A nice morning so re-visited Wiveton Downs for a couple of hours butterfly hunting. The Downs is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and is an esker, in layman’s terms a glacial crevasse which was filled in and forms a winding ridge. Situated a mile or so inland from the Nth Norfolk coast. The top of the ridge is mostly Gorse and on the north side the lower slopes are clothed in Bluebells and well sheltered.
Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi). How innocent does this tiny butterfly look?
My target was seeing the Green Hairstreak. Spurred on by Mike’s post yesterday https://alittlebitoutoffocus.com/2021/05/10/green-hairstreak-butterfly-val-dherens-switzerland/ I was hoping the locals would be out and about, I was not disappointed. I have posted about this species before and have mentioned their rather nasty temper (yes B in Illinois, hard to believe but true). These butterflies are the size of a thumbnail but that doesn’t stop them from beating the living daylights out of each other and attacking any thing else that flies past!
Seconds out, round two!Spot the Ninja
All the butterflies were condensed into one area near a flowering Hawthorn and a bank of Bluebells. There was more than Hairstreaks though, in all I saw ten different species.
The first of an influx? Reports of Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) have come in from southern Britain. I spotted this one. Worn and faded but considering the migration journey it has just had that can be forgivenA new season Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) risks the wrath of the Hairstreaks for a sip of Hawthorn nectarMigrant or local? A slightly worn Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) enjoys a Bluebell
The one species of butterfly that most UK enthusiasts look forward to seeing each year is the mighty Purple Emperor (Apatura iris). Once this was a mythical beast that lurked deep in ancient woodland and was rarely seen. When I was a child I never dreamed I would see an Emperor, that was a long time ago, now with the internet and my car it is (relatively) easy. The most famous woodland for seeing Iris on the ground is Fermyn, part of the ancient forest of Rockingham near Corby in Northamptonshire.
Face off with the Emperor. A shot I wanted to get with the purple sheen on both wings
On the 26th I set off early. It was very misty when I arrived at 7am. Parked opposite the glider club and waited for a friend to arrive from Hertfordshire. The mist did not clear until 10.30 then it went from cool to very hot in minutes, not great for seeing Emperors on the ground. At about 1.30pm they did however start to land in partial shade and become very approachable. What they are doing is extracting minerals, they don’t nectar on flowers like most butterflies but will feast on dead animals, excrement and other delicacies!
My what a big tongue you have! The yellow proboscis acts as a drinking straw to extract minerals
The beautiful purple/blue sheen on the upperwings is only seen at certain angles when the light catches it right, the females lack this. The Emperor is a large butterfly with a wingspan between 70-92mm (3-3 3/4 inches). The eggs are laid on the caterpillar’s food plant sallow. Males will congregate around the tallest, sheltered trees in the woods. Here they will watch out for passing females and joust with rival males. Their battles are quite vicious and they will even attack passing birds the size of pigeons!
In the spotlight
In all I saw probably twelve different individuals. The most fantastic sighting sadly was not caught on camera, it was aberration iole where the wings lack the white markings. This is the ‘holy grail’ of Emperors, the rarest of the rare, unfortunately as it came to land it got involved in a skirmish with two Ringlet butterflies and glided off, not to be seen again, sigh!
White Letter Hairstreak
I left Fermyn at 3.30pm, it was 84f. I had another target the White Letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album). This small butterfly lives most of it’s life high up in elm trees feeding on aphid honeydew. It will occasionally come down to nectar on bramble. I saw several at Fermyn but none descended, but a visit to Bedford Purlieus near Peterborough and I struck lucky. This is a species I have never photographed before, a lovely ending to the day.
Mention to anyone with a keen interest in UK butterflies the wonderful name Glapthorn Cow Pastures and one species springs to mind, the Black Hairstreak (Satyrium pruni). Glapthorn, as the name suggests, used to be grazing land, now it is a wonderful woodland nature reserve. It is located about 3 miles north of the historic town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, a drive of 2 1/2 hours from home.
Black Hairstreak on dewberry
The Black Hairstreak is a small and rare butterfly. In the UK it can only be found in a narrow band of woodland stretching from Peterborough to Oxford, it also has one of the shortest flight periods, only 2 to 3 weeks in mid-June. When I visited last year I struggled to see two in an afternoon, this year has been a record emergence and there was over twenty around their favourite dewberry bushes when the sun shone. Unlike most butterflies the Hairstreaks are very approachable allowing for some great photo opportunities.
Hairstreak heaven
The Black Hairstreak spends most of the day in the tops of trees or scrub feeding on aphid honeydew. They need banks of blackthorn in sunny spots to lay their eggs on, the egg overwinters and the caterpillar hatches in spring. The adults have a wingspan of 35-40mm (about 1 1/2 inches).
After last weekend’s glorious weather things have gone downhill, rapidly, here in north Norfolk. So much so that a warning is in place for possible flooding, up to 70mm (nearly 3 inches) of rain and gale force northerly winds overnight and into tomorrow, it is also cold! I have decided to do a post on what was a popular butterfly from last weeks post, the Green Hairstreak ( Callophrys rubi).
The Green Hairstreak, cuteness personified
If Walt Disney was to use a butterfly for a cartoon what better candidate. Just look at those big innocent eyes and cute striped legs and antenna, but this fellow has a vicious temper! It is a small butterfly, wingspan 27 – 34mm 1 to 1 1/2 inches. It can be found in small colonies of up to 12 individuals (sometimes more) in a variety of scrubby habitat like gorse commons, moorland, embankments and valley bottoms. In Europe the range is from Lapland to the Med.
This is the UK’s only true green butterfly and because of the colour is very hard to spot, the upperwing is dark brown but they always rest with the wings closed. When you do locate Green Hairsreaks they are very easy to approach and photograph. The males sit on favorite perches waiting for a female, if another male passes a battle ensues! They also attack other butterflies and insects, last week it was the Holly Blues that were chased away, because of this their wings soon become battle scarred.
From 2017
These butterflies start to appear in mid-April and can be found into June. They are great fun to watch, last week I spent over an hour amused by the antics of the one I found and was able to photograph it from only a few inches.
A site reminiscing on the glory days of drag racing and hot rodding culture, the history of our sport and keeping old school traditions alive in the 21st Century.
I have been a huge fan of Drag Racing ever since my first visit to Santa Pod when I was 7-years-old. I love all Motor Sport but Drag Racing is still the one that gets me jumping around enthusiastically. Despite America having the larger NHRA Championships, which I also continuously follow, I have always preferred European and British Drag Racing. This is mainly because I have grown up with it - the first official FIA European Championships were held in 1996 and I haven't missed a big event at Santa Pod since 1997. When an event is on I get to the track, plonk myself down somewhere along the spectator banking and would very happily sit without moving for the entire weekend watching the racing.
