LQU5A/w640-h480/P1240193.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Almost immediately a beautiful Knapweed Fritillary landed on
a shrub in front of me. I think there must have been about ten of them in this
area.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiv0SLvy0S73wuhXV70WfMd5IkVBwlRr0fRcjO08sw5GpsvYWErYY6Y_DeIcuexO8Y0jdM-REr-2MqpDQ_w_8PpwzAHKzshN9gd0dU8Co28QKzpGejyMeJZESeNjl8pz0Rvdd7UVZbcAA_DD3hIpDdtM87hPY0_qi5HDeRFNU2hLAzZj74W5QsMCsQw/s800/Knapweed%20Fritillary%20P1240102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiv0SLvy0S73wuhXV70WfMd5IkVBwlRr0fRcjO08sw5GpsvYWErYY6Y_DeIcuexO8Y0jdM-REr-2MqpDQ_w_8PpwzAHKzshN9gd0dU8Co28QKzpGejyMeJZESeNjl8pz0Rvdd7UVZbcAA_DD3hIpDdtM87hPY0_qi5HDeRFNU2hLAzZj74W5QsMCsQw/w640-h480/Knapweed%20Fritillary%20P1240102.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">A few Iberian Scarce Swallowtails kept flying across the
meadow and there must have been more than 40 Clouded Yellows.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtpLmCpCD4518Lq5y5ix3foFUP6JgzwWB14ql6yMvaovYUmFMfOQRAWavna27AkaGA1IGPTbPU8muqFvF1a9akHZIEXyziHDWn850snjpgAlC1qDCZG3mhRODf0h8wdspEAkMepJUfkndFQVtN1RCud6eQaqBHoSIMFscFDeNSUSo4ADBA60vVtVvSw/s800/Clouded%20Yellow%20P1240121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtpLmCpCD4518Lq5y5ix3foFUP6JgzwWB14ql6yMvaovYUmFMfOQRAWavna27AkaGA1IGPTbPU8muqFvF1a9akHZIEXyziHDWn850snjpgAlC1qDCZG3mhRODf0h8wdspEAkMepJUfkndFQVtN1RCud6eQaqBHoSIMFscFDeNSUSo4ADBA60vVtVvSw/w640-h480/Clouded%20Yellow%20P1240121.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">All along the dried up stream bed there were little
Lorquin’s Blues.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOOkGkr5cQtZheetNGkW31d9lXJa9sMbTSIl4NUcZPh8vMkA8VhoHH0nqrtM9CZOMRBxtgws9pb3F_rDTZPovh7lpALgrGnAEA1O0BeimPWysRLzSAZzCIaKruZbEnlly9q9u69y7wb2Pl2V3DZHCHAEHhG89BDgOvYwBie2m3zOs5foYsSEf0097qA/s800/Lorquin's%20Blue%20P1240277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivOOkGkr5cQtZheetNGkW31d9lXJa9sMbTSIl4NUcZPh8vMkA8VhoHH0nqrtM9CZOMRBxtgws9pb3F_rDTZPovh7lpALgrGnAEA1O0BeimPWysRLzSAZzCIaKruZbEnlly9q9u69y7wb2Pl2V3DZHCHAEHhG89BDgOvYwBie2m3zOs5foYsSEf0097qA/w640-h480/Lorquin's%20Blue%20P1240277.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Despite their size they were quite aggressive, chasing off
any other butterflies that dared to land too close! Here is one about to attack
a Common Blue!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHZ3CmyI0HfG6dqdr1aSvrMMUrwnOTTsWZP-cReOEpulwKW1T5d64OTnVERLP-tkrXDFYciODqNC1tXweSs4_AmOJ6RUDuUVfRAiC3ap2-Lmzx1cTFqPMw_07o9f7HqKNi5g-pO-imJaC9d5zPJ7bBtRjUk40a-5iLM7kdt5nnpXKoLjJKgZ7yCp9jg/s800/P1240319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHZ3CmyI0HfG6dqdr1aSvrMMUrwnOTTsWZP-cReOEpulwKW1T5d64OTnVERLP-tkrXDFYciODqNC1tXweSs4_AmOJ6RUDuUVfRAiC3ap2-Lmzx1cTFqPMw_07o9f7HqKNi5g-pO-imJaC9d5zPJ7bBtRjUk40a-5iLM7kdt5nnpXKoLjJKgZ7yCp9jg/w640-h480/P1240319.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I normally see a lot of Marsh Fritillaries at this spot, but
this year I only saw one. I also saw eight or ten Small Heaths. These had me a
bit confused at first as some of them appeared to have some metallic scales on
their wings.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xSIqggKTngG9PHNva1KgQWwiv3StG9Bgh_BfhkewWG3MwSdLEOakUr_VTI18nYfQKOWqkOVIxgBMtE7027ecTiwE0K496HkfESJziKHekhJzUnM7Qyce89pWF7kRlZph72c-vA1b4sOaoObMo1haVM6JoUz7xhr7uNu4Gjegcv8cOPzwoo6ESehSvA/s800/Small%20Heath%20P1240304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xSIqggKTngG9PHNva1KgQWwiv3StG9Bgh_BfhkewWG3MwSdLEOakUr_VTI18nYfQKOWqkOVIxgBMtE7027ecTiwE0K496HkfESJziKHekhJzUnM7Qyce89pWF7kRlZph72c-vA1b4sOaoObMo1haVM6JoUz7xhr7uNu4Gjegcv8cOPzwoo6ESehSvA/w640-h480/Small%20Heath%20P1240304.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">The Queen of Spain Fritillaries here were a lot fresher than
