Summertime Blues

It's not often that one goes out and sees three species of blue butterfly in Norfolk at the same place on the same day, but I've managed it a couple of times recently. It's been an extraordinary year for common blues, plenty of them about and all the more amazing given they had such a dire time last year. Holly blues are much more scarce, but still appearing in ones or twos. The revelation of 2013 has to be the chalkhill blues, so exquisite and I love the way they perch up and pose. The males are fabulously combative, chasing each other up into the air in fast and tight spirals before breaking off and dropping back down to bask or nectar again. 

One Swallowtail Larva Doesn't Make A Summer...

To Hickling today, and the chance - perhaps - of a swallowtail sighting. This year's first brood was very late and so the second brood will presumably be correspondingly later, or possibly non-existent. A coolish and breezy day offered only random glimpses of sunshine, which sufficed for the 100+ peacocks and accompanying red admirals, commas, painted ladies et al, and had tempted out a swallowtail earlier in the day, apparently. Alas, not while I was there, but some compensation came in the form of several swallowtail caterpillars, one of which was well advanced and looking good to go:

Hope for a second swallowtail brood? Indian summer required! Painted lady sitting pretty, meanwhile.

The ButtFest continues!

The incredible summer for butterflies goes on, with fantastic numbers of all the common species and a few rarer ones thrown in for good measure. Peacocks have been especially abundant: 14 seen on the hemp agrimony along our drive by ace spotter Clare HV (her pic below), along with commas, small torts and a few red ads (the latter not having a particularly good season, apparently). Plus, clouded yellows have been zooming about, presumably taking advantage of the southerly winds to move up from their HQ in southern Europe. Sue P saw and photographed two separate individuals at Drymere/Cockley Cley last week and I finally caught up with one at Montgomery on Thursday - my first in the UK for over ten years! I obviously haven't been trying hard enough....

 Peacock frenzy in Oxborough

 My rather weedy shot of the clouded yellow in Wales

Sue P's much more impressive effort!

A White Letter Day

A tip-off from Clive saw me down at Cranwich Camp on the prowl for white-letter hairstreaks, which he'd seen busy feasting on golden rod the day before. There were butterflies everywhere, hordes of ringlets, meadow browns, gatekeepers and 13 of the white letter beauties, so engrossed in nectaring that they allowed the closest of approaches. Although some were looking a bit tatty and nearing the end of the days, at least two looked very pristine - surely this is very late in their season for recent emergents? Also common blue and a stunning brown argus there. However, the real excitement came on the big buddleia bush nearby which, when I arrived, was covered in peacocks, brimstones, whites, a painted lady, couple of commas.... and then another butterfly appeared fast and furious, charging around the top of the bush, chasing away other butterflies and then perching usually out of sight. Finally got my bins on it though - a grayling!! Managed a rather poor pic, but evidence nonetheless that this species still hangs on there. What it was doing high up on a buddleia is anyone's guess (apart from the obvious, of course).

Fuzzy, but a grayling all the same!!