8th August - Long-tailed Blue - Portsdown Hill, Hampshire

Back in October 2023, there was a small colony of Long-tailed Blue butterflies on Portsdown Hill, over the last three years the site has been checked but they were not found.  This week though at the same time the report of the Queen of Spain came out a Long-tailed Blue was found in the very same spot.

After the success with the fritillary we decided to head south to get another rare migrant of the UK.  After an hours drive we arrived at the car park, had lunch ten crossed the road to the spot with the bench.  The sun was in and out with some cloud about and as we arrived it went in and a butterfly buzzed around and then settled once the sun was behind the clouds.  A close look and there was the Long-tailed Blue.

The Long-tailed Blue is an extremely rare migrant to the British Isles.  The most noticeable influx occurred in 2013 when Long-tailed Blue were seen at 9 sites in Devon, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent and Suffolk. Mating pairs, eggs and larvae were also found, confirming that the species had successfully bred and, on 8th September 2013, the first of the offspring emerged in Wiltshire and Kent. Sightings from other counties followed, with sightings continuing into October.

The adult butterfly has a jerky and rapid flight that is very similar to a hairstreak, but flies closer to the ground. It is also a strong flyer, borne out by its ability to migrate over large expanses of land and water. This butterfly possesses a pair of "tails" that give this species its name, together with an eye spot where the tails meet the wings. These act to divert a predator, such as a bird, away from the essential body parts. When at rest, the butterfly will rotate the hindwings which causes the tails to move, diverting predators from the more-important parts of the body.

This was a female, with the brown upper wing, the males being a graduated blue.

On the continent, this butterfly is considered a pest of pea crops, one of the larval foodplants, where it can cause considerable damage. This butterfly is continuously-brooded on the continent but again like the Queen of Spain is unable to survive our winters, who knows.

The white stripe on the hindwing looks a little faded which suggests these are migrants.  Who knows what has attracted them to the exact same spot as last time three years ago.  The chances are that now these will breed and that there will be a second brood in October.

They can quite feisty and will chase off butterflies much larger than themselves.

When the sun was out at least two were flying around the area, but as soon as it went behind the clouds they settles on the grass stems.

Alo in the area were a Small White.

And of course a Painted Lady.

We decided to go back and try and find the Brown Hairstreak, but once again the search was fruitless.  Quite bizarre we had seen two extremely rare butterflies in the UK today but could not get to see an endemic!

However there was always the Swallows once again flying around the cropped grass.

And a confiding Holly Blue where the Brown Hairstreak should have been.

Some lovely cloud formations looking south from the bottom of the slope, again looking impressive in black and white.

I doubt there are many days when you get to see two rare migrant butterflies in the United Kingdom, so it was special.  Who knows maybe as our climate changes we will see more of these exotic butterflies reaching our shores

1st August - Stockbridge Down, Hampshire

Another glorious day with clear blue skies and wall to wall sunshine.  The temperature though was more amenable with a light northerly wind.  Today was going to be about butterflies and an opportunity to visit a site I haven't been to for some time.  Sitting just outside the town of Stockbridge is an area of chalk downland that rises up to Woolbury fort an old Iron Age fort at just over 150 metres above sea level, commanding wonderful views to the east north and west.

The site is well known for butterflies and is owned and managed by the Natural Trust.  I arrived in the car park just before 9:00am and then set off, after crossing the road, to the west following an area of grass and wild flowers including knapweed, ground thistles and scabious.  My first butterfly of the day was a Small Heath, this was to be the first of many of this small butterfly.

Meadow Brown were numerous too as I walked around the west perimeter.  Small Whites were busy around the the thistles.

The views were amazing looking out across the fields to the west, all looking parched and scorched after harvesting from the hot weather.

Walking up the tracks and heading towards the Iron Age fort there were many rabbit holes and scrapes, the grass kept very low by the rabbits grazing.  This was the view as I headed north.