those higher up the mountains.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkvWFB3ye3LzxQlIuI7jQWCHZvXJGwpfjAXhkD27MWrxeAUuKAQLbUstTIkLti4zHfCKjOr6RBSj4MF6G5QQyCb_pzIBJ7GVlqiGvrzAf7A9Ka4K4CVj4Wr29DYjA7nCbsDMbVZx1v5T-jdqtiopW5-b-9Dx9tmSCEuHsOVgZ7lYNR76vXC8lNusJsQ/s800/Queen%20of%20Spain%20Fritillary%20P1240159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkvWFB3ye3LzxQlIuI7jQWCHZvXJGwpfjAXhkD27MWrxeAUuKAQLbUstTIkLti4zHfCKjOr6RBSj4MF6G5QQyCb_pzIBJ7GVlqiGvrzAf7A9Ka4K4CVj4Wr29DYjA7nCbsDMbVZx1v5T-jdqtiopW5-b-9Dx9tmSCEuHsOVgZ7lYNR76vXC8lNusJsQ/w640-h480/Queen%20of%20Spain%20Fritillary%20P1240159.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I was pleased to see some Common Blues, <i>Polyommatus icarus</i>,
here. In most of Southern Spain they are replaced by the identical-looking Southern
Blue, <i>Polyommatus celina</i>, but the Common Blue occurs in the Sierra Nevada,
having been left behind as the climate warmed after the last Ice Age.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8R8wNVnHoXH3Z7m0dKNX_hBLv7ocDB8GDDGjYiPK1QbwqaDoaNiUpB6sRRy5aAqG6_sUS02F-ySGi4YZG1aMRw5U2EOYt0sOeC4P5AurlpyMBgJV0H129ngmwUiX3_u56tOGrgEYAqUexZeNhcBZXT8SLS8A-AjQqOhEiUdPoP7uRgfH8uNa3afr_A/s800/Common%20Blue%20P1240318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8R8wNVnHoXH3Z7m0dKNX_hBLv7ocDB8GDDGjYiPK1QbwqaDoaNiUpB6sRRy5aAqG6_sUS02F-ySGi4YZG1aMRw5U2EOYt0sOeC4P5AurlpyMBgJV0H129ngmwUiX3_u56tOGrgEYAqUexZeNhcBZXT8SLS8A-AjQqOhEiUdPoP7uRgfH8uNa3afr_A/w640-h480/Common%20Blue%20P1240318.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">I spotted another little butterfly that I was surprised to
see was a Green Hairstreak. I think I saw three different individuals. I have
never seen these in the Sierra Nevada before and expected that they would occur
earlier in the year.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaiRwdI-WHLoPoWdx8-AFtApH1QaY52Kpd6zQAxpsE8I--fWm9eUIp1wHUrvbv-IyVZmiYjprZU40yKnT2NVWFIK7t-dPUk0KC9TW2JkhoV3kuTASnSaTQ2WfN2VXevapHJV6_CWQqfAHkwbvPnjdX_a3TaTQ8jgr1L3uESkSNLt1WZwrjSb19sWvGg/s800/Green%20Hairstreak%20P1240275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWaiRwdI-WHLoPoWdx8-AFtApH1QaY52Kpd6zQAxpsE8I--fWm9eUIp1wHUrvbv-IyVZmiYjprZU40yKnT2NVWFIK7t-dPUk0KC9TW2JkhoV3kuTASnSaTQ2WfN2VXevapHJV6_CWQqfAHkwbvPnjdX_a3TaTQ8jgr1L3uESkSNLt1WZwrjSb19sWvGg/w640-h480/Green%20Hairstreak%20P1240275.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Making up the numbers were Small Whites, Painted Ladies and
Meadow Browns.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfUbuL-Csv4P7ji84gwgva8j2uXjHzV7tqvOmxeTEXO8c7Cw63e2HYUuNDf6rU-1QHbUa5eenoHVYqfRPKWgnaFEot82H1Z-mIhRNWQx017VbNUtEIex2Bx7PpdLgS9SGRTl9xmYovOuKQXvUqZHu_Mu961RAG4ai3UwZohYUzVzMjefYRVSFonuVgw/s800/Small%20White%20P1240205.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFfUbuL-Csv4P7ji84gwgva8j2uXjHzV7tqvOmxeTEXO8c7Cw63e2HYUuNDf6rU-1QHbUa5eenoHVYqfRPKWgnaFEot82H1Z-mIhRNWQx017VbNUtEIex2Bx7PpdLgS9SGRTl9xmYovOuKQXvUqZHu_Mu961RAG4ai3UwZohYUzVzMjefYRVSFonuVgw/w640-h480/Small%20White%20P1240205.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">There were some Western Dappled Whites amongst them.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMAs1LM9YcNCIpyMqCBESHTTAcTcijRhLSVrKEDuyKNDhP3d313IPpibY24SBzCm-QSRs3iWOqdrrmg_ERxskdwLE6G7QfvEnoCzvMqOIi0vvNtYMrRY5ishgKg9FoQPjd080WoITDERPDMcFWTdJl_zWS_AIBwulM4klM1Uf7lP4Y7OISJqYBXckiQ/s800/Western%20Dappled%20White%20P1240074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMAs1LM9YcNCIpyMqCBESHTTAcTcijRhLSVrKEDuyKNDhP3d313IPpibY24SBzCm-QSRs3iWOqdrrmg_ERxskdwLE6G7QfvEnoCzvMqOIi0vvNtYMrRY5ishgKg9FoQPjd080WoITDERPDMcFWTdJl_zWS_AIBwulM4klM1Uf7lP4Y7OISJqYBXckiQ/w640-h480/Western%20Dappled%20White%20P1240074.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"> I also saw a Southern Marbled Skipper.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-avpueliWBNRIk0hxhOIC4bFBlnjUmj_nBJBz9gPNZ1EIvtzEMZ7B8ebf8rtJ0LTjBFpLgS9Py1-0aKtL_462vsxfTfkdNonwIbzhvHnCs4DvV-YGd6Qbczt7cZEIVITv7d2GRplaTintzZ2Iv2lRGK5ilcGCbTEMO0onpAtQeXVAFBD9pSqhHXW8A/s800/Southern%20Marbled%20Skipper%20P1240198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-avpueliWBNRIk0hxhOIC4bFBlnjUmj_nBJBz9gPNZ1EIvtzEMZ7B8ebf8rtJ0LTjBFpLgS9Py1-0aKtL_462vsxfTfkdNonwIbzhvHnCs4DvV-YGd6Qbczt7cZEIVITv7d2GRplaTintzZ2Iv2lRGK5ilcGCbTEMO0onpAtQeXVAFBD9pSqhHXW8A/w640-h480/Southern%20Marbled%20Skipper%20P1240198.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">And I had a lovely view of what I thought was a Spotted Fritillary.
