Chalk Hill Blue

Chalk Hill Blue (Polyommatus coridon)

As its vernacular name implies, P. coridon is found on chalk downland, although limestone downland is also used. The adult butterfly is most-often seen in bright sunshine, where the ground may appear to shimmer with the activity of hundreds, if not thousands, of males actively searching for a female just a short distance above the ground. The distribution of this species follows the distribution of its larval foodplant, Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa), which, in turn, follows the distribution of chalk and limestone grassland. This species is therefore restricted to England, south east of a line running from Gloucestershire in the west and Cambridgeshire in the east. It is absent from most of central England, northern England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

It is univoltine with the adults emerging in mid July in typical years, a peak being reached at the end of July and early August. The 2012 emergence in Sussex was exceptional with numbers not recorded since the mid 20th Century. A detailed evaluation, undertaken on 3rd August 2012, estimated a population of 820,000 individuals at one site alone. This mass emergence is believed to have occurred due to the wet conditions continuously suffered throughout the spring and summer of 2012, which, in turn, would have led to an exceptionally lush growth of nitrogen-rich larval foodplant. The sexes are strongly dimorphic. The males - a single individual illustrated above - being a beautiful pale sky blue and the females primarily chocolate brown. The adults use a variety of nectar sources, and the males will also visit, often in some numbers, moist earth or animal droppings to gather salts and minerals. This is a highly-variable species and many named aberrations exist. Catch them in the right light and the males are simply stunning …

More at: www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=coridon

Hulme, N. (2013). The 2012 Butterfly Year. The Sussex Butterfly Report. Sussex Butterfly Conservation. Issue 5, Spring 2013, pp. 12-15.

Time for bed ...

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Captured in the last rays of the evening sun a female Common Blue goes to roost …

Brown Argus

Brown Argus (Aricia agestis)

A. agestis is a widespread, warmth-loving species and, as such, is typically found in sheltered areas or on south-facing elevations. It can be found south of a line between Dorset in the west and southeast Yorkshire in the east, along with colonies in Derbyshire, North Devon and Cornwall. It is also found in north and south Wales, but is absent from central Wales. It is not found in Scotland, Ireland or the Isle of Man. Occurring in small, compact colonies, it is not a great wanderer, only travelling a couple of hundred metres, at most, from where it originally emerged. Like its close relative, the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), this species will roost communally on grass stems at night. In fact, the two species are sometimes found roosting together.

Two broods are common in central and southern England, with only a partial second brood in north Wales and the north of England. In good seasons, a partial third generation may be recorded in the south. The adults emerge first in central and southern England in early May, peaking at the end of May and the beginning of June, and giving rise to a second brood that emerges at the end of July. In north Wales and northern England, the first emergence starts in early June with any second brood appearing in early August.

Unlike most other members of the Polyommatinae, the ‘blues’, the Brown Argus has no blue scales on its upperside, both sexes being primarily brown in colour as its vernacular name suggests - although the butterfly can exhibit a bluish sheen when at certain angles to the light. Both sexes have beautiful orange spots on the upperside of both forewings and hindwings with the female - illustrated above - being more generously marked. It appears to be doing well in Sussex this season …

More at: www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=agestis

The harder you look the more you see ...

A favourite place …

I think we all have favourite places and one of mine is a rather magical location where the aromatic fragrance of wild marjoram stimulates the summer senses. Early season heralds the awakening of exotic orchids and delicate scented cowslips. Harebells gently chime in the wind like tiny elven bonnets. It is a place that always gives and only asks for respect in return to ensure its rich harvest continues into the following season. It is a place that is never silent, even on the quietest of days, as it resonates to the gentle harmony of countless hoverflies, grasshoppers and bees - even the flowers sing, as their dry, ripe and swollen seedpods rattle under every footstep. It is a place where beauty glides upon the breeze and sapphires dance. It is a place that is alive with living gems …

The holly and the ivy ...

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)

C. argiolus is primarily found in the southern half of the British Isles and is a frequent visitor to gardens, churchyards and parks. This species is renowned for fluctuating in numbers, forming a predictable cycle over several seasons, thought to be caused by the abundance of the parasitic wasp Listrodomus nycthemerus whose sole host is the Holly Blue. The wasp lays its eggs in the larvae of C. argiolous, with a single adult wasp eventually emerging from the pupa. In England and Wales this species is widespread and common, south of a line running from Cumberland in the west to County Durham in the east. It is also found on the Isle of Man and throughout Ireland, but is absent from Scotland except as a scarce vagrant.

There are two broods each year, although there may be only one brood in the north. Adults from overwintering pupae emerge as early as the first week of April in a typical season, with the next generation emerging during mid July and early August. The three images above are of summer brood individuals. The first two pictures depict the same male. The third image is a female nectaring on bramble blossom. 

More at: www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=argiolus

The need to feed ...

Food choice and purpose ...

The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) seeking sustenance from a dry forestry track.

More at: http://markcolvin.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/come-dine-with-me_6716.html

Bugs on drugs ...

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)

T. sylvestris typically inhabits rough grassland, where tall grasses can be found, and may occur on roadside verges, beside hedgerows, on overgrown downland, in woodland clearings and along woodland rides. It is often found basking on vegetation, or making its short, fast, buzzing flights amongst tall grass stems.

Despite its vernacular name, four other skipper species found in the British Isles are the same size or smaller than T. sylvestris. The Essex Skipper, Thymelicus lineola, and T. sylvestris are often mistaken for each other. They can be distinguished by the colour of the underside of the tips of the antennae. In T. lineola, this area is black and in T. sylvestris it is brown (as shown above). This holds true for both sexes. Males can also be distinguished by the sex brand found on the upperside of their forewings. The sex brand of a male T. lineola is relatively short when compared with that of a male T. sylvestris. The sex brand of T. lineola also runs parallel with the leading edge of the forewing, but at an angle in the male of T. sylvestris.

The adults are on the wing in June, through July, and into August.

More at: www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=sylvestris