Wednesday 26 September 2012

Tropic of Earnley

Black Swallowtail,
Parides zacynthus polymetus
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.

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