Gatekeepers.

It was back to the more common butterflies today with a short visit to the local downland at the back of Seaford. There were Gatekeepers all over the place including a few females. As with all the brown family of butterflies it is quite difficult to get close to them for photography as they are so alert, but eventually I did manage a few quite pleasing shots. The Marbled Whites are now looking a little tired but the Chalkhill Blues were quite numerous and still mostly fresh. The Meadow Brown pupa I managed to relocate and it has become slightly duller. I also saw a Chalk Carpet, a scarce moth. This was very skittish and managed to evade my camera.

Gatekeeper complete with red mites.

Male Gatekeepers.

Golden-ringed Dragonfly and Keeled Skimmer.

With another blazing hot day yesterday it was back to the forest in search of more dragonflies. With more species now on the wing it led to a rewarding and interesting day with the Golden-ringed Dragonfly once again being the star with with around 7 seen along the streams. Although we saw a very smart Brilliant Emerald it didn't settle for any pictures, this was not at all surprising with this species!!

Golden-ringed Dragonfly.

Keeled Skimmers also performed well with several seen including a mating pair. I managed a poor record shot of the pairing. Shortly after they had seperated the male stayed close to the female to make sure no other males could mate with her. At this point he settled on a little heather just in front of me and stayed for a few quick shots. This was a real bonus as this species is quite difficult to get close to. The female was then seen ovipositing in the pool, still with the male keeping close to her.

Male Keeled Skimmer.

Around the acid pools Small Red Damselflies were quite numerous again and then another bonus of a female teneral Black Darter appearing out of the heather. I only managed a few record shots of this tiny dragonfly. Finally an immature female Emerald Damselfly was found around another acid pool, although it unfortunately kept well in the reeds which led to the lighting being a little difficult.

Small Red Damselfly.

Female Teneral Black Darter.

Immature female Emerald Damselfly.

Earlier in the day a quick look at the woodland around Laughton produced a nice Silver-washed Fritillery that allowed a topside and underside photo.

Male Silver-washed Fritillary.

Early Morning!!

At 6am today I was on top of the Downs hoping to improve my Chalkhill Blue images. Even at that time it was warm enough for a few Gatekeepers to be flying and I thought I might be too late for the blues. It was however not long before I saw the gorgeous colour of a male Chalkhill Blue sunning itself in the early morning light. Although I think the images are a little better than I had before I still think there is room for improvement.

Male Chalkhill Blue.

I also managed a couple of shots of the Gatekeepers before they got too lively.

Male Gatekeeper.

Yesterday I was out all day, in the morning I was doing a butterfly count on the edge of Friston Forest and then later in the day I headed for Abbotts Wood hoping for Purple Hairstreak. Last week I had a fleeting glimpse of the Hairstreak but not enough to add it to the year list. I still do not have it on the year list!!

I do not often take pictures of Comma as I have so many, but the Comma yesterday was so smart and it a good position I couldn't resist it. I also saw 2 Four-dotted Footman moths, not to be confused with the mainly migrant Four-spotted Footman!! This is quite a scarce moth that I saw in the same spot last year as well.

Dark Green Fritillary at Friston Forest.

Comma.

Four-dotted Footman.

Purple Emperor Day.

With sunshine expected until the early afternoon yesterday I headed off to the Chiddingfold area to hunt out that most regal of butterflies, the Purple Emperor. All the way there the sun was shining and I was eager to get there quite early. Fortunately, not long after arriving I was walking along one of the rides when I saw the unmistakable flight of the Purple Emperor just in front of me and close to the ground. It settled straight away and then started probing the ground with its proboscis before heading into the undergrowth where it had detected one of its favoured delicacies, some dog poo!!

After watching it for a while it took flight and I wandered further up the path where, at a junction I spotted another already on the ground in an area with a little moisture. I started taking a few pictures hoping it would open its wings to show its amazing colours when the light reflects off it at the right angle. It very soon did just this as it walked in circles. All this happened before anyone else appeared. Of course it was not going to stay like this and I was soon joined by other enthusiasts where we followed this beauty once it took flight for about 400 metres as it kept landing and taking the minerals in the path. It then settled for a long time in a very muddy area where I decided to head off again on my own to hopefully find another individual. After only about an hour the sun decided to go in and it stayed in for the rest of the day and despite staying for another 6 hours no more were seen on the ground. I probably saw around 8 Emperors throughout the day in the canopy.

