24th June - Alver Valley, Browndown North and Whiteley Woods, Hampshire

Midsummer is upon us and this means that it is time for a day out without birds, althoughto be fair they are always about and inthe background.  So on an already warm morning I met Ian in the unlikely location of an overspill garden centr car park.  We were in seacrh of the White-letter Hairstreak, a butterfly that is wholly dependent on the presence of Wych Elm trees.  A short walk from the car park and we came across a good group of this highly threatend tree.

Despite the English Elm's name, the Wych Elm is the only elm that is regarded as being truly native to the UK. As a result of Dutch elm disease, Wych Elm is now rare.  Within the group we were now looking at there were several dead trees.  In past years the site we would visit was the old disused car park near Monk's Walk in Gosport, but the elms there have all died and the colony of White-letter Hairstreak all gone.

An early start is always essential as the hairstreaks like to come down from the trees to necatr on flowering bushes, but looking around there was very little flowers to be seen.  Generally though the adults will live on aphid honeydew, found in the treetops, so it was then a case of standing back and watching the tree top for movement.  

The White-letter Hairstreak is one of our more-elusive butterflies as it stays high in the treetops, often appearing as a dark speck against the sky. It gets its name from the letter "W" that is formed from a series of white lines found on the underside of the hindwings.

We saw movement but needed to find where the butterfly landed, eventually I picked up one and watched it land on one of the characteristic Wych Elm leaves.

Elm is the sole foodplant and this species suffered as a result of Dutch elm disease in the 1970s and early 1980s, especially in southern sites. All species of elm were affected and there was concern that thWhite-letter Hairstreak might become extinct in the British Isles as a result. Surviving colonies were subsequently looked for, to obtain a better understanding of the distribution of this species. Several new colonies were found which gave new hope for the future of this butterfly. In addition, there has been a concerted effort to find disease-resistant elms that exhibit the appropriate qualities to support this butterfly (such as flowering at the right time of year since young larvae generally rely on flower buds as a food source).

Another insect "buzzed" the butterfly and it flew off, in front of us in the long grass were several skippers, on closer inspection these were found to be Essex Skipper.

This species is very similar in appearance to the Small Skipper and, because of this similarity, was not recognised as a separate species until 1889. The male is distinguished from the female by the sex brand on its forewings, which is a short line of specialised scent scales. Despite its name, the Essex Skipper is now found over much of the southern half of England.  On the British mainland it is to generally be found south of a line between Dorset and North Lincolnshire. It is believed that the increase in distribution is being assisted by the steep and grass-covered embankments that are often found on motorways and major trunk roads which acted as corridors - allowing this species to reach new locations more easily.

Done with the distraction of the Essex Skipper it was back to watching the tree tops and pretty sone more hairstreaks were seen.  There was quite a bit of activity and at one point two hairstreaks close to each other on the leaves.

One left, while the other slowly crawled out from behind the leaf.

The White-letter Hairstreak forms discrete colonies which are sometimes very small containing only a few dozen individuals. Colonies are typically focused on a small clump of trees or even an individual tree. These butterflies are not great wanderers and will reuse the same site year after year.

These are some of the better photographs of this species taken in the last few years, they have been a difficult butterfly to find

As we were watching the hairstreaks there wereRing-necked Parakeets calling from behind the group of trees, they appear to be spreading everywhere now.

There was more skipper action in the grass where we were standing, another Essex Skipper

And a Large Skipper

A Large Skipper caught at the moment of take off.

Realising that the hairstreaks were unlikely to come down from the tops of the trees we decided to walk on.  The path leads into Alver Valley Country Park, an old tip that has been reclaimed with plenty of wild flower meadows.

On such meadow was covered in Cornflower, daisies and thistles and with them came the Marbled Whites, the first of the year.

Of course the Marbled White is not a "white" but related to the "browns"

This butterfly is unmistakable, its black and white markings distinguishing it from all other species found in the British Isles.

The Marbled White is found in unimproved grassland where the grass may grow up to 0.5m tall. The largest colonies are found on downland but even small strips of grassland, such as a road verge, field margins, woodland clearings and disused railway lines can contain smaller colonies.

As the Marbled White flies through the grasses it shows a clear preference for purple flowers such as Wild Marjoram, Field Scabious, thistles, and knapweeds. 

In amongst the long grasses there were several Pyramidal Orchids that were probably reaching the end of their season

There were many skippers in amongst the grasses, all three species showing well and a good opportunity to be able to compare the Small Skipper.

