Please note that any sightings mentioned in news items do not automatically go into our records database. Sightings should be submitted using one of the mechanisms listed on the Recording page.
Grizzled Skipper at Magdalen Hill Down. As anyone who does a butterfly transect will know, this has been a difficult week with few oppotunities with sunshine and warmth. It was my turn to do the transect at Magdalen Hill Down (original reserve), and I decided that as the sun was out and temperature had reached 13oC I'd give it a go. I'm pleased to report that it was pleasantly warm on the sheltered lower slopes, with a good number of butterflies on the wing. I saw my first Grizzled Skippers and Green Hairstreak of the year, but unexpectedly saw a Small Tortoiseshell, which is a real bonus these days. The fully tally was: Brimstone (36), Peacock (11), Holly Blue (4), Small White (3), Grizzled Skipper (2), Green-veined White (2), Orange-tip (1), Green Hairstreak (1) and Small Tortoiseshell (1). For those who like to visit Magdalen Hill Down to see the Cowslips, I can report that they're looking at their best, with a carpet of yellow across the 'Extension'. [Posted by Andy Barker]
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| Grizzled Skipper Photo © Andy Barker | Small Tortoiseshell Photo © Andy Barker |
Comma (F) and egg. This female Comma was observed ovipositing on stinging nettle. Each egg took around 10-15 seconds to lay and all were deposited individually on the upper side of nettle leaves sheltered from direct sunlight. When very newly laid they appeared virtually transparent, but quickly acquired this typical green coloration, perhaps upon atmospheric contact. [Posted by Michael Jameson]
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| Comma (F) egg-laying on nettle Photo © Michael Jameson | Comma - egg on nettle leaf Photo © Michael Jameson |
Courtship Display - Peacock. Here is a pair of over-wintered Peacocks, whose courtship display was observed and photographed earlier today.
The area involved was a substantial nettle patch hidden behind a large mound of discarded farmyard straw, which became quite warm during today's morning sunshine. The male continued to display vigorously before both butterflies took flight with a characteristic spiralling motion before finally settling, presumably to couple, in an inaccessible position. [Posted by Michael Jameson]
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| Courtship of Peacocks Photo © Michael Jameson |
Isle of Wight Green Hairstreak's. After several days of cool and blustery weather,today the wind dropped which allowed the temperature to rise in the spring sunshine.At Afton Down Carpark there were at least two very active Green Hairstreaks this afternoon [Posted by Peter Hunt]
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| Photo © Peter Hunt | Photo © Peter Hunt | Photo © Peter Hunt |
Monks Walk, Frater Fields & Woods, Gosport. My species count for 2024 reached ten this afternoon with the sighting of a pair of Green-veined White. From 1300-1430 (14.5C) I was delighted to record eight species given the comparatively gloomy and cool conditions. Red Admiral has had an emergence in the last 48 hours with seven recorded and most in pristine condition. Total: Large White (M)(1); Brimstone (M)(1); Red Admiral (7); Comma (4); Peacock (5); Speckled Wood (M)(9)(F)(2); Green-veined White (M)(2); Small White (M)(2). [Posted by Francis Plowman]
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| Well hidden male Brimstone Photo © Francis Plowman | Red Admiral male Photo © Francis Plowman | Green-veined White & Small White Photo © Francis Plowman |
Green Hairstreak at Freshwater.. A first Green Hairstreak seen at noon today at Afton Down Car Park. Just one individual flying around a spread of Bluebells,landing briefly and then going to ground. [Posted by Peter Hunt]
Herald at Chandlers Ford. Whilst doing some gardening I had the unexpected surprise of disturbing a Herald Moth from rest amongst ferns. It flew a short distance and came to rest about 2 metres up on our garage wall. Rather than sitting flat against the surface like most moths, it adopted a rather unusual position with head down and wings angled up and projecting away from the wall. [Posted by Andy Barker]
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| Herald moth Photo © Andy Barker |
Swanwick elm surprise. Found on lowest branch of the Dutch elm U. x hollandica 'Major' at the Elm Tree pub at Swanwick was a third? instar White-letter Hairstreak larva. The original elm there was a huge 'English' elm which went the way of all the others. The present tree was planted 1989 in commemoration of Hampshire County Council's centenary; not a species known for its disease resistance, its survival is a mystery. [Posted by Andrew Brookes]
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| White-letter Hairstreak larva Photo © Andrew Brookes | Swanwick elm in summer Photo © Andrew Brookes |
