25th May - Noar Hill, Hampshire

Weather and personal circumstances have meant that I had not been able to catch up with the Dukes of Noar Hill so far this year.  The warm sunny weather this week and a opportunity for a lunch time visit looked perfect, but would I be too late for the Dukes?

For somewhere so beautiful, only 13 minutes drive from home I just don't come to Noar Hill enough.  I walked up the entrance track with clear blue sun above, a slight breeze, cow parsley in flower on either sides and a male Orange Tip butterfly flying along in front of me.  I followed the butterfly through the gate, then watched as it turned left into the chalk pit, eventually it settled down.

To be honest I would have liked to have caught it with its wings closed, the green patterning on the underwing is beautiful, but it looks good with the wings open.

With everything so late this spring it will be interesting to see how long this butterfly of early spring stays around.

Coming out of the pit, a Holly Blue was low along the path, a little further along a Common Blue was settled on a dead leaf.

I followed the trail through the dips and hollows checking the sheltered spots where the Dukes are usually seen, aside from another Common Blue it was quiet.  The cowslips all seemed to have gone over with plenty of stalks and seed pods amongst the buttercups.

I decided my best bet would be to walk to the end of the reserve, as I came up past a group of Juniper bushes a small butterfly settled on the grass in front of me, a Small Blue, the first time I had seen one here.

Two small butterflies were dueling in the area where the track heads into the sheltered spot at the end of the reserve, they were probably Dingy Skippers but they didn't stop to confirm identification. The area I was in now is usually a strong hold for the Duke, but again the cowslips were all past as were the Early Purple Orchids.

I was just about to give the Dukes up and disappointed I had left it too late this year, when one appeared on a leaf right by my foot!

As I moved it sprung off, but flew around and settled on a blade of grass where I was able to get down low and close.

The Duke of Burgundy is the sole representative of a subfamily known as the "metalmarks", since some of its cousins, particularly those found in south America, have a metallic appearance. A curious characteristic of this subfamily is that the female has six fully-functional legs, whereas the male has only four - the forelegs being greatly reduced.  This then isa male and looked to be great condition

It then moved to open the wings and adjusted position to get full sunshine.

Every year I take loads of photos of the Duke and think why, but they are a very tiny delicate markings, these checker like markings are the reason why initially the Duke of Burgundy was thought to be a member of the fritillary family.

How is this for symmetry?

It then sprang off again and I could locate it this time, but I did come across this Small Purple and Gold Moth, or the Mint Moth.

As the alternative name suggests it associates with mint and the caterpillars feed on mint and similar plants.

I left the sheltered spot and made my way back, unlike the the walk there suddenly I started to see more butterflies, this Dingy Skipper posing nicely.

And there were more Duke of Burgundys, all males.

As I moved around the butterflies to get a better view I noticed an orchid, at first I thought it was an early Purple Orchid that was past it's best, but on closer inspection I could see it was in good condition.  I was informed by a higher authority that it was a Common Twayblade.

Common in the woodlands, scrub and grasslands of chalky soils, the Common Twayblade is easily overlooked. Its flower spike carries a very loose cluster of yellow-green flowers that are not as showy as some of the other, more exotic-looking orchids. It is in bloom from May to July.

It has a pair of broad leaves that appear flush to the ground in March, before the flower stem grows. The single green flower spike bears the yellow-green flowers that look a little like tiny people. The stems can carry up to 100 flowers

Close by there was an Early Purple Orchid that was still respectable and showy compared to the Twayblade.

As I approached the entrance another Duke of Burgundy in the area where I would have expected to find them whenI arrived.

Coming past the chalk pit there was a pair of Holly Blue within the trees.

So a successful short visit.