Possibly my favourite UK butterfly is the White-letter Hairstreak, a butterfly that has become increasingly scarce due to its only larval foodplant being Elm trees which have suffered enormously in recent years through Dutch Elm Disease, resulting in the butterfly losing many colonies.
I do still have a tiny colony very near to my house, but all I generally see these days here is a couple of males high up in the trees being very territorial. Long gone are the days when I could walk from home to some large colonies along the River Cuckmere.
This year I heard about a large colony in Eastbourne, so David and I headed there one day in the summer hoping to find the colony. It did take a little time before we stumbled across them, but eventually we did find good numbers of them, although they were extremely difficult to photograph as they were generally just out of reach, and with the sun behind them much of the time. However, with some patience and determination, and a 2nd visit, we did get a few photos.
Male White-letter Hairstreak.
At one point I wandered off to see if I could find any nectaring butterflies nearby, when I stumbled across a female that was obviously egg laying, walking amongst the Elm leaves. Although I didn't actually see her lay any eggs it was clear what she was up to. The female is even better looking than the male, with longer tails, and also a more pronounced 'W' shape on the wing, which is where the butterfly gets its name. At one point she stopped to rest on an Elm leaf, which is when I managed to get my best shot of the day.
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Female White-letter Hairstreak.
A few of my other local images from the latter half of the summer include a very lucky sighting near Beachy Head, when Lisa and I were doing a little recce for a tour I was leading. After seeing many butterflies, mainly Chalkhill Blue and Common Blue, I spotted a Clouded Yellow. This was a special butterfly as it was also a female 'helise' form. This is much paler than the usual colour, and was also Lisa's first ever helise Clouded Yellow.
After Lisa had got a few photos I decided to also have a go, and this is when I got lucky. I only took 2 photos, but on the 2nd one the butterfly took flight. This normally results in a totally rubbish photo, but for once the image was quite sharp.
Taking flight!!
The following photos were taken on various walks over the South Downs National Park during August and September.
Male Brimstone.
Lovely pictures Bob. I am sorry to hear about the decline of the White-letter Hairstreak there. They have recently spread up into Southern Scotland. They are regularly seen in Berwickshire and around Kelso. Last year individuals were also seen in Haddington, in East Lothian, another was seen in Edinburgh and one was also spotted in Dundee. Those in Edinburgh now seem to be established. I live in hope that they may arrive with me one day, as they do appear to be following the River Tweed inland.
ReplyDeleteThere have also been a good number of Clouded Yellows spotted up here this year.
Chalkhill Blues, Brown Argus, Silver-spotted Skipper and Brimstones are not found up here!!