First Adonis Blue & Glanville Count Rises.

With Adonis Blue already reported from several mainland locations,I decided to try my luck today on Bonchurch Down.The numbers of Adonis have decreased in recent years due to less than ideal land management on the Down and the fall in the rabbit population.The Adonis require short downland grass to be successful and the lack of grazers such as the rabbit has allowed the grass to grow long.A check of the male Common Blue butterflies encountered today led to my first record of the year of a Adonis Blue.These two species are very similar,but close inspection will leave no doubt if it is an Adonis. The spectacular and striking sky blue of the male Adonis is unmistakeable.

Not too far away is the premier site for the Glanville Fritillary and since the first appearance of this special butterfly four days ago numbers have steadily increased.Todays count amounted to eight pristine fritillaries all resplendent with their orange and brown chequered wings and a white border.The underside has a pattern of cream and orange bands with black marks.

Glanville Fritillary Takes to the Air.

Following yesterdays report of the first Glanville Fritillary on the wing in 2017 I made the trip to the south of the Isle of Wight in the hope of seeing this special butterfly.The Island has the only natural habitat for this butterfly in the UK, so it is always an unique event when the Glanville makes its first appearance.

After some searching the one individual was spotted busily feeding on a variety of the many plants that are flowering at this site.The sighting was all too brief as it flew off up the slope and was not seen again. Still,we can look forward to seeing more Glanvilles in the next few days as they emerge on the cliff tops along the Island's south-west coast.
Other species were in the main absent,although it was encouraging to see at least six Common Blue feeding  on the abundant Red Valerian. 

Dingy Skipper and Wall Brown Make an Appearance.

Continued dry weather and a slight rise in temperatures together with some sunshine has led to an increase in butterfly activity.Yesterday in the West Wight I had my first sight of a Dingy Skipper this year together with a pair of battling Wall Brown butterflies that circled above me and flew off.It was good to see several Small Coppers too.They have not enjoyed the last few years as their numbers have been reported as low and in decline.

Cold Wind Slows Down the Butterflies.

Temperatures have plummeted in the last day or so but at Whiteways the butterflies have kept active.The unique position of the site has allowed the butterflies to make the most of the warm sunshine and  the effect of the cold northerly wind is kept to a minimum.The Grizzled Skipper was prominent with at least two seen,along with four Small Blue and six Green Hairstreak.

Small Blue Out in Numbers.

A visit to Whiteways this afternoon  rewarded me with at least four Small Blues frantically flying around between bouts of sunbathing on any blade of  grass.This is the earliest sighting for Small Blue here since 2012 when they emerged on the extremely silly early date of 30th March.

Finding a Place to Roost.

It has been a cloudy day and during a very brief brighter spell this afternoon a male Orange Tip floated into our garden on the lookout it seems, for a spot to roost.He finally landed on an emerging daisy,Anthemis punctata cupaniana at the edge of a flower border where he soon settled down for the rest of the day. 

Small Copper Another First of the Season.

Butterfly sightings and activity have slowed down over the last week or so, probably due to the cool weather.However the sun is still shining and in sheltered spots in can feel pleasant.At Whiteways Quarry today a Small Copper made an appearance,my first sight of this species in 2017,along with that elusive Grizzled Skipper.In addition there are up to three Green Hairstreaks busily flying around defending their territories.
Meanwhile the Berberis in my garden is still attracting the butterflies with a Holly Blue feeding on some of the remaining blooms.

Busy Orange Tips.

The first Orange Tip,a male, flew around my garden today.Most years I do not see this species in my garden until May, so much earlier than expected.Activity of this species has been evident since the first week in April when at Ventnor I came across a female taking great interest in the Honesty plants.She was soon joined by a male who fluttered feverishly around her.Her response,in this instance,was a rejection of his advances in typical Orange Tip fashion.Females who have already mated and want to shoo away a male will  flatten their wings and raise their abdomen.This is followed by an opening of the genital valve to release anti-aphrodisiac hormones to discourage the male.

Cooler Temperatures Slow Down the Spring Butterflies.