It wasn’t until I checked my pictures back home that I realised it was a Lesser
Spotted Fritillary, <i>Melitaea trivia</i>, – a species I hadn’t seen before.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC0p0pwogOu3bswO6aukXFvjwXA5DhGPTexc-J1SkXdS1kACFiVCnFjq21tDnUCxGPhf259Ho7TPN2mACnGUtLPc9pOruBEdaCtLGCgIUI0uM5lWwaY5g6-HIqZ0BX1LqLEX3wURqBq6H9a62Cv22LHBzXX2ZpEXtQa53whbOblE2eHW0dBBVzXhctQ/s800/Lesser%20Spotted%20Fritillary%20P1240239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUC0p0pwogOu3bswO6aukXFvjwXA5DhGPTexc-J1SkXdS1kACFiVCnFjq21tDnUCxGPhf259Ho7TPN2mACnGUtLPc9pOruBEdaCtLGCgIUI0uM5lWwaY5g6-HIqZ0BX1LqLEX3wURqBq6H9a62Cv22LHBzXX2ZpEXtQa53whbOblE2eHW0dBBVzXhctQ/w640-h480/Lesser%20Spotted%20Fritillary%20P1240239.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">In each of my three previous visits to the Sierra Nevada,
always in July, I have seen over 40 species of butterflies. This year, with it
being earlier in the year I saw 23 species. I didn’t feel disappointed in the
slightest. It would have been nice to have seen some of the rarer species
higher up the mountains, but this delightful meadow was so lovely and it made
up for the lack of variety I had seen earlier in the day.</span></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-88146073561650070522022-08-17T22:18:00.001+01:002022-08-27T10:25:01.944+01:00Sierra Nevada Butterflies - June 2022<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">No visit to the villa in Alora would be complete without a visit to the Sierra Nevada. This year I visited on the 3rd of June, almost exactly a month earlier than normal. It is a three-hour drive to get there, but well worth it for the range of butterflies that occur there. There are three different locations that I normally visit, each with its own selection of butterflies.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXwph-6xvcA3rnbWeuoVbaHs9H13xEMZ9DsnFgThiTrq9sukUSM_y73eCXQshDawf6Juk98Yj35Msa8jQut8MwCcgHe19DE2-IzWXW62eQywk-K7sXkQwolPV32NuSZQ_TGwHfOPXo-AnLz6y0Hm48GKBOxfX2hB5Ozr5NZF8-ZNhPetKuRJ4r3-aXw/s800/P1230924.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXwph-6xvcA3rnbWeuoVbaHs9H13xEMZ9DsnFgThiTrq9sukUSM_y73eCXQshDawf6Juk98Yj35Msa8jQut8MwCcgHe19DE2-IzWXW62eQywk-K7sXkQwolPV32NuSZQ_TGwHfOPXo-AnLz6y0Hm48GKBOxfX2hB5Ozr5NZF8-ZNhPetKuRJ4r3-aXw/w640-h480/P1230924.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Initially I drove up to the Hoya de la Mora carpark, which is as high as you can drive. From there I walked down into a valley with a lovely clear stream running through it. Normally, there is quite a variety of butterflies down there, but I started to worry after a few hundred metres and I had seen no butterflies.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Eventually, as I reached the stream I saw a Small Tortoiseshell. A little further along I saw a Small Copper. I was starting to get a bit fed up, as I had traveled all this way to see two butterflies, both of which I had seen in my garden before I left Scotland!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-FE2M5_uOm76OF_qXovKJ_PfbXpZCk-rQ2AdixSbT-2ev1R6ZIEAivu04RYxp9Qhb58u43X7bKlIrhvnpf_Be-nlxCyPBBdZgZbpWt8i4wRxAY-fyosLhoyLkTCu5UUtSbsD7ILNXIPRgy38xyltc54WOEuZinRnHlMbx7N5-RJiY-at-t7dCJa6lg/s800/Small%20Tortoiseshell%20P1230955.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-FE2M5_uOm76OF_qXovKJ_PfbXpZCk-rQ2AdixSbT-2ev1R6ZIEAivu04RYxp9Qhb58u43X7bKlIrhvnpf_Be-nlxCyPBBdZgZbpWt8i4wRxAY-fyosLhoyLkTCu5UUtSbsD7ILNXIPRgy38xyltc54WOEuZinRnHlMbx7N5-RJiY-at-t7dCJa6lg/w640-h480/Small%20Tortoiseshell%20P1230955.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItxiEbYBCwgmD42LeZGN2COQkmcXJTgdylX5u1_D7uDRdePJTTXgPnzViRuCKNQUGCUjsPFnG5YvxXqSzrO6tIdwjnxsvgDc33S1ocqbhBPuw5xXcNYvwI9fyn6XXYojrhFO_eWcAIrn3f8QXT3ivlI_2-wwCznLZHtzR0PTarl7dItFlRy3iUj_UoQ/s800/Small%20Copper%20P1230938.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItxiEbYBCwgmD42LeZGN2COQkmcXJTgdylX5u1_D7uDRdePJTTXgPnzViRuCKNQUGCUjsPFnG5YvxXqSzrO6tIdwjnxsvgDc33S1ocqbhBPuw5xXcNYvwI9fyn6XXYojrhFO_eWcAIrn3f8QXT3ivlI_2-wwCznLZHtzR0PTarl7dItFlRy3iUj_UoQ/w640-h480/Small%20Copper%20P1230938.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">However, I soon cheered up when a Provence Orange Tip flew past me. Frustratingly, I saw at least two of them, but neither settled at all. Eventually, I just fired off my camera in their general direction and managed to get a picture of a little yellow and orange dot, a few pixels wide, just to prove I had seen them!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">At least it now seemed worthwhile struggling down into the valley. On the way back up towards the carpark I saw a couple of Clouded Yellows and Queen of Spain Fritillaries.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPubcsfbKcd1ErWbgE-0URZhVY2h4TF7i0CXQWS0S41b1k6HjD9mjmfzFDoUutclMkks-M9HW_DkoOVdS69uogvpB-Q9V0YAjf1_HBlKYWfmfVX-tengipZcqtbwSi-ov7nLe3RXYc9RcktMHMhydLjftUwZ3Kz1xN7bHfpTZmUorVHCwUX7WYtUin9Q/s800/Clouded%20Yellow%20P1240003.