I am no expert photographer, preferring to capture the moment than get a perfectly composed shot. The pictures on my blog are either taken with a compact Canon, a Panasonic Lumix FZ150 or on my phone.




Tuesday 19 July 2022

Northern Brown Argus, continued ...

As an update to my previous post

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.


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.


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.

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.


For some reason my camera just wouldn't focus on the eggs, so I took the above picture with my phone!


2 comments:

  1. Good morning Nick, :=) All this is wonderful news. The Northern Brown Angus were so near you in the meadow above your house, and paid a visit to the Rock-rose you planted. I hope the eggs do well,...I know you will be checking on them. Good Luck!
    All the best. :=)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sonjia. It is thrilling that the Northern Brown Argus have found my Rockrose. I the whole project was a bit of an experiment to see if it was possible to recreate an area similar to that where the NBA are found. Now, of course I will need to make the area bigger, so that it is more viable for a colony of Northern Brown Argus!

      Delete

Followers