Long-tailed Blue at Newhaven

Long-tailed Blue ♂, Lampides boeticus

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

The past two days have been spent hunting for Long-tailed Blues. Yesterday I checked Southwick and Beeding without success. Finally I arrived at Newhaven where Mark found a pristine male. Other happy photographers on site were James, Bob and Garry. This morning I checked Lancing then moved on to Newhaven where the yesterday's male was photographed in better light and conditions. When it had warmed up sufficiently it flew off. Finally I called in at Brighton where Mark had located a male which again flew off due to the high temperature but no chance for photos.
Please see my previous LTB report also: http://bit.ly/1GZSt7w

29 September - Mark Colvin has published an excellent account of recent LTB sightings: 

http://bit.ly/1LDNTjI

Monday:

Long-tailed Blue ♂

it rested overnight within brambles

Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II

Tuesday:

Long-tailed Blue ♂

Rush Veneer, Nomophila noctuella

a Long-tailed Blue emerges

Long-tailed Blue ♀, Lampides boeticus

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

Neil Hulme let me know that he had found a newly emerged female Long-tailed Blue this afternoon at a site we regularly monitor north of Shoreham. This is about 10 days after he found a male specimen on the same clump of Everlasting Pea, which is the food plant of this Mediterranean butterfly. It has worked its way north over several generations, eventually crossing the channel about 6 weeks ago, and laying eggs in several places along the Sussex coastal strip on its food plant.

‘Butterflies’ by Ronald Orenstein - a book review

'Butterflies' by Ronald Orenstein, photography by Thomas Marent

Published by Firefly Books, October 2015

I was approached by Firefly Books to review this addition to butterfly literature. When I unwrapped the package I was delighted to find a large format book (28.5 x 23.8 x 2.7cm) with an outstanding cover, easily readable text (white on black) and excellent photographs. I like the layout where text and photos combine to give an interesting read. Each page offers one to several photos of different sizes to give a ‘wow’ factor.

The author’s lucid text makes this volume an enjoyable read and the division of subject matter makes it an easy book to dip into. I don’t pretend to have read every word yet, but I have learnt a lot from the first 28 pages (the  Introduction). It now sits on our coffee table where I can dip into it whenever I like, which will be often. A worthy place is waiting for it in my bookshelf next to Thomas & Lewington's Butterflies of Britain & Ireland.

The back cover states: 'These photographs are a visual feast that showcases the beauty and mystery of butterfly and moth species from around the globe'. I can only agree!

The book is divided into an Introduction to butterflies, 6 chapters covering families of butterflies, 4 chapters covering various aspects of butterflies , and finally a chapter about moths:

Introducing Butterflies (28 pages)

·         What are butterflies?

·         The rise of butterflies

·         Butterfly families

·         Wings and flight

·         Scales and colors

·         Wing patterns and genetics

·         Mimics and models

·         Finding a mate

·         Butterfly courtship

·         Nuptial gifts and multiple partners

·         Host plants and oviposition

·         Social caterpillars, cannibals and myrmecophiles

·         Development and diapause

·         Butterflies, nectar and pollen

·         Butterfly migration

·         Butterflies under threat

·         Butterflies and climate change

·         Conserving butterflies

Chapters:

1. Swallowtails (8 pages)

2. Skippers (8 pages)

3. Whites, Sulphurs and Yellows (12 pages)

4. Brush-footed Butterflies (46 pages)

5. Gossamer-winged Butterflies (6 pages)

6. Metalmarks (8 pages)

7. Butterfly Wings (16 pages)

8. Butterfly Life History (44 pages)

9. What Butterflies Eat (26 pages)

10. Butterflies in their Environment (20 pages)

11. Myriads of Moths (47 pages)

Further reading and selected websites: page 279

Index pages 280-287

Ronald Orenstein is a Canadian zoologist, wildlife conservationist, naturalist and lawyer.

His other recent books include Ivory, Horn and Blood and Hummingbirds.

Thomas Marent is a wildlife photographer based in Switzerland. His previous books include Frog; Rainforest; Life in the Wild and Like Us: Encounters with Primates.

Author’s book blog: http://ronorensteinwriter.blogspot.co.uk/

Author’s Naturalist blog: http://ronorenstein.blogspot.co.uk/

412 references used by the author for his research are listed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6z7vwHKfWhYTjRfSHh1bldOX2M/view