From the country park we walked through to the Browndown North area.  Here there was a lot of gorse and bell heather and we were hoping for Silver-studded Blue, but were not able to find any, seo we had to make do with the superb Small Copper.

There are typically two or three generations of Small Copper each year, depending on the weather, with 4 generations in extremely good years. The first adults appear from mid-April or early May, depending on season, with the last adults seen in October and, very occasionally, early November, depending on location.  

I suspect due to the perfect condition of this one that it is one from second generation.

Next was a trip to Whiteley Woods, there was the chance to pick up some of the summer butterflies, including the highly prized Purple Emperor.  It was a short drive and we parked close to the NATS complex and then headed down the main path, the first butterfly we came across unsurprisingly was a Speckled Wood sitting in a sunny spot on a leaf.

Next was a Small White and eventually it settled on a leaf.

It has brilliant white wings, with small black tips to the forewings and one or two wing spots. The undersides are a creamy white.  A common butterfly, it is found in a wide variety of habitats, including hedgerows, farmland, gardens and parks. Like the large white, the foodplants of the caterpillars of the small white are members of the cabbage family, including garlic mustard and garden cabbages, although it relies less on cultivated varieties, breeding on a range of wild foodplants. 

Then one of the special butterflies we had hoped to find today, the White Admiral.

The White Admiral has white-banded black wings and a distinctive delicate flight, which has short periods of wing beats followed by long glides. It could be confused with the much larger Purple Emperor.

Adults are often found nectaring on Bramble flowers in rides and clearings. It is a fairly shade-tolerant butterfly, flying in dappled sunlight to lay eggs on Honeysuckle.

On either side of the track there is a ditch that would hold water if we had any significant rain recently, but today they were dry.  Common Spotted Orchids could be seen amongst the grass, some with very tall stalks as they fight for the light amongst the grass.  Once agai the flowers are beginning to go over.

We reach a junction on the main track, another track going away to our left in a northerly direction, here there was a huge bank of Bramble with plenty of Meadow Brown and several skippers including this Essex Skipper.

An Emperor dragonfly patrolled the area, not once stopping.  There was also Black-tailed Skimmer.

The Black-tailed skimmer is a narrow-bodied dragonfly that can be seen flying low over the bare gravel and mud around flooded gravel pits and reservoirs. It is on the wing from May to August.

The male Black-tailed skimmer has a grey thorax and a powder-blue abdomen with yellow spots along the sides and a black tip. 

The female is yellowy-brown with two black stripes running the length of the body. 

Meadow Brown could be seen weaving there way amongst the grasses, but they were now joined by a smaller, more dainty butterfly in flight, it was the same brown colour, but with a white fringe to the wings, the first ringlet of the year.

The upper-sides are a uniform chocolate brown that distinguish this butterfly from the closely related Meadow Brown.  Despite this uniformity, the velvety wings provide a striking contrast with the delicate white fringes found on the wing edges. The dark colouring also allows this butterfly to quickly warm up - this butterfly being one of the few that flies on overcast days.

There were quite a few Hornets about, patrolling the bramble bushes and inspecting almost every flower head.  We questioned what the Hornet eats, is it a predator or does in take nectar, which would be why it was inspecting the flowers.  We quickly got the answer when the Hornet stopped at one bramble flower head.  Closer inspection revealed that it had caught a bee and was eating it.

Both adult Hornets and their larvae eat mainly insects. Adults may also take spiders and queens may supplement their diet with tree sap and windfall fruit. They also stock up on nectar before hibernating.  It is an important pollinator and a predator of species that feed on plants and crops, so can be a gardener's friend.

One stream that hadn't dryed up, just before this photo was taken a Golden-ringed Dragonfly was laying eggs in the water.

A bank of Common Spotted Orchids.

The sky was clear and the sun was high as we approached midday, we followed the main path but then at a crossroads we headed off the main path and fought our way through bramble.  We had visited this area last year and had good sightings of Silver-washed Fritillary.  Today though it seemed that the path was hardly used and I rued the decision to wear shorts.

It was also a very sheltered spot and with very little or no wind it was very hot.  Fortunately there was some butterflies.  A Comma

The small white "comma" marking that gives the butterfly its name acting like an eye to deter would be attackers.

Then the butterfly we had hoped for, the Silver-washed Fritillary.

The Silver-washed is our largest fritillary and gets its name from the beautiful streaks of silver found on the underside of the wings. The bright orange male is quite distinctive as it flies powerfully along woodland rides, pausing only briefly to feed or investigate anything with an orange hue that could be a potential mate. 

