White-letter Hairstreak at Littlehampton

male White-letter Hairstreak, Satyrium w-album

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

On Friday I found another Rosy Taby moth on a window, the last one being on August 27, 2012. In the afternoon I walked along the path by Littlehampton Golf Course and found my first local White-letter Hairstreak at 3:30pm. It stayed on each bramble flower for 5-10 minutes, then flew off to either a nearby one or flew out of sight. I managed to spot it again several times. The bramble flowers hosted several species: Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Whites, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Large Skipper. Various aerial battles were fought, sometimes a Large Skipper chased a Meadow Brown, or a Comma chased a Red Admiral. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth nectared briefly at the bottom of the bramble slope and a Small Fan-footed Wave showed itself along the path.

Rosy Tabby, Endotricha flammealis

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Gatekeepers mating, Pyronia tithonus

Peacock, Inachis io

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta

Small Fan-footed Wave, Idaea biselata

Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria

When using flash on an open-winged butterfly I often find the butterfly has closed its wings when the image is captured. Sometimes I get an image like this where the wings are in the process of closing.

White-letter Hairstreak, Satyrium w-album

White-letter Haistreak habitat