Havant Thicket. Today I visited Havant Thicket walking the main track where in the sunshine the temperature reached 16 degrees. A good number of male Brimstones were seen as well as my first male Orange-tip of the season. Totals: Brimstone 19M 6F, Small White 1, Orange-tip 1M, Peacock 2. [Posted by Roy Symonds]
Female Green-veined White in Church Crookham. This female Green-veined White emerged earlier today in our garden in Church Crookham, Hampshire. The first I've seen this spring, this very fresh specimen reveals the true beauty of this familiar and often overlooked species! [Posted by Michael Jameson]
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| Green-Veined White (F) underside Photo © Michael Jameson | Green-Veined White (F) upper side Photo © Michael Jameson |
Monks Walk, Frater Fields & Woods, Gosport. Numbers of butterflies seemed to rise with the temperature this afternoon! From1215 for two hours (16-18 deg C) some seven species were recorded. No further sighting of Small Tortoiseshell nor Holly Blue seen earlier this month. The ground remains saturated with pockets of deep mud and Wellington boots still a necessity! Total: Small White (M)(10)(F)(1); Brimstone (M)(5); Peacock (12); Comma (4); Large White (M)(3)(F)(1); Red Admiral (2); Speckled Wood (M)(10)(F)(2). [Posted by Francis Plowman]
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| Comma on Blackthorn blossom Photo © Francis Plowman | Small White, female right and spider Photo © Francis Plowman | Peacock on wild apple blossom Photo © Francis Plowman |
Butterflies at Fishlake Meadows. A walk at Fishlake Meadows led to sightings of 5 species: many Brimstones, one Small Tortoiseshell, three Red Admirals, five Peacocks and four Orange-tips. Photos were very difficult as the insects were very mobile [Posted by Sue Lambert]
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| Peacock Photo © Sue Lambert | Red Admiral Photo © Sue Lambert | Small tortoiseshell hiding! Photo © Sue Lambert |
St Giles Hill Graveyard. Speckled Wood basking on Common Hogweed [Posted by Anna Stewart]
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| Photo © Anna Stewart |
Hollybank Woods. A cool, very blustery day, with the temperature, struggling to reach 13ºC, but enough sunshine to get a few butterflies moving. During a 90 minute walk around Hollybank Woods, near Emsworth, I came across 3 basking Peacocks, and a solitary male Brimstone which I found at roost under a bramble leaf. [Posted by Adrian Hoskins]
Sun and sand, Hogmore Inclosure. Spotted my first male Orange-tip of the year at Hogmoor inclosure before it disappeared into the gorse. Also male Brimstone and Peacock butterfly which like to bask on the sandy track and fly up just in front of me as I cycle along. [Posted by Jim Smith]
Spring butterflies in the Itchen Valley. Despite the windy conditions we saw our first Speckled Wood of the season close to Itchen Abbas this morning with an Orange-tip on Lovington Lane, a single Red Admiral near Ovington and two or three Peacock in various places in the area. [Posted by Rupert & Sharron Broadway]
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| Orange-tip in Lovington Lane Photo © Rupert & Sharron Broadway | Speckled Wood near Itchen Abbas Photo © Rupert & Sharron Broadway |
St Giles Hill Graveyard, Winchester. Holly Blue flying in St Giles Hill Graveyard [Posted by Anna]
Study in Speckled Wood - Monks Walk, Gosport. Speckled Wood numbers reached 10 today on a wander around the southern and northern parts of Monks Wood (1345-1445, 18 deg C, cloudy, strong SW winds) until rain stopped play and the (camera) covers came out! Only three other species were seen but my first Holly Blue of the year (on the wing) was a welcome surprise. First brood Speckled Wood I find are really strongly marked and without comparison it isn't always easy to discern the sexes. I was helped enormously by finding a mating pair that settled in front of me and adopted the usual approach of both insects with folded wings. Then the female opened her wings, presumably to find the sun's warmth before the male followed suit leaving both butterflies in plan form! I had never seen this before and the photograph shows how much larger the female is compared to her male partner whose yellow spots are somewhat smaller. Moreover, comparison of the abdomen shows the male's to be rather slender whereas the female abdomen appears shorter and somewhat wider for egg-carrying. (The two single insects were photographed on this walk but are not those of the mating pair). Apologies for teaching experts to suck eggs but hopefully this may be helpful for those who, like me, often struggle in identifying butterfly gender. Total: Holly Blue (1); Speckled Wood (M)(8)(F)(2); Peacock (5); Brimstone (M)(1). [Posted by Francis Plowman]
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| Male Photo © Francis Plowman | Female Photo © Francis Plowman | Male & female Photo © Francis Plowman |
Ashdown Copse. There were a few butterflies brought out by the warm yet windy weather today.