Although the weather has been dry and mainly sunny since the unseasonably warm temperatures of last weekend,a nagging cold wind has seemed to postpone the emergence of new spring butterflies here along the coast.This is so at Whiteways Quarry where no new species have been seen on the wing.However today the two Green Hairstreaks at the site were enjoying the Bluebells and the elusive Grizzled Skipper still puts in an occasional appearance.

First Small Heath.

The weather today had cooled due to a brisk wind and butterflies already recorded  at Whiteways Quarry were not to be seen.However a new species did make an appearance here,a single Small Heath,the first of 2017.This is the earliest date for a sighting of this species since I began recording in 2010.

First Grizzled Skipper.

As anticipated the first Grizzled Skipper made an appearance at Whiteways Quarry today and the Green Hairstreaks seem to have doubled their number to two.With the mainly dry weather forecast to continue for the rest of the week we can look forward to six  further species emerging at this site.

First Green Hairstreak.

With the very warm temperatures of the last few days I would have expected the first  new spring butterflies to appear sooner at Whiteways Quarry(Afton Down Chalkpit).However it was not until today that a Green Hairstreak was seen and I expect that it will now be closely followed  by this unique sites other gems.

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Getting Ready.

The Glanville Fritillary caterpillars will soon be ready to disperse and pupate.Their flying season could be just three weeks away.Many of the larva that I saw yesterday are in the sixth instar and these larger larvae can be seen merrily munching on plantain leaves.However some caterpillars have not reached that final stage and are still seeking the safety of their webs.Some webs also show signs of their development with discarded  moult skins.

Web with discarded larval skins

Speckled Woods & Peacocks On Show.

It was a lovely sunny spring afternoon although the butterflies did not seem to be much in evidence during my walk in Walters Copse at Newtown.Still,at least six Speckled Wood had claimed several sun dappled  spots in the wood and I had a glimpse of a Small/Green-veined White as it flew along a ride as I entered the Copse.
The Peacock seems to be very abundant this year and they are a regular sight here.Male Peacock butterflies set up their territories on the ground often in a sunny location at the end of a woodland ride and I came across one such spot in the copse today.The male(pictured below on the left of the photo) had attracted a female and he was gently opening and closing his wings in a courtship ritual while edging as close as possible to her.An example of this behaviour can been seen HERE The display abruptly ended when she flew off into the high branches of a nearby tree swiftly followed by the male.In contrast to the prevalence of the Peacock,the Red Admiral is a rare sight at the moment so I was glad to have a single sighting.Another all too brief sighting was a Holly Blue flying busily along a sunny track.

New Spring Butterflies.

Spring has now arrived and several newly emerged species are to be seen on the wing.It is always a treat to see the first Orange Tip and at Wheelers Bay today a male was busily feeding on the flowers of the many Honesty plants that grow in any sheltered sunny spot.Another new species here was a male Holly Blue which occasionally stopped its brakeneck flight to nectar on any blooms.

Back at home a female Large White visited my garden to feed on the abundant flowers of our Berberis.This shrub is always a magnet for the bumblebees and also it seems, for this hungry White.

On The Up.

A further visit to Walters Copse today saw an increase in butterfly sightings compared with a fortnight ago despite a brisk easterly wind.However in some spots of the copse it was sheltered away from  the cool breeze and became relatively warm in the sunshine.Best of all was the number of Brimstone, reaching double figures as the males patrolled the rides on the lookout for females.Occasionally they took time out to visit the many primrose plants that now bloom throughout the copse.Unfortunately I did not encounter any new spring  emergents, as the only other butterflies on the wing were Peacock and Commas.

Warm Temperatures Bring On the Butterflies.

We enjoyed above average temperatures yesterday on the Island and it was most likely the warmest day of the year so far.Therefore,I was not surprised to see my first butterfly of 2017 sunning itself on the ground in my garden.No doubt this Peacock had just come out of hibernation and was after some nutrition.It soon flew onto a daffodil where it began to nectar.
After lunch I made a short car ride along the coast and visited one of the numerous Chines that are found here to see the state of Glanville Fritillary caterpillar webs that dot the sides of the coastal cliffs.With the sunshine warming up these grassy knolls caterpillars were evident although at this time they are small,only 6mm or so in length.By late April they will have grown considerably and will begin to disperse from their communal webs to find place to pupate.

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