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPubcsfbKcd1ErWbgE-0URZhVY2h4TF7i0CXQWS0S41b1k6HjD9mjmfzFDoUutclMkks-M9HW_DkoOVdS69uogvpB-Q9V0YAjf1_HBlKYWfmfVX-tengipZcqtbwSi-ov7nLe3RXYc9RcktMHMhydLjftUwZ3Kz1xN7bHfpTZmUorVHCwUX7WYtUin9Q/w640-h480/Clouded%20Yellow%20P1240003.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqaTnFGC758Uo0arVktFoqlvp9RjLV2o0YwRwrxMYtfV0Qk90QZ3Qen_ScjC4wAc6fmjkb0yWRXRmcL9cxtomG-uE8I7trNNZJ5ilaw8ihKqtxjWxdxK-TvoAiEq19wWdbfzdnnabNzJeoTTiEsHVUY2DlmTVceZHwBcBUIyGEQOFOPUfwYOvoWpXYg/s800/Queen%20of%20Spain%20Fritillary%20P1240157.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqaTnFGC758Uo0arVktFoqlvp9RjLV2o0YwRwrxMYtfV0Qk90QZ3Qen_ScjC4wAc6fmjkb0yWRXRmcL9cxtomG-uE8I7trNNZJ5ilaw8ihKqtxjWxdxK-TvoAiEq19wWdbfzdnnabNzJeoTTiEsHVUY2DlmTVceZHwBcBUIyGEQOFOPUfwYOvoWpXYg/w640-h480/Queen%20of%20Spain%20Fritillary%20P1240157.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">So, just five species. Usually, in July I will see about 15 species on this same walk.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">I then walked up to the small area where Zullich’s Blues are found. I anticipated I would be too early to see any, but thought it worth checking as I was there. I have sat on a rock up there in the past, eating my lunch, watching Zullich’s Blues sparing with Spanish Argus with the occasional enormous Apollo gliding past. Sadly this year, none of those species were flying yet.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvl_Eki5us5s6uk6IFOgrVzHiURYCinUapaPcmheT-Iood68tT7DVWq5vMqL17Ce6zcuarFSkP9b65AF8hl82qqBJFI50oTCIl415iHiSnweuMMOv2FJdNgVuEi3hHK2EPYccGvSRO3A6DWVtsNrZwZwUSLmnKcDB2BADHLE4-r0facB1NH3MZ2vKq0g/s800/P1240015.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvl_Eki5us5s6uk6IFOgrVzHiURYCinUapaPcmheT-Iood68tT7DVWq5vMqL17Ce6zcuarFSkP9b65AF8hl82qqBJFI50oTCIl415iHiSnweuMMOv2FJdNgVuEi3hHK2EPYccGvSRO3A6DWVtsNrZwZwUSLmnKcDB2BADHLE4-r0facB1NH3MZ2vKq0g/w640-h480/P1240015.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">On my way back down to the carpark I did see some Painted Ladies and quite a few Small Tortoiseshells.
Also some Wall Browns and a Bath White.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5Zu8XQJGQn6hY3_I3xhShhWNikVknD-nvGFJTOzwU8ftTL3VfCEseN0qJr0hJXJGmRWEhYcZui-Qs2rW1ncQ-tNtNxiwYZU0F09UJlAct_6UL60uLLxO28cKsR6JSZSk5VLSe2XHxhlh2iqvlBU-_hwFPhaKQiFAK1Z4Wzjn_CoVw4Ik8Bq_HmvHEQ/s800/Wall%20Brown%20P1240059.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5Zu8XQJGQn6hY3_I3xhShhWNikVknD-nvGFJTOzwU8ftTL3VfCEseN0qJr0hJXJGmRWEhYcZui-Qs2rW1ncQ-tNtNxiwYZU0F09UJlAct_6UL60uLLxO28cKsR6JSZSk5VLSe2XHxhlh2iqvlBU-_hwFPhaKQiFAK1Z4Wzjn_CoVw4Ik8Bq_HmvHEQ/w640-h480/Wall%20Brown%20P1240059.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1MBRtmIf2y68dv_fUzFVC1-Teta_czywmUvnweE4yjxFEUF4lV324Z4UTUMeGUsGeXJsA0BvOWyKZQrG56Ur48ElglRJZbWyLY9gMmTdwj5M8p0-UkVxmg7O6rthzSow9rCxswGA5M-djQgfQIVi4jLdx0-A9iVzM19FVXNfkYE_liyIG6iVTC5ykA/s800/Bath%20White%20P1240029.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr1MBRtmIf2y68dv_fUzFVC1-Teta_czywmUvnweE4yjxFEUF4lV324Z4UTUMeGUsGeXJsA0BvOWyKZQrG56Ur48ElglRJZbWyLY9gMmTdwj5M8p0-UkVxmg7O6rthzSow9rCxswGA5M-djQgfQIVi4jLdx0-A9iVzM19FVXNfkYE_liyIG6iVTC5ykA/w640-h480/Bath%20White%20P1240029.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">Driving back down the mountain road, I stopped at the viewpoint I have visited in the past. This is a very reliable site and as usual, there were Swallowtails and Iberian Scarce Swallowtails hill-topping there. Also a lot of Wall Browns amongst the scrub. This year there were also quite a few whites flying. Those that stopped allowed me to identify them as Small Whites and Western Dappled Whites.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBaAfI4m2QHOBXATsKnYZAj2ZIqio09cRHcEnKgWhx9fUJ6Uzt3REAGq4vpYgeT0SFzFzeYoXFyfBvqVe32jNCzlMJfkxwb5DjcOxXG_AnaIzNT9C1OjaRV3bStaGPuczX1VE8rGkpQ6hmXVEC2HS9BI9uyhK7fZUOjC-3Ixz1XQ3bWDryBnElNkhCg/s800/SwallowtailP1240078.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBaAfI4m2QHOBXATsKnYZAj2ZIqio09cRHcEnKgWhx9fUJ6Uzt3REAGq4vpYgeT0SFzFzeYoXFyfBvqVe32jNCzlMJfkxwb5DjcOxXG_AnaIzNT9C1OjaRV3bStaGPuczX1VE8rGkpQ6hmXVEC2HS9BI9uyhK7fZUOjC-3Ixz1XQ3bWDryBnElNkhCg/w640-h480/SwallowtailP1240078.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHQv_R_OaY5Ge57El1FJ4eBjD83M7QI1xEstD6yTilO0O7dnMwVvenVGVInv6LM5hlMafXXoJM3Zl2iafQTvLAK3N7rZY59JG35-tkz6rn3Zw4FuORqGYQcmZtUNa3Xc7agQ_NAUpiDWVlBdo5E3gnSnv2ACypPokUSX2kN6Zl_S5IVh9YYAvb4Nu-A/s800/Iberian%20Scarce%20Swallowtail%20P1240073.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHQv_R_OaY5Ge57El1FJ4eBjD83M7QI1xEstD6yTilO0O7dnMwVvenVGVInv6LM5hlMafXXoJM3Zl2iafQTvLAK3N7rZY59JG35-tkz6rn3Zw4FuORqGYQcmZtUNa3Xc7agQ_NAUpiDWVlBdo5E3gnSnv2ACypPokUSX2kN6Zl_S5IVh9YYAvb4Nu-A/w640-h480/Iberian%20Scarce%20Swallowtail%20P1240073.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">I was really excited to see a little Panoptes Blue flying there along with two Purple-shot Coppers.