Working for the Duke again

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here  then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

On Wednesday I spent a couple of hours on the beach with my metal detector. In spite of the recent storm churning up the shingle I didn’t find anything interesting, but did see some turnstones feeding along the surf line.

This week there were a few clues about the approach of Autumn. On Tuesday I was unable to count a single butterfly on my Mill Hill transect and yesterday I was advised that conservation work at one of our Duke of Burgundy sites would start today. Red Admirals are still emerging throughout Sussex, so all is not gloom for butterfly addicts. I still haven’t seen a Clouded Yellow close enough to photograph this year, so searches over the next month will be at Cissbury Ring and Mill Hill, two of my local sites where they can be found after flying over the channel.

This morning four of us met at my nearest Duke of Burgundy sites and spent three hours clearing scrub from the rides we have cleared in previous years. Most of the scrub was ash, beech and buddleia and the clearings are now ready for more primrose planting in the Spring. More work parties are needed to  clear the other sites, but that is what Winter is for!

longest bench shelter

Duke of Burgundy real estate

Tropic of Earnley

Black Swallowtail,
Parides zacynthus polymetus

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here  then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

Yesterday morning it was bucketing down.  I dropped Danuta and Penny at the station then journeyed to the Earnley Butterfly exhibit to satiate a desperate need to photograph butterflies after a gap of five days.  

  Sue’s sisters had joined us from the cold north on Friday for a Writer’s Weekend.  I was away on Saturday assisting with a SusSAR First Aid course. I gather the next batch of crime thrillers and short stories were dusted and polished during the day.  On Sunday Jackie joined us for a Green Curry Thai takeaway.

  Mark had arrived before me at Earnley which had some new butterfly species and giant flora for us to photograph.  Afterwards I checked out Cissbury Ring, but only a Meadow Brown fluttered for me. A vole scampered away through the grass at one point.

  This morning the rain clouds parted and a patch of blue sky sent me to Mill Hill to do this week’s butterfly transect as the weather forecasts for the rest of the week are problematic. There were strong winds so I was not expecting sightings on the slopes, but was amazed that I did not see a single butterfly at the bottom of the hill. The ones I saw last week were pretty worn and near the end of their lives so I guess the past few days of heavy rain has dispatched those that remained. The last buddleia flowers have gone so there was no possibility of the Red Admirals and Small Tortoiseshells that were around a few weeks ago. The only signs of life were six inch brown slugs.

Earnley Butterfly Farm:

Angel's Trumpet, Brugmansia candida

Angel's Trumpet, Brugmansia candida

Black Swallowtail,
Parides zacynthus polymetus

Caligo memnon, Owl

Cethosia biblis, Malay Lacewing

Cethosia biblis, Malay Lacewing

Cethosia biblis, Malay Lacewing

Morpho peleides, Blue Morpho

Giant Hibiscus, Hibiscus Moscheutos

Hebornia glaucippe, Giant Orange Tip

Heliconius sara, Sara Longwing

Hypolimnas bolina, Eggfly

Kallima inachus, Orange Oakleaf

Kallima inachus, Orange Oakleaf

Kallima inachus, Orange Oakleaf

worn Kallima inachus, Orange Oakleaf

Kallima inachus, Orange Oakleaf

Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus

Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus

Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus

Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus

Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus

Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus

Papilio dardanus f hippocoon, male,
African Mocker Swallowtail

Parthenos sylvia, Clipper

Silver Y, Autographa gamma
this is a common British native moth

Siproeta stelenes, Malachite

worn Papilio dardanus f hippocoon (Female),
African Mocker Swallowtail

pupa

Mill Hill:

Mullein, Verbascum thapsus

 I was surprised to see Mullein flowering

Deadly Nightshade, Atropa belladonna

Deadly Nightshade has very toxic berries. Its generic name 'Atropos' is from the eldest of the Three Fates in Greek mythology. Atropos chose the mechanism of death and ended the life of each mortal by cutting their thread with her "abhorred shears." The specific name 'belladonna' is from Italian, meaning beautiful woman from its use in eye-drops to dilate the pupils to make the subject appear more seductive.

Deadly Nightshade, Atropa belladonna

Deadly Nightshade, Atropa belladonna

I had just got into the car when the sky darkened and the rain started.

Red Admirals and Commas at a plum orchard

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here  then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

Yesterday I visited a fruit farm in East Sussex following reports of a thousand Red Admirals feeding on rotting plums in an orchard.  I met Mark at Maynards Fruit Farm, Ticehurst. It is a Pick Your Own farm and although I didn’t have time to pick any, I did buy some delicious Victoria plums and Conference pears. Red Admirals were everywhere, as was the smell of fermenting fruit When the sun burst from behind a cloud the air became full of Red Admirals as I walked between the rows of plum trees. Occasionally I caught one nectaring on the rotting fruit on the ground or on the trees. There were also lots of Commas, perhaps 5% of the Red Admiral numbers. A few Small Whites wandered around but no other butterflies were seen. I saw a Green Woodpecker fly off from the orchard and wondered whether it feasted on Red Admirals though ants are a known target. This was a unique experience which I recommend as a family outing.

On the way back home I stopped at Mill Hill to do my weekly butterfly transect. The results show a considerable decline since last week: Adonis Blue 21, Comma 1,  Meadow Brown 55, Small Copper 1, Small Heath 3, Small White 1. I also saw a Treble-bar moth, Aplocera plagiata. Although this moth is common in West Sussex, it is rare in East Sussex:
 http://www.sussexmothgroup.org.uk/speciesData.php?taxonNum=1867

Bracket fungus on plum tree

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Maynards plum orchard

Red Admiral on plum

Red Admiral on plum tree

Red Admiral on plum

Red Admiral on plum

Mill Hill:

view from Mill Hill

Common Darter, female, Sympetrum striolatum

Treble-bar moth, Aplocera plagiata