Two male Orange Tip, one Comma, one Small Tortoiseshell and a male Brimstone were all seen in the south end of Ashdown Copse, just north of Shipton Bellinger. [Posted by Dave Pearson]
Havant Thicket. Today I visited Havant Thicket where the weather was sunny and the temperature reached 15.5 degrees. With so much recent rain I walked the main track only where I recorded the following: Brimstone 13M, Comma 1 and Peacock 1. [Posted by Roy Symonds]
Monks Walk, Frater Fields & Woods, Gosport. Given the recent rains and boggy conditions (my first - and necessary - circulation in Wellington boots!) it was a surprise to record six species this afternoon when there was a small window of brightness (16.5 deg C, strong SW wind) between 1400-1550. Total: Speckled Wood (8); Brimstone (M)(1); Peacock (6); Red Admiral (2); Small White (M)(1; Comma (4). [Posted by Francis Plowman]
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| Comma Photo © Francis Plowman | Red Admiral male Photo © Francis Plowman | Peacock feeding on Dandelion Photo © Francis Plowman |
Easter Eight - Monks Walk Gosport. What a difference a day/month can make! Yesterday's four species doubled in 24 hours. Slightly warmer (14 deg C) when finally the sun reluctantly appeared mid-afternoon, my walk (1430-1555) was again restricted by poor ground conditions caused by more overnight and morning rain. Total: Brimstone (M)(1); Large White (F)(1); Comma (5); Peacock (2); Small White (M)(1); Speckled Wood (4); Red Admiral (3); Small Tortoiseshell (1). [Posted by Francis Plowman]
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| Male Brimstone on White Dead-Nettle Photo © Francis Plowman | Small Tortoiseshell Photo © Francis Plowman | Small White (male) Photo © Francis Plowman |
Isle of Wight Speckled Wood. Very pleased to see a first Speckled Wood of the year in my Freshwater garden today. It was happily fluttering around in the sunshine seeking a warm spot and landed close to my garden pond. [Posted by Peter Hunt]
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| Photo © Peter Hunt | Photo © Peter Hunt |
Monks Walk, Frater Fields & Woods, Gosport. Four species appeared this afternoon on a quagmire-restricted wander from 1400-1530. The temperature stood at 13 deg C under cloudy skies but there clearly has been some insect awakening since my walk on 27th when just three Red Admiral showed-up. Strangely this species was not seen today. Total: Peacock (10); Comma (6); Speckled Wood (M)(3)(F)(1); Small White (M)(1). [Posted by Francis Plowman]
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| Almost pristine Peacock Photo © Francis Plowman | Speckled Wood male and female (right) Photo © Francis Plowman | Comma Photo © Francis Plowman |
Havant Thicket. This morning I visited Havant Thicket walking the main track. Here I recorded Brimstone 13M and Comma 2. [Posted by Roy Symonds]
First Orange-tip, Bishop's Waltham. On a walk from Bishop's Waltham to Winchester today my wife and I encountered our first Orange-tip of the year, on the outskirts of the town, and later two Commas and a Peacock as well as numerous Brimstones which included two females. [Posted by Bob Whitmarsh]
First Orange Tip, North Baddesley. First sighting of the year of Orange Tip (M) today on my reserve at North Baddesley also 19 Brimstone only 1 female,14 Peacock, 2 Red Admiral, 1 Comma. [Posted by kevin ross]
Brimstones galore at Havant Thicket!. A beautiful sunny day with temperatures hitting 14ºC at Havant Thicket this afternoon. I spent 2 hours there, taking a circular route to avoid double-counts, and saw 35 male Brimstones and 2 females, plus 12 Peacocks, 9 Commas and 2 Speckled Woods. You'll definitely need wellies if you wander away from the gravel tracks. [Posted by Adrian Hoskins]
Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Lee on Solent. My first report of 2024 and surprisingly not a butterfly - but a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in our Lee on Solent garden this morning. It seemed to be nectaring on daffodills if that's possible? Certainly it was moving from head to head and burrowing deep into the flower. Needless to say it disappeared as I sought a camera - it's time I had one to hand in the garden! [Posted by Mark Wagstaff]
