Season's first ...

I always wait in anticipation for my first butterfly sighting of the year; though I am often left rather concerned over sightings that are too early in the season due to the limited availability of nectar sources and the likelihood of adverse winter weather still potentially on the horizon. This year, on Saturday, 22nd February, I struck lucky and counted seven male Brimstones during a sun-filled walk in a Surrey section of Chiddingfold Forest. A flyby, in my garden, on the 24th was followed by sightings of five further males on the 27th; all in Sussex locations. In addition, a Small Tortoiseshell, found fluttering around a window in my local church on Tuesday, 25th February, bodes well for the coming butterfly year.

Fingers crossed!

My first species of the season ...

Dark Side of the Moon ...

150° southeast ...

The phases of our Moon are dependant upon its position in relation to the Sun and Earth. As the Moon travels around the Earth we see the illuminated (sunlit) hemisphere of the Moon's surface at different angles. It is the revolution of the Moon around the Earth that makes the Moon appear as if it is changing shape in the sky. From Earth we see the Moon grow from a thin crescent to a full disk and then shrink back to a thin crescent before vanishing for a few days. These are called the 'phases' of the Moon. The following image, taken at 6.30am this morning, shows the Moon in its Waning (old) Crescent phase (11% of Full) with the planet Venus, the brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon, clearly visible as a bright light.

I must get up early tomorrow ...

Blue sky, cold wind, sunshine and snow!

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

A cold and windy walk yesterday, though with much welcomed blue sky and sunshine, produced one of my favourite scarce passage migrants and winter visitor to the Sussex coast, the beautiful Snow Bunting (P. nivalis). In Sussex, as elsewhere in Southern Britain, Snow Buntings are almost entirely confined to coastal sites with a marked preference for sandy shores. Favoured locations include Chichester and Pagham Harbours in West Sussex and the area around Rye Bay to the east. This individual was found feeding along the shoreline at East Head, located on the east side of the entrance to Chichester Harbour.

100 not out ...

Acheta domesticus

Commonly known as the house cricket, Acheta domesticus occurs in the British Isles as a non-native species. It most likely originated in the hot, dry desert regions of Southwestern Asia, but has spread throughout the world. It is not well adapted to surviving the northern European winter, hence most British records come from artificial environments, such as those found in kitchens, bakeries, boiler houses, glasshouses (such as the female example below) and other areas where it is especially warm; though it can occasionally be found outdoors during the summer months on rubbish dumps and compost heaps, where the fermenting waste generates heat. There are very few outdoor records in the UK.

A. domesticus hides in crevices during the day and becomes active during the late afternoon and into the hours of darkness. The chirruping of the male, produced by rubbing the two front wings together, attracts the female cricket. After mating, several hundred eggs can be laid over a period of a few weeks. Whilst out of doors the eggs are usually laid in a shallow pit in soft earth, in artificial environments the eggs are typically deposited in moist debris in cracks and crevices. They are highly temperature sensitive, being inactive below 20°C, and developing through the nymphal stages most rapidly at around 35°C. High humidity is known to be important. With this in mind, the nymphs usually experience 7-9 moults before reaching maturity; which can take between 5 weeks to 4 months.

Though omnivorous scavengers, A. domesticus shows a preference towards vegetable matter. They themselves are commercially reared as food for pets such as amphibians, arthropods, birds and reptiles. In Thailand, they are also farmed for human consumption where they are commonly eaten as a deep-fried snack.

Chasing clouds ...

Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus)

The Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) is primarily an immigrant to the UK, originating from North Africa and southern Europe, with numbers varying greatly from year to year. Each season, we normally see at least a few reaching our shores and, occasionally, they arrive in large numbers; such as the estimated 36,000 that appeared during 1947 when good numbers of much rarer migrants, such as Bath White (Pontia daplidice) and Pale Clouded Yellow (Colias hyale), were also recorded.