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02uTNZzrch6ycCHfCW8GBaNxtY-LczpuQAN3iw9fjais1U5OYpr8W7Ek5TCVwjSu3tGspfPRu6RRAw3rz6KlUKzLTiwEFBSJuAFxE_x3DFiDYMYxtaW4IRqhhCajn5ac7vGrYfPOZ3utBQOSvPcSC7f-9JQpXU_M6r0st2A7P13oGdpTv3HYVCWFfpw/s800/Panoptes%20Blue%20P1240055.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02uTNZzrch6ycCHfCW8GBaNxtY-LczpuQAN3iw9fjais1U5OYpr8W7Ek5TCVwjSu3tGspfPRu6RRAw3rz6KlUKzLTiwEFBSJuAFxE_x3DFiDYMYxtaW4IRqhhCajn5ac7vGrYfPOZ3utBQOSvPcSC7f-9JQpXU_M6r0st2A7P13oGdpTv3HYVCWFfpw/w640-h480/Panoptes%20Blue%20P1240055.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wjJ1bfbFMgmJhC23WLICt912hFqljM3DdceR_SrA3hFU2jSz9F-W1t_lesXmxL_7Yh_bC2L8LP72wChsz4p4g06IXEtq3dLCw2llMl5ibuSO-Z1chX25xJN5cUrWIfh5Jd-mEB0Vv_0YBI-uPtXLMRjlh2k2qKKzFo4-nPlsj4oGdXIqZXQi0Kl-Sw/s800/Purple-shot%20Copper%20P1240098.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7wjJ1bfbFMgmJhC23WLICt912hFqljM3DdceR_SrA3hFU2jSz9F-W1t_lesXmxL_7Yh_bC2L8LP72wChsz4p4g06IXEtq3dLCw2llMl5ibuSO-Z1chX25xJN5cUrWIfh5Jd-mEB0Vv_0YBI-uPtXLMRjlh2k2qKKzFo4-nPlsj4oGdXIqZXQi0Kl-Sw/w640-h480/Purple-shot%20Copper%20P1240098.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">There was also a mystery Skipper that didn’t land for long enough for me to photograph it and a large orange Fritillary whizzing around, which I had no chance to identify!
Next I drove down to my favourite spot - a scrubby meadow. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium; text-align: left;">I will continue this in my <a href="http://nickmorgan-butterflypictures.blogspot.com/2022/08/sierra-nevada-continued.html">next post</a>.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-90488635934835913262022-08-03T20:35:00.003+01:002022-08-05T20:13:02.602+01:00Malaga Butterflies - June 2022<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">At long last we made it back to Spain this summer after having to cancel our planned holiday for
the last two years. We went to the same villa we have visited on and off for
the last ten years, but this year we were joined by our now grown up children
and their partners. The villa is on the outskirts of a village called Alora,
which is about 45 kilometres north west of Malaga. And this year we went during
the first two weeks in June, whereas previously we visited in July, during the
school holidays.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDY8-V7X5GiXLaJD7G4BbHjGlrveIuj-eTXnm4nE8mWC5tXEwsuDau4ZwKzpEGlBPbTV8gMcXEpG21871LSpp3UherkcRFO93mfgPqdV2IjJQnE7kxaGvQ0bBAgRuZuWRMkY0aHGT41Mjq9RT4tz0E-MAStIHquEY-mWGUcJEu75czLlb74eRgQnpUQ/s800/P1240492.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwDY8-V7X5GiXLaJD7G4BbHjGlrveIuj-eTXnm4nE8mWC5tXEwsuDau4ZwKzpEGlBPbTV8gMcXEpG21871LSpp3UherkcRFO93mfgPqdV2IjJQnE7kxaGvQ0bBAgRuZuWRMkY0aHGT41Mjq9RT4tz0E-MAStIHquEY-mWGUcJEu75czLlb74eRgQnpUQ/w640-h480/P1240492.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Of course, I was interested to see what butterflies I would
see one month earlier in the year and not surprisingly, things were quite
different. Southern Spain had experienced an unusually wet spring this year and
despite a hot spell since, it was noticeably greener than we would see in July.
Also, being a little earlier in the year some of the olive groves hadn’t yet
had the ground rotovated, so there were still a lot of wild flowers flowering.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqjERbQPZrIbDNGddq79nAG-u6HjbjwGyoQ5B89ugU91fmPcioLY4A0aFiMSYuz_XxgcqX4Z1M5ZBRWbGxmm1SWp-jvZEGmymQGlOfwgQNulSLudq-C9Wukkhr8LhVKbO97EPqH515V6bm9iccyt7l9SJn8E9evbQTK9hoFOlu_BUY4r4A99ebT0_ow/s800/P1230847.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPqjERbQPZrIbDNGddq79nAG-u6HjbjwGyoQ5B89ugU91fmPcioLY4A0aFiMSYuz_XxgcqX4Z1M5ZBRWbGxmm1SWp-jvZEGmymQGlOfwgQNulSLudq-C9Wukkhr8LhVKbO97EPqH515V6bm9iccyt7l9SJn8E9evbQTK9hoFOlu_BUY4r4A99ebT0_ow/w640-h480/P1230847.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Around the villa there were a lot of Painted Ladies, many of
them heavy with eggs. I am not sure if this is normal in June, or if they were
just having a good year. Every time I walked past a <i>Lantana</i> plant on the drive
three or four would fly up.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05ul4pSTTUtAVTLm1jOd58yGMsf2J5rj-SzAlJF2hZ33Hi-50hTRBMYWqKI1YDYS6lE28tg2oeIIUv8nV3ThPv0bS444N7nzwdTk876IpQXeQ8jMPOBeJdlttVMsXDte5P_BuU9KbCNIHFn5BjPjWm1_hQCRr8YoZooYW4q3Vw2dhTQfACF9vpewNQw/s800/Painted%20Lady%20P1230713.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05ul4pSTTUtAVTLm1jOd58yGMsf2J5rj-SzAlJF2hZ33Hi-50hTRBMYWqKI1YDYS6lE28tg2oeIIUv8nV3ThPv0bS444N7nzwdTk876IpQXeQ8jMPOBeJdlttVMsXDte5P_BuU9KbCNIHFn5BjPjWm1_hQCRr8YoZooYW4q3Vw2dhTQfACF9vpewNQw/w640-h480/Painted%20Lady%20P1230713.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were also a lot of Cleopatras flying around the villa