The magnificent Purple Emperor.

As he starts to open his wings there is a hint of the colour in his wings.

Fully open and the light hits the wing at the right angle to bring the colour out.

Further down the path he stops again.

For much of the day it was too dull, and even chilly for much else to be seen although I did get a shot of a Silver-washed Fritillary and a Marbled White.

Male Silver-washed Fritillary.

Marbled White.

Just 5 miles down the road whilst driving home the sun returned, alas, a little too late. However, it was a great day out with the wonderful Purple Emperors.

More Chalkhill Blue.

I was tempted again yesterday to head up to the Chalkhill Blue colony whilst they are so fresh. Both the Blues and the Gatekeeper numbers had increased with several seen across the area. The 2nd Chalkhill Blue that I found posed very nice for the camera.

The beautiful male Chalkhill Blue.

After spending a little more time with it I then moved to the bottom of the hill looking for Emerald Damselflies, however none were seen. Back onto the hill and I found my first Thyme Plume of the year, a tiny plume moth which is very scarce in Sussex.

Thyme Plume.

Although it is probably a little early I did look briefly for Wall Brown 2nd brood pupa in the area where I had the 1st brood pupa back in March. The pupa is by far the hardest of the life cycle to find and it was no surprise at all not to find one. However, a couple of minutes later a bright green pupa caught my eye from about 10 feet away and I was amazed to find it was a Meadow Brown pupa.

Meadow Brown pupa.

Heading back to the car I came across another Chalkhill Blue which was nectaring on a Pyramidal Orchids. Butterflies that nectar on orchids run the risk of getting pollen sacs stuck on their proboscis and when the butterfly settled on some grass I could see that this one was indeed suffering with this. It was stretching out its proboscis to try to get rid of the bits that were stuck there but they were not coming away!!

Orchid pollen sacs stuck to the proboscis.

Finally my first Essex Skipper of the year was seen near the car park, this was my 40th species of the year.

Chalkhill Blues.

Yesterday I called up to the Downs and immediately saw my first Gatekeeper of the year. This was a good sign for the rest of the walk. With the sun going in quite regularly, but the temperature quite high there were large numbers of butterflies about. 2 Gatekeepers were seen amongst the masses of Marbled White and Meadow Brown with quite a few Ringlet as well. With the lack of female Gatekeepers about a male Gatekeeper got very amorous with a Ringlet, although he ended up frustrated!!

Male Gatekeeper.

Ringlet.

I then walked further down the hill and came across my first Chalkhill Blue of the year, always a fabulous sight when they are as fresh as this. On the way down 2 Chalkhill Blues were seen although a couple more were seen on the return.

Male Chalkhill Blue.

I also wanted to check on Burnt Orchids that grow here. I am lucky as the May flowering Burnt Orchids are quite local, but the late June flowering plants are only 1 mile away from home. Some were already past their best but there were many still looking good. Pyramidal Orchids were also everywhere including one odd one that appeared to have two heads on the one flower.

Burnt Orchids

Pyramidal Orchid.

Southwater Woods.

Last year I failed to see a Purple Emperor despite it being a really good year for them, so yesterday with a few hours to spare, I decided to head over to Southwater Woods to make sure I at least saw them this year. It was, as expected, too late in the day to see them on the ground so photographs were not expected. As soon as I arrived I saw 2 fighting in the tree tops, a little later 2 more were battling above some more tree tops. 

Silver-washed Fritllaries and White Admiral were also evident and I hoped that I might manage to at least get some photos of these.

A mating pair of Meadow Brown ended up being the best opportunity for photos and they sat out in the open, which was quite unusual. No grass in the way, even when they moved once they were still right out in the open.

I just missed an underside shot of a White Admiral although one did give me an opportunity as it nectared on bramble, and the only decent Silver-washed Fritillary was from below. A really good day though and I'm pleased I made the effort. I am hoping that I might manage another attempt at the Purple Emperor in the next few days.

White Admiral.

Male Silver-washed Fritillary.