In more recent years, it has been shown that this species has successfully overwintered in the south of England. However, it is believed that the majority of individuals perish, since both larva and pupa of this continuously-brooded species are easily killed by damp and frosty conditions. In good seasons, C. croceus can produce up to three generations in the UK. In flight, the orange-yellow colour is quite distinctive, and unlike any other species. The pale helice form, occurring only in the female, is a creamy white, rather than yellow in colour and may lead to confusion with other similar species.

This strong-flying species always settles with its wings closed and so the dark borders on the uppersides of the wings are only clearly visible when in flight or when viewed backlit at rest. There is no elaborate courtship and, having mated, the female is subsequently able to lay an extraordinary number of eggs; up to 600 have been recorded from a single female.

Two females from 2013 above ...

Precious metals ...

Surrey Downland, 30-31 July 2013

The Silver-spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma) is a warmth-loving species. Its range contracted during the 20th century due to a reduction in grazing stock as well as the onset of myxomatosis in the early 1950s, which severely affected rabbit populations; the butterfly requiring closely-grazed chalk downland sites on which its primary larval foodplant, Sheep's-fescue (Festuca ovina), grows. Recent years have been more promising and this is one of the few species that is increasing its range. It is still relatively-local, with current strongholds being located in the Chilterns, Hampshire, the North Downs between Guildford and Reigate, East Sussex and south-east Kent. It occurs locally in my own county of West Sussex and is currently showing a positive trend for expansion into adjacent suitable habitat.

It is easily identifiable, since it is the only golden skipper found in the British Isles that has the distinctive white spots on the underside of the hindwings, which give the butterfly its name. Like other ‘golden’ skippers, the male is distinguished from the female by the sex brand on its forewings, which is a line of specialised scent scales.

H. comma is one of the latest species to emerge, typically not appearing until late July or early August, and it is then on the wing until early September. There is one generation each year. Like most skippers, this is a fast-flying species that flies close to the ground, and can be extremely difficult to follow when in flight. Both sexes spend the majority of their time either basking or feeding, and a wide variety of nectar sources is used. The butterfly will find the warmest patches of ground on which to bask, enjoying the warmth of paths, rabbit scrapes and other patches of bare earth, which have been baked by the sun. The males rest on suitable sunlit perches, and will investigate any passing butterfly, in the hope of finding a mate. If a virgin female is encountered, the pair exhibits a tumbling courtship, with the male eventually forcing the female to the ground where mating takes place. An egg-laying female locates a suitable patch of bare ground, such as a rabbit scrape, and then walks to the edge of the patch looking for a suitable location on which to lay a single egg.

A female at rest pictured below ...

Coridon ...

Surrey Downland, 30-31 July 2013

Simply wonderful …

I recently spent two days, with good friend Nick Broomer, searching several areas of chalk grassland on the beautiful Surrey downland; our targets, the beautiful Silver-spotted Skipper and the enchanting Chalkhill Blue. We were not to be disappointed on either count.

Although Tuesday was accompanied by persistent rain for much of the day, an early morning arrival provided ideal conditions for searching the grassland for roosting butterflies; we were not disappointed and found many hundreds, probably thousands, of roosting Chalkhill Blues over much of the hill. This included a number of nice aberrant specimens including those pictured in the two images below, referable to ab. postcaeca, Bright & Leeds (1938). The first image shows a particularly well-marked male which we observed from shortly after emergence until its first flight. Wednesday started warm, and by midday large numbers of insects were on the wing. As the sun pushed through the clouds the numbers of Chalkhill Blues increased and we were privileged to witness a magnificent display as the air and ground around us turned blue as if covered in tiny sapphires. It is difficult to estimate actual numbers, though if I were pressed to do so, there were certainly many thousands and probably many tens of thousands on the wing; possibly many more. Although I didn’t witness the peak of the Sussex Chalkhill Blue explosion last year, Wednesday’s display was an event to remember ...

A privilege to have shared with a good friend …