White Admirals and Purple Hairstreaks

 Over the last few months, my computer had become tediously slow and unresponsive until it finally ground to a halt. After three weeks at the computer hospital, it is now back up to speed and I can set about catching up with some posts.

My two favourite butterfly species are the White Admiral (Limenitis camilla) and Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus) and I eagerly await their emergence every year. If the weather conditions are right, I set off early to my local hotspots during their flight season.

White Admiral (Limenitis camilla) (males)

                                                     Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus) 

(female)

                                                                        (males)

Whilst the purple panels on the forewings of the female are usually visible in most light conditions, the purple sheen on the wings of the males can be difficult to capture on camera. In the first two images, this male didn't open his wings far enough for the light to hit at the right angle for a full purple show. In the third image, the sunlight was too bright for anything other than a watery shine. The fourth image was taken at full zoom but shows that wonderful purple reflection.

                                       Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) (female)

                                                          Comma (Polygonia c-album)

                                            Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) (female)

                                    Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male)

                                      

                                          Black-tailed Skimmer (O. cancellatum) (female)

                                    Mullein Moth (Shargacucullia verbasci) (larva on figwort)

This one skillfully avoided being predated upon by a passing shieldbug

                                      Peach Blossom (Thyatira batis) (larva on bramble)

             Here are a pick of some of the moth species attracted to the light trap during early July.

Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina)

                                                  Rosy Footman (Miltochrista miniata)

                                               Vapourer Moth (Orgyia antiqua) (male)

                                                Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina) (male)

 

The Mating Game

Whilst it is always nice to take a 'plate-flat' image of a butterfly or dragonfly, I am always on the look-out for interesting behavioural shots such as those that show predation, courtship and mating or an adult emerging from its pupa or nymph. 

At this time of year, I regularly find mating insects when out in the field and here are some images taken over the last few weeks.

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) (male on right)

Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) (male is the darker insect)

                                                                     

Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) (male on left)

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male is blue)

The first image shows the pair in tandem and the second shows the same pair in mating wheel.

Strangalia quadrifasciata (Longhorn Beetle sp.) (male uppermost)

Azure Damselfly

The Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) is one of the commonest and most widespread species of damselfly in Britain and as such, I have not paid this pretty little insect due attention over the years, safe in the knowledge that I can get photographs of it at any time. 

Well that time presented itself during lockdown and I decided to update some of my rather old photographs of puella.

 I have quite enjoyed the slower pace of nature watching that lockdown has brought, allowing me to soak up the beauty of everything around me at one of my local woods.

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) 

Males.

Pair in tandem.

Female (green form)

Female (blue form)

Large Tortoiseshell

My friend Bob has always been very good at keeping me in the loop, whenever he finds an interesting butterfly. When he happened upon his second Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) of the year, on his local patch on Sunday, he kindly gave me a call. 

Bob is very used to me not having my mobile 'phone switched on but we exchanged texts about his find later that evening and I decided that it would be worth an early morning visit to the location the next day.

I was on site by 0745hrs and it wasn't long before a beautiful female polychloros appeared and I had her to myself for 3 hours.


The Large Tortoiseshell has had a curious history as a breeding species in Britain. During the first half of the twentieth century, it occurred in relative abundance, interspersed with long periods of scarcity. During the second half of the century, it became a very scarce butterfly and was eventually presumed to be extinct. From then on, sightings of single specimens were generally regarded as being of doubtful provenance. However, during the last few years, sightings have started to increase in regularity and there appears to have been significant migration events during the springs of 2019 and 2020, culminating in evidence of breeding this year.

The appearance of this species in Britain always generates excitement amongst lepidopterists.

Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros) (female)

Urban Fox

What a lovely animal the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is. We regularly see them trotting through our garden during the daytime and they always appear completely un-phased by the close proximity of Homo sapiens, a species they have every right to steer well clear of.

A couple of mornings ago, I spotted a fox sitting and preening itself just outside our back door. It seemed to like the warmth of the cast iron manhole cover and stayed for several minutes.

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

(I think this is a young vixen)

The names given to moth species are often descriptive. Here are three species from this weeks moth catches that fit their names very well.

Peach Blossom (Thyatira batis)

Blotched Emerald (Comibaena bajularia)

Barred Red (Hylaea fasciaria)

Finding Dragonflies and Damselflies in a Wealden Wood

Now that the weather has turned a little cooler and more changeable, I like to head for one of my favourite Wealden woods to see what dragonflies and damselflies I can find at rest amongst the bracken.

 When you watch them during hot and sunny weather, they are usually very active but when the sun goes in you can sometimes watch them settle in the undergrowth.

Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) 

(female, form praenubila)

Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) (male)

White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (female)

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male)

Moth-trap catches have been smaller since the night-time temperature has been a little cooler this week but I usually find something worthy of close attention.

Foxglove Pug (Eupithecia pulchellata)

Broad-barred White (Hecatera bicolorata)