Unfortunately the butterfly appeared to be charged up and wasn't stopping for long.

It was a case of following the butterflies in the hope that they would settle.  They were then joined by a couple of dragonflies, these were a little more accomodating in settling.  First the Golden-ringed Dragonfly.

The golden-ringed dragonfly is a very large dragonfly that is on the wing from May to September. It is a dragonfly of small, acidic streams in moorland and heathland, and may be found away from its breeding sites. They are easily identified by their distinctive black and yellow stripes, which no other dragonfly in the United Kingdom has

The female is the UK's longest dragonfly because of her long ovipositor. 

Golden-ringed dragonflies are voracious predators, feeding on large insects, such as damselflies, other dragonflies, wasps, beetles and bumblebees. They are fast, agile and powerful flyers.

Hanging from the grasses they appeared to mimic the grass seed heads.

Here hanging from the leaf of a thistle.

The other dragonfly present and keeping a distance from the Golden-ringed was a female Broad-bodied Chaser.

The Broad-bodied chaser is a medium-sized, broad-bodied dragonfly that is on the wing from May to July, and occasionally into August. It is a common dragonfly of ponds and small lakes. It regularly returns to the same perch after swift flights out across the water looking for insects. 

The male has a powder-blue body with yellow spots along the sides and a dark thorax, while the female shown here, is greeny-brown. There are several medium-sized, pale blue dragonflies that can be confused. This species can be distinguished by the combination of its broad, blue body and chocolate-brown eyes.

A close up on this amazing insect.

A view from behind showing the broad body that gives the dragonfly its name.

We decided to fight our way back along the path, this gives some idea of how dense the vegetation was.

We headed back along the main path, with a welcome breeze blowing which cooled things off slightly.  Both Golden-ringed and Emperor dragonflies past us, all continuing on their way.  When we reached the stream with the bridge we stopped to watch a male Beautiful Demoiselle on the leaves and branches.

The beautiful demoiselle may look like a dragonfly, but it is in fact a large damselfly. The males are metallic blue and the females green. 

 

The female, which is equally as beautiful.

Beautiful demoiselles are very sensitive to pollution. They breed in clean, fast-flowing streams with stony or gravelly bottoms.

Males are very territorial, perching on leaves and branches that overhang the flowing stream.  They will flick their wings open as they sit, then dashing off to chase insects, often returning to the same perch.

The females live away from the water unless egg laying or seeking a mate.

Once again the incredible structure at the base of the wing.

The female has a white "false wing spot" that lies farher back on the wing than is found in the very similar Banded Demoiselle.

It became clear that the female was not near water to lay eggs, but that she was after a mate as the two coupled on a leaf.

Although they did not stay connected for too long.  I just loved the composition of this.

We walked on and when we reached the junction we opted to do a loop around, but going in a clockwise direction, big mistake, we should have turned and taken the anti clockwise direction.

The area near where we joined the main path is sometimes good for Purple Emperor, but there ws no sign today, just a Red Admiral settling on the path.

The footpath runs parallel with the road that leads to the shopping centre, the traffic was surprisingly heavy.  This didn't deter a White Admiral from showing well around the path.

At the point where the path turns back into the wood a Jay flew up into an oak tree in front of us.  It started to eat something and was so engrossed in doing so it seemed to be oblivious of us as we approached.

It appeared to be eating an acorn, maybe one it had stowed away last autumn.

As we reached a turn in the main path we came across some people.  They informed us thatthey had seen a Purple Emperor about half way along the track.  If we had turned at the junction earlier we may have come across it.  Anyway we turned down hopeful of finding something.

Ian has yet to see a grounded Purple Emperor, his sightings confined to glimpses and snapshots up in the trees, our fingers were crossed.  O reaching the area described to us we stopped and waited, nothing appeared.  There was a prominent oak tree and watching that we were able to get a quick glimpse as a Purple Emperor flew around the branches, they are much bigger than you remember.

But that was to be that, it was now very hot, not good conditions for Emperors.  Silver-washed flew up and down and I was fortunate to get this White Admiral to show well.

After about an hour it was clear that the emperor was not going to show.  It was hot and windy and I could imagine it sitting at the top of the oak out of the heat.  Reluctantly we called it a day.  This was the earliest both of us have seen Purple Emperor so there is plenty of time left to get that killer shot, honestly Ian!