It has been a very frustrating week with a dreaded summer cold stopping me from several plans and feeling pretty fed up!! Despite being very humid yesterday I decided I just had to get out so I had a very gentle stroll around some of the local area. The Large Skippers seem to be doing extremely well so far this year with several seen throughout the walk. It is possibly the only butterfly locally that is doing okay as most species seem to be well down in numbers this year. The influx of Painted Lady also seems to be increasing with several seen including 2 on a Bramble bush near the end of the walk. A Small Blue in an area I hadn't seen them before was the most exciting sighting as both Common and Adonis were low in numbers, although a fresh Adonis did show well.
Male Large Skipper.
Another Male Large Skipper.
Male Adonis Blue.
In the evening James was keen to see the Emperor Moth larvae so I met him so I could show him as well as a brief look for roosting Common Blues. There was a few more Blues than I had a few evenings ago. The larvae had started to disperse so only a few were showing but James did spot one that had just shed its skin. Seeing this we then saw more shed skins with larva nearby.
Young Emperor Moth larva shedding its skin.
Great set again Bob. Love that Adonis image. Quality indeed.
ReplyDeleteHi. Great photos. Butterflies are absolutely awesome.
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ReplyDeleteSo beautiful butterflies.
It is great to hear that the Painted Lady invasion is country-wide. We have had several of them turn up here over the last seven days. Your other butterflies are well ahead of us here in Scotland.
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