Return of the Long-tailed Blue.

The unmistakable fast erractic-like flight of a Long-tailed Blue  was seen this morning in my garden.As usual it was close to the wide expanse of our Everlasting Pea plants. It has been three years since I lasted noted this species in the garden and with the recent reports of individuals close by on the mainland I was not surprised. However I was more than delighted to see them again and it seems from the photographs below that this one is a male. Unlike a female he spent most of his time burrowing into the flowers instead of seeking out buds.

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Blues on the Downs.

A walk onto Mottistone Down this morning discovered four species of 'blue' butterfly. First of all the second brood Adonis Blue,together with Common and Chalk-hill Blue. The Brown Argus was also out in good numbers and all species were busily nectaring on the downland flora and in paricular Carline Thistle, carlina vulgaris. Other butterflies worth a mention were two Clouded Yellow, now seen widespread  here at present.

Brighstone Forest is very close by and a quick visit produced two male Queen of Spain Fritillaries.

 

Bouldnor Forest Comes Up Trumps.

Another sunny summers day and a morning visit to Bouldnor Forest. In some places flowering fleabane line the woodland tracks and is always a favourite for butterflies. Therefore it was not a surprise to encounter several Clouded Yellow nectaring on these flowers. A particular treat was to see this helice form which is restricted to females.Appartently up to 15% of females hatch as this form.

On retracing my steps in the forest I was very pleased to see this Queen of Spain Fritillary on the track.It regularly landed in the same location albeit for a short period before flying off to alight farther along the track.

Return to Brighstone.

Two Queen of Spain Fritillaries were there to greet me this morning in Brighstone Forest. Both appeared flighty as they demanded space to bask in the sunshine and would occasionally duel with each other by spiralling upwards into the trees.

 

Back in Brighstone Forest.

No apologies for including another post dedicated to the elegant Queen of Spain Fritillary. Yet another hot and sunny day and the butterflies were performing in Brighstone Forest. The location mentioned in my last post only produced one very flighty Queen so a walk along the forest track on the spot where this fritillary was first sighted over a week ago yielded another.This individual however proved to be more cooperative by regularly perching on flowers and grasses. Along that track several Grayling were seen.

 

Queen of Spain Fritillaries on Show.

An earlier visit time of 10.30 today rather than the lunchtime arrival of yesterday. However as then, a pristine Queen of Spain Fritillary was waiting, busily nectaring on fleabane. Over the next hour or so this individual energetically flew around occasionally landing on flowers but taking time to bask on the ground in the strong sunshine.As mentioned in my last post this sunny and sheltered woodland track crossing seems to suit these fritillaries.  It appears too that there has been a good influx of this elegant butterfly, with sightings made throughout the forest.

Queen of Spain Visits the Isle of Wight

As far as I know there have been no records of the Queen of Spain Fritillary on the Isle of Wight. It is generally a butterfly of southern Europe although the odd sighting has been reported from the southern counties of England in the past. However today's visit to a site in woodland in the West Wight produced at least two individuals. As soon as I arrived at the location,a sunny woodland track intersection with plenty of flora, I encountered a fritillary basking on the track. Over the next hour it was occasionally seen nectaring  although at times being harassed by other insects. Finally two individuals began taking an interest in each other and after they disappeared no other sightings were forthcoming.

Jersey Tiger Moth Time.

At this time of the year it is guaranteed that I will see the colourful Jersey Tiger Moth in the garden here in Freshwater. This indidvidual was disturbed from the  our Chocolate Vine shrub (Akebia quinata) and settled happily close by. This moth can be seen in two forms,red and yellow.

Chalkhill Blue Appears on West High Down.

Better luck this morning on the track leading to West High Down.Three Chalk-hill Blue butterflies were seen on the short grass slopes off the track. Given a while and numbers will increase rapidly. Other species encountered today on these slopes were Painted Lady,Marbled White,Small Copper,Common Blue,and what looks like a egg laying Brown Argus.

Back on West High Down.

A long overdue visit to West High Down situated between  the Needles and Tennyson Down was made today. I was hoping to see the first Chalkhill Blues of the year but alas none were to be seen. However another butterfly that flies this Down is the Dark Green Fritillary and it was not long before I witnessed  a male hurriedly moving low down in search of flowering plants. Luckily  a female fritillary suddenly popped up in front of me and settled into a nearby gorse bush.She did not seem to be inclined to move despite my attentions and I was able to get a close look.

Summer Butterflies at Newtown.

A return visit today to Newtown discovered a good number of summer butterflies on the wing despite rather cloudy but bright conditions.The hot weather continues and towards the end of my walk the sun appeared to encourage more butterflies to take flight. The species on show in particular are Marbled White,Ringlet, a small number of Gatekeeper,Painted Lady, and Small Skipper. The brighter weather at the end of my stroll saw several White Admiral but just one Silver-washed Fritillary.