Brown Hairstreaks near Oxford

August 28, 2013:
The Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae) is only found in a quite restricted region of Britain, mainly in Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties. Like its close relative, the Black Hairstreak, it only occurs in close proximity to its larval food-plant, the Sloe.



Brown Hairstreaks are very elusive butterflies and spend most of the time high up in the trees but when the weather conditions are favourable they can come down to nectar on flowers whilst the females also descend to lay their eggs on the sloe.

 

Larval food-plant: the Sloe



They mainly occur in quite small, scattered populations so sightings rarely consist of  more than just a few individuals.



The morning was spent at Otmoor under ideal conditions but no sightings were made (although a female had been seen and photographed here earlier in the day). A second well-known locality, Whitecross Green Wood, was visited next but again none were seen. Other people also searching had no luck either (although there were two probables very high up in a master Ash tree). So, a return was made to Otmoor for one last attempt and this was rewarded with a male perched on bramble in dense vegetation. After making such a long trip it was pleasing to have success at last although it had taken four hours of almost constant searching.

 

A Red Kite circling over the site at Otmoor

 

 

 



Purple Hairstreaks near Newby Bridge, Cumbria

August 3: At an extensive oak wood near here, there are several  places where oak trees come down below road level. The elusive Purple Hairstreak (Neozephyrus quercus) butterfly, which spends most of the time high in oak trees feeding on the aphid honeydew on the leaves, can sometimes be seen to advantage from such a viewpoint.



In flight, the underside of the wings flash pale grey as distinct from the pale brown colour of their relative the White-letter Hairstreak (usually found in elms) and this helps to identify them. The upper side of the wing is usually shot with blue-purple and can especially show to advantage when the angle of the light is favourable. Seen at other angles the upper-side may appear dull brown. Photos below show some colour effects.



White-letter Hairstreaks at Boilton Wood, Preston

August 25-30. 2013:

In contrast to last year, White-letter Hairstreaks (Satyrium w-album) have been seen frequently in at least two places in these woods. Individual colonies are likely to be small but there are probably several of them scattered over the area.

 



 

The butterflies are most visible when they come down from the trees above (elms being the food plant) for nectar on flowers below; thistles and brambles seem to be their preferred choice. Often when feeding, they will stay on a single flower for a long time and become engrossed. They can then be approached closely.

 

 

 



Silver-studded Blues (Plebejus argus subsp. caernensis) on the Great Orme

July 8, 2013:
After visiting the Shropshire site, it was interesting to see this endemic subspecies at its classic locality on the limestones of the Great Orme. It is only known from here and a few other sites close by where it has been introduced.

The males are rather similar to subsp. argus but the females can be quite different, especially in regard to the wings' uppersides which can be shot with a bright blue sheen and orange markings. They vary appreciably in this respect. Also, both sexes are noticeably smaller than in subsp. argus and the females here are even smaller than the males.

A range of males and females are shown below.



 

 

 



 



Silver-studded Blues (Plebejus argus subsp. argus) in Shropshire

July 6, 2013:
Following a poor Spring, these butterflies were late emerging at this heathland site near Whitchurch but now the hot weather had arrived they were present in large numbers. They are of the subspecies argus.

Clumps of heather and raised hummocks with Lotus corniculatus were the favoured habitats. The males are bright blue above, edged with black and with undersides silvery grey. The females are mainly drab brown above with a brownish sheen apparent on the underside. Both sexes have well marked underside lunules with varying amouts of the silver studs visible.

A mixture of male and females are shown below.





Scarce Chasers on the River Avon in Worcestershire

June 30, 2013:
A hot sunny day provided ideal conditions for Scarce Chasers, which here are close to their northern British limit. The males are extremely territorial, returning to the same patch of riverside vegetation when disturbed. They can be inquisitive and will hover close whilst investigating an intruder. Males have a bright blue pruinesence on the abdomen whilst female are orange-brown.



Male Red-eyed Damselflies perched on lily-pads out in the river.

 There were also White-legged Damselflies and an enormous number of Banded Demoiselles.

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Hairy Dragonfly in Cheshire

June 25, 2013:
Cheshire is the northern British limit for this 'hawker' dragonfly which is found there only very locally. It favours canals, slow moving rivers, and sheltered ponds. Here, several were flying at a fishing pool surrounded by trees. They patrolled regularly low over the water surface, perching only ocasionally.

Present also were Red-eyed Damselflies, the males defending their territories from perches out on the lily-pads. Unfortunately, the latter were much reduced having been cleared away for fishing purposes.

On the grass nearby the Welsh Chafer beetle (Hoplia philanthus) was found.

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Early season in South Cumbria; dragonflies, butterflies, and other invertebrates

May-mid June, 2013:
Quite a wide range of invertebrates finally emerged once the cold spring weather had abated. Some of those which were photographed are shown below.

Duke of Burgundy Fritillary

Northern Brown Argus

Emperor, female ovipositing

Four-spotted Chaser, female ovipositing

Beautiful Demoiselle, female

Chrysotoxum bicinctum, a hoverfly

Black-headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa coccinea)

Cryptocephalus sericeus, beetles