and surrounding area. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4Tp-DFHOso65Hj4g1C6ZbB6I6vXqUrRINGoo9MO23eM64XqdnF85VIFczVFOk6ECfUJplighaOzXWywFJrzu3sVGyRX3I7X0mRPjxjBrk1gAdG1XwF8Ei2r76WwXSrJyE8J0BHZ9dVp9LVI0Jiv-GkhqGB0hezLfyFDkuxKraz6l1IugMEBaq29gaw/s800/Brimstone%20P1240329.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4Tp-DFHOso65Hj4g1C6ZbB6I6vXqUrRINGoo9MO23eM64XqdnF85VIFczVFOk6ECfUJplighaOzXWywFJrzu3sVGyRX3I7X0mRPjxjBrk1gAdG1XwF8Ei2r76WwXSrJyE8J0BHZ9dVp9LVI0Jiv-GkhqGB0hezLfyFDkuxKraz6l1IugMEBaq29gaw/w640-h480/Brimstone%20P1240329.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were also a few Brimstones, but they were outnumbered
by Brimstone by about ten to one. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I don’t think I have seen them before when we have visited in July. Certainly not in the numbers there were this June.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I regularly saw a Long-tailed Blue flying around a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Polygala</i> bush and zipping around the
garden. However, it never appeared to land for more than a second. Other garden
visitors were Small Whites, Geranium Bronzes and the odd Bath White.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhQX9O8fnWcCWNvFvPyQDxZWN4G0G9VhmTWvk9z8v49IffLSFVXT__DQaiCgGBkotNQslxqFCSSzLktixdze66Vc1TRSGh-O4Z3hfCB-VGk3FW5SiKx1v-qISN0voD80tRx3QO3HNkYVF7PTDxkJlHqpUB047ycabtdz_aENybUSzgINBpBAqws8dYA/s800/Bath%20White%20P1240500.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhQX9O8fnWcCWNvFvPyQDxZWN4G0G9VhmTWvk9z8v49IffLSFVXT__DQaiCgGBkotNQslxqFCSSzLktixdze66Vc1TRSGh-O4Z3hfCB-VGk3FW5SiKx1v-qISN0voD80tRx3QO3HNkYVF7PTDxkJlHqpUB047ycabtdz_aENybUSzgINBpBAqws8dYA/w640-h480/Bath%20White%20P1240500.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Out on the track that ran past the villa was a steep bank,
covered in Thyme, which was a big attraction to butterflies (and consequently
me!). Here I would regularly see Meadow Browns, Southern Gatekeepers, Spanish
Gatekeepers, Small Skippers and Western Dappled Whites.</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvd07mbgIA3dmCQBF0cSPy-8lCCvxaLbHKFUSSGwHo-ciwYh9Y6Lik-k-MoCz7xT4Mpn2VEYWnVDAmXqZ_-i3WY4JS2DWZG-ZgzpMuJK2-lwHNb4KlZCTwSAXmFfJ0hEpMHP7kFnb_hFxmCTX_B5uvIK1CeqeEOWJbdjZGXkQ7vYaN370FoeE_aGdnw/s800/Meadow%20Brown%20P1240546.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvd07mbgIA3dmCQBF0cSPy-8lCCvxaLbHKFUSSGwHo-ciwYh9Y6Lik-k-MoCz7xT4Mpn2VEYWnVDAmXqZ_-i3WY4JS2DWZG-ZgzpMuJK2-lwHNb4KlZCTwSAXmFfJ0hEpMHP7kFnb_hFxmCTX_B5uvIK1CeqeEOWJbdjZGXkQ7vYaN370FoeE_aGdnw/w640-h480/Meadow%20Brown%20P1240546.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxGp9-O5mYu0Ws-7XrOU1Ux_eRevDJ9XWRBBVecPcxvHSLgL_R3BPb_AUWNd5bHzv8F48Pxa9LY5jdS3TmKgn3OvKmLLj2Pos0zhCjfYoQ25Qycf8FftJPau6oukxM2q-GCh-Z9G5vww0kmnlbGJ3anQetS1mpHMbDVCOcPPmN9DWGKsetQZPQ4tBMQ/s800/Southern%20Gatekeeper%20P1240487.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxGp9-O5mYu0Ws-7XrOU1Ux_eRevDJ9XWRBBVecPcxvHSLgL_R3BPb_AUWNd5bHzv8F48Pxa9LY5jdS3TmKgn3OvKmLLj2Pos0zhCjfYoQ25Qycf8FftJPau6oukxM2q-GCh-Z9G5vww0kmnlbGJ3anQetS1mpHMbDVCOcPPmN9DWGKsetQZPQ4tBMQ/w640-h480/Southern%20Gatekeeper%20P1240487.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxA7W6n-x_Yg6CIb55cb5dMB1whfGnsKbZm9UYJbN_4ffQkvyoeKyjFhu0LCLRhnvDKOdT2lVPXZ2RkvyfbfOwP41enSYIh_d2gGdBBz-nwSjZw-HvU3NExN53ZS0HP75G_wXCb2hm_Y1EuwKloOKDDsChu2kVPS3pc9nND69p_7eIss6M5L7U_ai3KQ/s800/Spanish%20Gatekeeper%20P1240518.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxA7W6n-x_Yg6CIb55cb5dMB1whfGnsKbZm9UYJbN_4ffQkvyoeKyjFhu0LCLRhnvDKOdT2lVPXZ2RkvyfbfOwP41enSYIh_d2gGdBBz-nwSjZw-HvU3NExN53ZS0HP75G_wXCb2hm_Y1EuwKloOKDDsChu2kVPS3pc9nND69p_7eIss6M5L7U_ai3KQ/w640-h480/Spanish%20Gatekeeper%20P1240518.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_zBZGAGmhU1FWT06xfpzBp-LT-Qk7QKHW61Htzc8flqUy3S1mBKd8ijGevcSocq-xJWutVoLsxUfmwPBIlsQ8YrOAxoxCaeNrtDZPZjHTqTAUG4ITXrMxWPYG3ihJAvfFayXusQolNl6835Q2TWWLnbwlxpj5ilIy1qpxqpS8bbjLjTh7zjMynpn1A/s800/Small%20Skipper%20P1240536.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC_zBZGAGmhU1FWT06xfpzBp-LT-Qk7QKHW61Htzc8flqUy3S1mBKd8ijGevcSocq-xJWutVoLsxUfmwPBIlsQ8YrOAxoxCaeNrtDZPZjHTqTAUG4ITXrMxWPYG3ihJAvfFayXusQolNl6835Q2TWWLnbwlxpj5ilIy1qpxqpS8bbjLjTh7zjMynpn1A/w640-h480/Small%20Skipper%20P1240536.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4lxwZ9vNh9KXN6nDhGNGoU3L9j5e92m-PXbAufBbzDZX5X6DGFnBDppmk0uWHjdqgj5n9Os2KXfsXMbs8feHTNC8ChS9ZEcybj9qz952G8LP0Eu7adMnaXpw80e2F7Ox4nl0N1LuV6vSbRrWyPcHNK-SSH1l0REmTXLoADZEiW6BZNCmr5S7tR0WVjA/s800/Western%20Dappled%20White%20P1230886.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4lxwZ9vNh9KXN6nDhGNGoU3L9j5e92m-PXbAufBbzDZX5X6DGFnBDppmk0uWHjdqgj5n9Os2KXfsXMbs8feHTNC8ChS9ZEcybj9qz952G8LP0Eu7adMnaXpw80e2F7Ox4nl0N1LuV6vSbRrWyPcHNK-SSH1l0REmTXLoADZEiW6BZNCmr5S7tR0WVjA/w640-h480/Western%20Dappled%20White%20P1230886.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Early one morning I set off up a steep path to the top of
the mountain behind the house. Here I was pleased to see a lot of Wall Browns.
