Butterfly Blues

When I was a kid summers were always long and hot, with thousands of butterflies and weeks and weeks of school holidays, at least that's how it seemed. Today was like going back, hot sun and lots of butterflies to see.

I haven't caught a Purple-bar (moth) in my trap this year, but there were a few around the brambles as I walked down to Bockhill. 

Of course now is the time that Gatekeepers are dancing around, aggressively chasing each intruder that comes into its air space.

Not so welcome to the growers of cabbages were the large numbers of Large Whites, looking for a place to lay.

This female blue seemed to be depositing eggs on the vegetation near the ground. On a close look I think she's an Adonis Blue.

I didn't see as many Marbled Whites as I had hoped. I have always thought that this striking butterfly is one of our most handsome.

Butterflies and Moths weren't the only striking insects around. There seemed to be dozens of this large hoverfly that I think is Parhelophilus versicolor

These Meadow Browns were making  whoopee while the sun shone.

I was pleased to see a few Small Tortoiseshells around. They still seem to be in short supply since their decline a few years ago. I hope that this year the population picks up a bit.

I normally only see these small moths on egg boxes, in my trap, and I was pleased to see this Agriphila tristella in more natural surroundings.

The Six-spot Burnett is not a moth I catch and it is always good to seem them on the wing during the day time.

 

Several Common Blues were chasing round the bit of the Paddock where I was photographing, but they seldom perched for easy pictures.

I only saw a couple of Chalkhill Blues today, their larger, paler and floppier wings makes them easy to pick out from the other Blues.

As usual female blues have me wondering about Brown Argus, but I think the dark lines through the outer white border, giving the chequered effect are characteristic of a female Adonis Blue.

All the time the calls of several Willow Warblers, on their way to their winter home in sub-Saharan Africa, accompanied me round the Paddock.