I very quickly came across a lot of Chalkhill Blues.  This butterfly is a typical chalkland butterfly and in good years there can be clouds of them flying just inches above the ground around your feet.  This was definitely the case today.

Meadow Browns were as numerous, and they would take off as you walked through the grass.

As I made my way up to the fort I passed through a small copse where of course there had to be a Speckled Wood.

Hawthorn bushes and scrub including Buddleia were scattered around the fort and here there was a Red Admiral and Peacock plus Small White and a single Large White.  But the best butterfly was a Clouded Yellow that defied the rules of a Clouded Yellow and settled for me.

Along with our other regular migrant butterfly, this year has been excellent for seeing Clouded Yellow.  I can't recall in all the time I have been watching butterflies ever seeing so many.

I followed the perimeter of the down from the top by the fort all the way towards the south east and finally the bottom area that runs parallel with the road.  This is deemed to be the best place for butterflies and so it proved.  Even more Chalkhill Blues.

This one a female with a brown underwing, but the same pattern of spots.

The male for compariosn.

In flight the males look a pale blue as the weave through the grasses and flowers.

The female is brown on the upper wing.

A male and female together.  I watched these two as the male pursued the female, I wasn't sure at first if she was repelling him or is was part of the courtship, but in the end he flew off leaving the female to sit on the thyme.

In amongst the Chalkhill Blues was an Adonis Blue, that like the Silver-spotted Skipper is not found in great numbers here and in fact did not stop for a photo.  There were also a few Common Blues.

A surprise around bushes that run along the bottom of the slope was a male Beautiful Demoiselle.  These lovely damselflies seem to turn up anywhere.

Although not guaranteed here I was hoping I would find a Silver-spotted Skipper, the last of our skippers here in the United Kingdom to emerge and a definite Chalkland species.  Whilst not abundant here they can be found.

This meant any small butterfly zipping about got my immediate attention and so was the case with these two Small Coppers.

Always a lovely butterfly to catch up with.

More Small Whites.

And of course the other migrant to these shores and in good numbers this year, the Painted Lady.

I had now circumvented the down and reached the area I had first searched when I arrived.  There were now a lot more butterflies about, numbers dominated by the Chalkhill Blue, but something caught my eye flying low over the ground and not bothering with the many flowers.

It was a Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

I followed it around watching what it was doing and it appeared to be hovering and then moving the abdomen into the small plants mixed in amongst the grass. 

I could only think it was laying eggs and later I found out that the plant they lay eggs on is Bedstraw and there was plenty of Lady's Bedstraw about a small plant about five centimetres high with small yellow flowers.  Once again turned the shutter speed up in an attempt to capture the wings and this time it turned out much better.

Here you can see the moth bending the abdomen towards the flower stem.

Probably the sharpest.

And again showing the action.

The moth had to fight off the attentions of a Meadow Brown and I eventually lost it.

I decided to make my way back along the bottom, have some lunch and then do one more transect.  I wasn't giving up on the skipper yet.

THere were a  few more Small Coppers that had me interested and a Brown Argus, but finally a butterfly pinged across in front of me and settled on a knapweed.  I checked with my binoculars and confirmed it was in fact a Silver-spotted Skipper and was able to get this shot before it sprung away once again and out of sight.

This skipper is a chalkland specialist and a butterfly that loves the warmth.  Conditions here were ideal, but unfortunately this was the only one I was able to find.

As I walked the transect I came across the two migrants once again.  The Painted Lady.

And my fifth Clouded Yellow of the day, never before have I seen more Clouded Yellow than Painted Lady.

Looking west once more the sky was covered with Rooks, they had been feeding in the fields and also using the cattle water troughs.

With the clouds building up from the west I turned to black and white to capture the scene.  This medium enhances the clouds in the sky and also the scorched, dry look of the ground.  What a summer we are having.

Looking east along the bottom of the slope parallel with the road.

So successful day and great to be back at Stockbridge it really has been too long.

The butterfly count from the walk today, eighteen species