It was strange that I only saw them there and not lower down.</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtjISPmuablTNdSMtvWIaS5EQjwG9ifvMhiZAqqlfWb3Yj2yCjV8FbD0_YvVW04fQuoXgta1DnDtozxHD6HIHi0XGkiKc7XJLhWfMfxZ-xahP8gAt7mKSo8M04ASYmwQO8jmRgP4pWAcDBJ3pGLc2REQ1NuC98f8TP4cDufqxBwMg273GpIDG27SFIQ/s800/Wall%20Brown%20P1240425.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtjISPmuablTNdSMtvWIaS5EQjwG9ifvMhiZAqqlfWb3Yj2yCjV8FbD0_YvVW04fQuoXgta1DnDtozxHD6HIHi0XGkiKc7XJLhWfMfxZ-xahP8gAt7mKSo8M04ASYmwQO8jmRgP4pWAcDBJ3pGLc2REQ1NuC98f8TP4cDufqxBwMg273GpIDG27SFIQ/w640-h480/Wall%20Brown%20P1240425.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There were also beautiful Dusky Heaths along with Clouded
Yellows and various other species seen nearer the villa.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz82k3sPWL03GAPQcERk4P0cn3B8JMzrGHgXRqaMhg84d_QXOYaX-zRqa_RJXHwS1i9ZK59zifUFIPiMHd3EpdYilVWyC3AsFT8Ot3sOYET5gBWV4wnNmguWXx_fAiwK1w4xnePmSaARKpwQ1vRYHw5Po0vCHBJ0hewqWId0LByPbHPK4vgAFx82w-Sg/s800/Dusky%20Heath%20P1240462.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz82k3sPWL03GAPQcERk4P0cn3B8JMzrGHgXRqaMhg84d_QXOYaX-zRqa_RJXHwS1i9ZK59zifUFIPiMHd3EpdYilVWyC3AsFT8Ot3sOYET5gBWV4wnNmguWXx_fAiwK1w4xnePmSaARKpwQ1vRYHw5Po0vCHBJ0hewqWId0LByPbHPK4vgAFx82w-Sg/w640-h480/Dusky%20Heath%20P1240462.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHVo-UeuJJ1xoig_IRaL695U4sMsdG_pABaYIuoz6FsIEcq84eRkw3Dx1GEKkxwj6KIyDhQ9KHjxphrfqIQn6Txw2hFeeau0BZikaBYxY2mofZXW-PZf7nBmDgDjBcwjbTAatRAmThft_laECsAtnuRQgoHbywDmQKZvohsOhoDLpCBvwI_LWT79roQ/s800/Clouded%20Yellow%20P1240548.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHVo-UeuJJ1xoig_IRaL695U4sMsdG_pABaYIuoz6FsIEcq84eRkw3Dx1GEKkxwj6KIyDhQ9KHjxphrfqIQn6Txw2hFeeau0BZikaBYxY2mofZXW-PZf7nBmDgDjBcwjbTAatRAmThft_laECsAtnuRQgoHbywDmQKZvohsOhoDLpCBvwI_LWT79roQ/w640-h480/Clouded%20Yellow%20P1240548.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A visit to an area next to the River Guadalhorce
specifically to look for African Grass Blues. Eventually I managed to find a
couple of very worn individuals which were being chased by Mediterranean
Skippers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrbgQgSgg-28jWJtyr02uTJAwGrjXoLPvpUQPWZN0uJyqNtCs2WqmtAImh4kNL8Vd-kMHbymxytU7tI2iQh-K7Qqgd5SXV4PPgepTsd6i9M5yEVQd9jkpN0Fk-hOVV3rafEYw6doF_-yfWwJWlETTJ5t8lLz-tR3N26DC0n5BsGP3xWhlpmNSY1FwvQ/s800/African%20Grass%20Blue%20P1240392.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrbgQgSgg-28jWJtyr02uTJAwGrjXoLPvpUQPWZN0uJyqNtCs2WqmtAImh4kNL8Vd-kMHbymxytU7tI2iQh-K7Qqgd5SXV4PPgepTsd6i9M5yEVQd9jkpN0Fk-hOVV3rafEYw6doF_-yfWwJWlETTJ5t8lLz-tR3N26DC0n5BsGP3xWhlpmNSY1FwvQ/w640-h480/African%20Grass%20Blue%20P1240392.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW30SUxxtCYzJpjPkBcuybEINZ7kJWLs9A-o1Sfa8Igx8vanNl7JxtIjz-5Fd5S6Bhw5l1OxOV0TQZarhO1ku_sVhiNwEhLGW4WEi8THmHMJ1h6VKsRo1Hza1-OVf286Uix_4ZlhZxIzLfcVY2U5ow1AugFhshQHRU--TvTNe8V1UUiI67R38opR0Hw/s800/Mediterranean%20Skipper%20P1240372.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW30SUxxtCYzJpjPkBcuybEINZ7kJWLs9A-o1Sfa8Igx8vanNl7JxtIjz-5Fd5S6Bhw5l1OxOV0TQZarhO1ku_sVhiNwEhLGW4WEi8THmHMJ1h6VKsRo1Hza1-OVf286Uix_4ZlhZxIzLfcVY2U5ow1AugFhshQHRU--TvTNe8V1UUiI67R38opR0Hw/w640-h480/Mediterranean%20Skipper%20P1240372.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Other butterflies there were Southern Brown Argus, a
Southern Blue and Mallow Skippers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdusUNR33x5_nvCYtC5PXytgCMcmF4_KxMu51CYSssmWXRGvQ-l8lsTEhaAj7o3OO-HcydhnQQgC8nUjU2Ri9Qt5JEhE7GpDpTUjcUCunZ77H89Ff9J-JM0iLt50axQwjr-JSaHpufW9yDl2-hs6kXg__FotHmOn_TqtxdeGqRfTd2xfRak9Vby_KbJQ/s800/Southern%20Brown%20Argus%20P1230907.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdusUNR33x5_nvCYtC5PXytgCMcmF4_KxMu51CYSssmWXRGvQ-l8lsTEhaAj7o3OO-HcydhnQQgC8nUjU2Ri9Qt5JEhE7GpDpTUjcUCunZ77H89Ff9J-JM0iLt50axQwjr-JSaHpufW9yDl2-hs6kXg__FotHmOn_TqtxdeGqRfTd2xfRak9Vby_KbJQ/w640-h480/Southern%20Brown%20Argus%20P1230907.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3Le93g5Q6wxjtNDO89ONhAGFViAILkEJePBOpCYU8OeF2aksmJucrmnt6ttZGsl3_Qs588L-ku2mducHuV2oOgy5gIZ-NiNpf840oqXtLUlLm8kTcyP9TL9HWUajIRhx7v-FG5sNKAo3nPI0WDpHIl4fYfmx5uZRmfSw4dhD0vdp61l-0TYKZ3Xe3w/s800/Mallow%20Skipper%20P1230859.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3Le93g5Q6wxjtNDO89ONhAGFViAILkEJePBOpCYU8OeF2aksmJucrmnt6ttZGsl3_Qs588L-ku2mducHuV2oOgy5gIZ-NiNpf840oqXtLUlLm8kTcyP9TL9HWUajIRhx7v-FG5sNKAo3nPI0WDpHIl4fYfmx5uZRmfSw4dhD0vdp61l-0TYKZ3Xe3w/w640-h480/Mallow%20Skipper%20P1230859.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Generally, I think this was a better time of year to visit,
