The Suffolk Argus
Autumn 2005
of fourteen. Males had dominated the count; recognisable at roost earlier by the bright white ----..., tips ro their antennae, and in the current instance by their linear patrols and the dark markings revealed with each deliberate wing-beat. Our return was in keeping with the Wood Whites' behaviour - following the primary rides with an occasional pause ro investigate movement within the vegetation below. We again skirted Oaken Wood, the morning sufficiently to bend back the Whitebeam branches part of the field trip thus concluding as a highly at the crest of the scarp, had concentrated successful misnomer. butterflies along the sheltered length of the By mid afternoon, our group of 11 had left carriageway for blues were recorded in numbers the Wealden clay and moved to the chalk of the now - the violet shades of Common at first, North Downs on the western edge of Dorking. followed quickly by the vivid, unmistakeable Initially, we manoeuvred through dense woodland iridescence of male Adonis as we entered areas in before emerging onto the Denbies carriageway to which Horseshoe Vetch flourished. I had recorded the sight of a Holly Blue flashing its metallic Adonis Blues at Mount Caburn in Sussex a few undersides above our heads. days before, yet still felt the same rush of Perhaps the wind, which was still gusting excitement, the same intake of breath on encountering a first one here today. We progressed slowly amidst the profusion of eye-catching blues; struggling to follow the frenetic flight of a Grizzled Skipper over the sward, waiting for the quickstep silver dance of a lycaenid to cease and allow our Brown Argus hypothesis to be confirmed, discerning a weathered Green Hairstreak against a backdrop of scrubby foliage. A number of Dingy Skippers whirred about the yellow trefoils, broad abdomens seemingly angled towards the ground as if laden with some unseen burden. Indeed, on one occasion a female Dingy was noted depositing a spherical egg into a tight trefoil floret - the act completed without a moment's hesitation. With still at least half a mile until the Denbies site proper, we realised that we were witnessing an exceptional Adonis Blue emergence far exceeding our previous experiences of this species. Almost 100 males had been recorded to by DouglasHammersley
He is thinning down the likely candidates, we can now see where he is heading, and we are going to end up with the Apollo. Sorry, wrong again, if you remember the lengths, distances, heights, times and even depths I went to, to find them you must by fames Mann agree that my The mind boggles. He relationship lives in the south of with them is France, what exotic likely to be of the love/hate insect is he going to __,--:,;,:rl~"!:::?~ nature. O.K. so come up with. ~ ,..-/ what was easy to We know it's ~<\:/:-::::::·;, ,{.,/:> going to be . ·-.:::•::::,'<.',-.,.,.·• find? He found one of the •. the beautiful Swallowtails he has Spanish Festoon gone on about. No, by just driving up far too common, they can be to Jujols and walking seen all summer long all over the place. The in the sunshine for ten Two-tailed Pasha?Againno, much less common but if you know where to go it is not difficult to Orange Tip find but generally limited, to hilltop habitats. by Douglas Hammersley How about one of the Blues or one of the Fritillaries, many different varieties of each species can be seen but with my limited knowledge, the minutes. This may be so, but with Jujols a three pleasure of watching them is tempered, by the hour round trip plus time spent there, then only headache I get trying to sort out which one I am being present for a few weeks of the year, this is looking at, and then, to find that many different not it. ones are quite happy to mix together to nectar. The butterfly that is my favourite is one that Not like Suffolk where I, the expert, knew that I can see over several months, is seen in a variety of Bell Heather and July meant Silver-studded Blue habitats at different altitudes, can be looked anywhere else had to be Common Blue except for forward to, brings back memories and is easy to Newmarket Heath where it is possible to see a spot and identify. Not asking much is it? ChalkhilJ Blue on a day out from Cambridgeshire. In England, when he first appeared each year The Fritillary limited to the odd Queen of Spain. flitting along the hedgerows we knew that summer Each year several CamberwelJ Beauties can had arrived. His stay was somewhat limited, be seen together with lots of Large Tortoiseshells compared to here where he has been seen from the but these are only ever seen by chance so cannot be second week of April, at sea-level until the third looked forward to. I get a lot of pleasure spotring week of July at over 2000 Metre altitude. We see things that are common in Suffolk but are not so him most weeks during this period when on our often seen here. The "three whites" are rarely seen, Monday mountain walks. our common one is Black-veined. The SmalJ The clue is in the "he" my definite favourite Tortoiseshell is generaUy seen above the 1500 is the Orange-tip. The females are also around bur metre mark. Skippers abound, but the three for a shorter period, and in less number and of common to Suffolk are very seldom seen. course not so distinctive to spot.
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Green Hairstreak by DouglasHammersley
BrownArgus
My Favourite Butterfly
