Following a couple of visits to the landslip near to Compton Chine over the last two weeks that drew a blank,today in warm,sunny,and breezy weather the Glanvilles were out in small numbers. Also to show were Common Blue,Dingy Skipper,and Small Heath. The National Trust carpark at the foot of Afton Down produced two more Glanville Fritillaries in addition to several Small Blue and two further Common Blue.
For the third day in a row I have been fortunate enough to encounter a Painted Lady. Today this individual pictured below visited the flowering pyracantha in my front garden. This species is particularly fond of the pyracantha flowers as it is not the first Painted Lady I have observed on these flowers over the years.
Very pleased to see a Painted Lady this afternoon in my garden at Freshwater. It was feverishly nectaring on some Camassia flowers and then on a Cosmos flower.Both plants were still in their pots awaiting planting out. The date is one of the earliest that I have recorded this species and perhaps it will be one of those bumper years for the Painted Lady here in the UK.
Update on this post.Today the 15th May I observed a Painted Lady at the Afton Down carpark near to Freshwater Bay at 10am. The individual was energetically feeding on the flowers before flying on.
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Spring butterfly species at Whiteways carpark located just up the road from Freshwater Bay have been limited so far this year. Apart from several Green Hairstreak the only other species I saw today was a male Common Blue which was very active and elusive. However,thanks to help from A.N.Other I saw a first Small Blue of the season and once you see one others soon appear.In fact at least four Small Blue were recorded,all flying about at high speed.
The first Green Hairstreak of the year was seen on the 14th April at the National Trust carpark at the foot of Afton Down close to Freshwater Bay. Another visit to the site today counted at least six Green Hairstreaks,all feverishly flying about. However no other species were recorded here as yet.
With the first Green Hairstreak recorded at the National Trust Carpark at the foot of Afton Down on the 14th,the weather turned for the worse with cool temperatures and a very brisk wind. However today the wind abated and that allowed for a very pleasant and warmer spring day with plenty of sunshine. The butterflies responded and at least two Green Hairstreak were seen at the carpark.
Several visits have been made to the National Trust Car Park at the foot of Afton Down over the last few days. Today around noon the first Green Hairstreak was observed flying energetically over a large spread of Bluebells and briefly landing on the flowers.It then flew off and could not be located again. However I am sure that it will soon be joined by other individuals.
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Following a night of constant rain,this morning was dry,bright, and mainly sunny.Around lunchtime a first of the season Speckled Wood was seen flying about in search of a sunny spot.It decided to land on a bamboo leaf close to my pond where it stayed to enjoy the warmth.
It is always good to see the first butterfly of the season and today in my garden a Peacock was noted fluttering around a large terracotta pot. It quickly settled on a stepping stone to allow a hurried snap and then flew off over the hedge.
Two highlights stand out during the 2023 season. One of them is the return of the Long-tailed Blue to my garden.I have had several visits of this species in the past attracted by the Everlasting Pea plants that grow in the borders.These visits have been during the latter part of August,but this year a female turned up on the 27th June.She stayed for a while and egg laided on various flower buds.Although I was not fortunate enough to witness the any offspring ,I am confident that homegrown Long-tailed Blues ensued.
The other is a holiday in the Greek Islands,the first visit I have made since the pandemic.We spent a very pleasant fortnight on the island of Rhodes,close to the coast at Kiotari. A few weeks later this area was ravaged by wildfires and the brown and greens of the countryside were turned black.The result of the fires at the spot of our accomodation can be seen in the photo below taken from drone footage.I am glad to say that the villa where we stayed looks as though it survived the fires.
Among the butterflies encountered around the village of Kiotari were The Aegean Meadow Brown,the Pygmy Skipper,together with the Small and Lulworth Skipper. A great delight was the visit a Two-tailed Pasha on several occasions to nectar from a can of Mythos lager.
I am not into moths but today this Garden Tiger Moth was seen resting at the base of my garage wall. It is such a handsome creature that it deserves a post on this blog. It is of course a night flying moth unlike the other photo which shows a Jersey Tiger Moth feeding on Hemp-agrimony. This species of Day flying moth is quite common here in July and August.
The first Painted Lady to appear in my garden was two weeks ago, which coincided with the first flowers on the Buddleia bush.It is always a favourite with the butterflies and especially Painted Ladies. Today a total of three were enjoying the blooms along with several Red Admiral,and Peacock.
As a result of the visit by the Long-tailed Blue to our Everlasting pea plants on the 27th June,I today examined a small bunch of flower buds and was pleased to discover several eggs. One of them can be seen below and hopefully in a week or so it will hatch. Detailed information into the life cycle of the Long-tailed Blue can be accessed on the following link from the excellent UK Butterflies website https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=boeticus .