as there were certainly more butterflies flying around. The one butterfly that
I normally see in the summer is Lang’s Short-tailed Blue, but we were too early
for that. I find it interesting visiting the same area at different times of
year. We have now been to Alora in April, June, July and September.</span></p></div></div>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432461418078268195.post-57196252813003735202022-07-19T21:30:00.005+01:002022-07-19T22:31:32.296+01:00Northern Brown Argus, continued ...<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">As an update to my previous <a href="http://nickmorgan-butterflypictures.blogspot.com/2022/07/northern-brown-argus.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">post</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have been taking part in the Scottish Borders Northern Brown Argus surveys recently. I have seen a disappointingly low number of butterflies, possibly because of the weather on the days when I have been able to survey the local area. The area is becoming quite overgrown, as it has not been grazed for about the last 15 years. It is a bit of a worry that the Rockrose may become completely swamped.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhcvdnTCBZTlJIaGfCMusFB5bQ_ZS2iaDI-64ttJKFfBIu23XsnHZwV0kVsUQkzGNKDO1KLRgUBvh7gj5R6xf4XA71Zb0WX9oCsbGTBqosrYIyZLZsKb_V9lCUgarGUD8pr1-HvC3r17qI6kpJKmjcqtr1616mdITyn5HOiARoWm4NWh7Tffj8eGFoA/s800/P1240973.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHhcvdnTCBZTlJIaGfCMusFB5bQ_ZS2iaDI-64ttJKFfBIu23XsnHZwV0kVsUQkzGNKDO1KLRgUBvh7gj5R6xf4XA71Zb0WX9oCsbGTBqosrYIyZLZsKb_V9lCUgarGUD8pr1-HvC3r17qI6kpJKmjcqtr1616mdITyn5HOiARoWm4NWh7Tffj8eGFoA/w640-h480/P1240973.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br />However, last week I surveyed the valley above our house including a large area of grassland above the valley. I found quite a number of patches of Rockrose and I was amazed that on almost every patch I found Northern Brown Argus eggs.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFr8hFriERmkY7eHSbWXuxs2-cURLLBHl_upSvklSXxIvO5daFKEtYHJUoPrbOd_V-xdZAD3X639jVIviAVej4jsg_POUbFSsLIAx8KLtlvSYR10rDVv41EobrAjYXIHpp0TCCOU4zreBgXDXMAMs6_-sAlUg8iSSl9KPqJjedO0Dcj7ZnFJxgDOhkhg/s800/P1240938.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFr8hFriERmkY7eHSbWXuxs2-cURLLBHl_upSvklSXxIvO5daFKEtYHJUoPrbOd_V-xdZAD3X639jVIviAVej4jsg_POUbFSsLIAx8KLtlvSYR10rDVv41EobrAjYXIHpp0TCCOU4zreBgXDXMAMs6_-sAlUg8iSSl9KPqJjedO0Dcj7ZnFJxgDOhkhg/w640-h480/P1240938.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I only saw three worn adults that day, but it was pleasing to see so many eggs. They show that there must have been a decent number of adult Northern Brown Argus flying in the last few weeks.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When I arrived home I thought I should check out my area of Rockrose and I was delighted to see quite a number of eggs here. So, it seems as though there may have been more than one Northern Brown Argus here. Despite me regularly checking the area, I only saw the one. Hopefully next year there will be more.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPOTZ7EwmIJTEwBy7y4kazhd8YbXa18K67ZO6pCXThDOtBhZZ9iIHK2f7mzGtzgl3rdtE6Phoc8XOnOO11Nx5fEHOdfM6D3oKduVTBENQz9RgIICcChjHPZWPrjnjWrq4bi9ODYq46q-YkDNFibZORjxbbgROYEQuNUSA9wuSrWo6bxloKdfrCJydyA/s800/20220711_154552%20(2).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPOTZ7EwmIJTEwBy7y4kazhd8YbXa18K67ZO6pCXThDOtBhZZ9iIHK2f7mzGtzgl3rdtE6Phoc8XOnOO11Nx5fEHOdfM6D3oKduVTBENQz9RgIICcChjHPZWPrjnjWrq4bi9ODYq46q-YkDNFibZORjxbbgROYEQuNUSA9wuSrWo6bxloKdfrCJydyA/w640-h360/20220711_154552%20(2).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">For some reason my camera just wouldn't focus on the eggs, so I took the above picture with my phone!</span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p>Nick Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06431235724349702199noreply@blogger.com2