Brown Hairstreaks and a Blood-vein

I have not posted a blog for a couple of months due to the good weather keeping me out in the field a lot. The recent sporting events have kept me glued to the TV instead of the computer so lots of pics to be posted sometime...

  On Tuesday I checked the Everlasting Pea at Beeding Cement Works but saw no sign of Long-tailed Blues which should soon be coming over the channel in numbers. The first was seen in Hassocks on July 23rd. Common Blues were mating on the Everlasting Pea.

Fascinating articles about the Long-tailed Blue in Sussex by Mark Colvin can be seen here:

Rearing the Long-tailed Blue - Personal Observations

Long-tailed Blue in Sussex - A Brief History

  I then headed to Knepp where I met David Cook who pointed me in the right direction for Brown Hairstreaks. I met Neil Hulme doing a Brown Hairstreak count and he took me on a tour of sites where I saw 9 males and a female plus a Purple Hairstreak, all nectaring on thistle.

  Other butterflies seen: Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Gatekeepers, Green-veined Whites, Brimstone, Ringlets, Meadow Browns including one with a white hind underwing. Moths seen: Common Purple and Gold, Chequered Pearl and a Blood-vein.

Common Blues mating on Everlasting Pea, Polyommatus icarus

Everlasting Pea, where the Long-tailed Blue likes to lay its eggs

Brown Hairstreak ♀, Thecla betulae

Brown Hairstreak ♂

Brown Hairstreak ♂

Chequered Pearl, Evergestis pallidata

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Comma

mushroom with juvenile Common Frog, Rana temporaria

juvenile Common Frog

Common Purple and Gold, Pyrausta purpuralis

Earthstar type fungus under Oak

Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus

Gatekeeper ♀

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina ab. with whitish hind-wing, very pronounced in flight

tiny Mirid bug, Liocoris tripustulatus

Purple Hairstreak, Neozephyrus quercus

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta ab. bialbata

Blood-vein, Timandra comae

Large Wall Brown, Southern Festoon and Scarce Swallowtail

Large Wall Brown ♂, Lasiommata maera

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

Wednesday 12th April was day 4 of our Corfu butterfly trip. We started the day by visiting the site near our apartments at Dassia where I had found the Eastern Baton Blue the previous day. My companions were able to enjoy this tiny butterfly on the flower covered limestone slope. I also spotted a Lang's Short-tailed Blue. Other species seen: Brown Argus, Common Blue, Eastern Dappled White. The Muslin Moth from the previous night was still on the wall by the apartment gate.

  We then travelled to Kiprianades where Southern Festoons had been seen in previous years. We saw eggs and 1st and 2nd instar larvae on the foodplant, Round-leaved Birthwort. We also saw the adults in their full technicolour glory. Grecian Coppers, Brimstones,  Small Heath, Scarce Swallowtail and Speckled Wood were also seen.

   Finally we walked along the Erimiti headland with naturalist Chris Little. We saw Cleopatra, Green Hairstreak, Berger's Clouded Yellow, Brimstone, Wall and Large Wall Brown. Thunder and dark clouds were heard across the sea over Albania. On the way home we stopped for an ice cream and saw a Mallow Skipper inside the cafe - a bonus butterfly for the day.

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis

Brown Argus

Brown Argus

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

 The butterfly slope:

Eastern Baton Blue, Pseudophilotes vicrama clara

Eastern Baton Blue

Eastern Dappled White, Euchloe ausonia

Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Leptotes pirithous

Lang's Short-tailed Blue

Lang's Short-tailed Blue

Moth Mullein, Verbascum blatteria

Muslin Moth ♂, Diaphora mendica

ground beetle

Kiprianades:

Asparagus Pea, Tetragonolo purpureus

Beautiful Demoiselle ♀, Calopteryx virgo

Bee, Thyreus species

Virginia Stock, Malcolmia maritima

Virginia Stock

Brown Argus mating, Aricia agestis

Early Spider Orchid, Ophrys sphegodes

Early Spider Orchid

Grecian Copper, Lycaena ottoman

Grecian Copper

moi

Common Heath, Ematurga atomaria

Satin Wave, Idaea subsericeata

Scarce Swallowtail, Iphiclides podalirius

Scarce Swallowtail

Silver Y, Autographa gamma

Southern Festoon 1st instar larva, Zerynthia polyxena on Round-leaved Birthwort

Round-leaved Birthwort, Aristolochia rotunda

Southern Festoon 1st instar larva on Round-leaved Birthwort 

Southern Festoon 2nd instar larva on Round-leaved Birthwort

Southern Festoon egg on Round-leaved Birthwort

Southern Festoon, Zerynthia polyxena

Southern Festoon

Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria

Erimiti:

Berger's Clouded Yellow, Colias alfacariensis

Cleopatra ♂, Gonepteryx cleopatra

Cleopatra ♂

Cleopatra ♂

Magnolia

unidentified shoreline plant

inland freshwater lake

volunteers have cleared rubbish from the beach, some left by tourists

Chris watching CBEs looking at dead Loggerhead turtle

Loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta

Italian Melilot, Melilotus italicus

Barbary Nut, Moraea sisyrinchium
aka Moraea Iris

Italian Melilot

Jerusalem Sage, Phlomis fruticosa

Jerusalem Sage 

Large Pink Cistus, Cistus incanus

Large Wall Brown ♂, Lasiommata maera

Mullein moth larva, Shargacucullia verbasci

Oak Eggar Moth larva, Lasiocampa quercus

Sage-leaved Cistus, Cistus salvifolius

Shield Bug, Carpocoris fuscispinus

Shield Bug, Carpocoris fuscispinus

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

Wall Valantia, Valantia muralis

Mallow Skipper, Carcharodus alceae

Dassia at night:

Cypress Carpet, Thera cupressata

Diamond-back Moth, Plutella xylostella

unidentified moth

unidentified moth

Rush Veneer, Nomophila noctuella

Southern Green Shieldbug, Nezara viridula

Southern Green Shieldbug