The Grayling (Hipparchia semele) is a very rare butterfly in East Sussex and is restricted to just one downland site, which I have visited regularly over the years.
However, I haven't managed any visits to the site since about 2020 and so I was very keen to reacquaint myself with this interesting species in 2025.
I have always found the peak flight period at this site to be about the last week of July and the first week of August but when I arrived on 6th August, I didn't see any after two hours of searching. It seems that the Grayling has not had a very good year.
By way of allaying my disappointment, here are some images of the Grayling, taken between 2007 and 2015.
Grayling (Hipparchia semele)
(males)
%20Grayling%20(m)%2022.7.11%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
%20Grayling%20(m)%2022.7.11%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
%20Grayling%20(m)%2030.7.15%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
(females)
%20Grayling%20(f)%2029.7.07%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
%20Grayling%20(f)%2029.7.07%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
%20Grayling%20(f)%2020.7.09%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
(mating)
The first two images are of a mating pair successfully fending off a male interloper.
%20Grayling%20(mating%20&%20interloper)%205.8.13%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
%20Grayling%20(mating%20&%20interloper)%205.8.13%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
The same pair at rest.
%20Grayling%20(mating)%205.8.13%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
%20Grayling%20(mating)%205.8.13%20Windover%20Hill_%20East%20Sussex.%20Nigel%20Kemp0001.JPG)
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