Small mercies at Great Fontley. Small White (m) seen at 3pm today at Great Fontley nectaring on blackthorn and dandelion despite an air temp. of only 11.4 C. Bright periods last week had seen emergence of Brimstones (all male), Peacock, Comma, and Small Tortoiseshell, but conspicuous by their absence were the Red Admirals. [Posted by Andrew Brookes]
Monks Walk, Frater Fields & Woods, Gosport. After six weeks in Cyprus (20 species) it was something of a rude shock to slither around the quagmire of Monks Walk (1310-1430) at just 8 degrees Celsius and with a very cool southerly breeze. Still, there was some hazy sunshine and three Red Admiral made the best of it. So two distant shots to start my UK recording year. [Posted by Francis Plowman]
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| Number 1 Red Admiral Photo © Francis Plowman | Number 2 Red Admiral Photo © Francis Plowman |
Peacock Butterfly at Testwood Lakes. Peacock butterfly at Testwood Lakes also seen Comma and Brimstone [Posted by Carol J Thorpe]
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| Photo © Carol J Thorpe | Photo © Carol J Thorpe | Photo © Carol J Thorpe |
Holly Blue at Itchen Abbas. First Holly Blue of the year flying around our garden in Itchen Abbas this afternoon. Earlier we saw Brimstone, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell in the field edges around Tichborne. [Posted by Rupert and Sharron Broadway]
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| Holly Blue at Itchen Abbas Photo © Rupert and Sharron Broadway | Peacock near Tichborne Photo © Rupert and Sharron Broadway | Small Tortoiseshell near Tichborne Photo © Rupert and Sharron Broadway |
Titchfield Haven. Sunny and windy conditions, but good shelter to be had in the woods. 7 Peacocks, 4 Brimstones (all male), 2 Commas and a small white one that flitted by very quickly so I didn't get a good look at it. [Posted by Adam Jones]
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| Photo © Adam Jones | Photo © Adam Jones | Photo © Adam Jones |
Havant Thicket My First Sightings 2024. Today being a sunny day and the temperature reaching 16.5 degrees, I walked the main track through Havant Thicket. Here I recorded my first sightings of 2024 with a total of 7 male Brimstones. [Posted by Roy Symonds]
Havant Thicket. A mostly cloudy day, but the temperature hit 14ºC, and there was enough sunshine to get plenty of butterflies flying at Havant Thicket this afternoon. I spent about 2 hours walking the trails, and counted a minimum of 19 Brimstones (all males), 7 Commas, 5 Peacocks and a Red Admiral. [Posted by Adrian Hoskins]
Brimstone in Winchester. Just seen my first butterfly of 2024, a Brimstone, flying vigorously in our garden in Winchester. [Posted by Bob Whitmarsh]
Havant Thicket. 4 Brimstones, 3 Commas and 1 Peacock seen on an hour long stroll around Havant Thicket on Friday. [Posted by Adrian Hoskins]
Youth Panel Butterfly Conservation. Butterfly Conservation would like to hear from young Lepidoptera enthusiasts age 16 - 25 years old, who may like to form a team of 10 volunteers for the charity’s first Youth Panel guided by Youth Engagement Officer, Emma Dakin. The closing date for expressions of interest is the 13th March 2024. See ‘How to apply’ on the Butterfly Conservation website https://butterfly-conservation.org/youth-panel or email Emma for the short application form on edakin@butterfly-conservation.org [Posted by Suzie Brown]
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| Photo © Suzie Brown |
Purple Emperor Caterpillars. I went to check the five Purple Emperor caterpillars that I have been following this winter, only to find, that sadly, four of them have been predated, probably by Blue or Great Tits. The one survivor had moved about 500mm from an exposed position to the relative safety of a fork.
All that was left of the others was the silk pad they had laid down to hibernate on.
Makes you wonder how any survive at all? [Posted by Mark Tutton]
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| Lone Survivor Photo © Mark Tutton | Silk pad remnants Photo © Mark Tutton |
Sighting of Peacock butterfly this morning, Bishop's Waltham. Peacock butterfly landed on my pink hellebore about 11.00 am My garden is near Priory Park in Bishop’s Waltham [Posted by Lesley Millard]
White-letter Hairstreak larva at Hursley. Encouraged by yesterday's success when searching for White-letter Hairstreak eggs at a site near Hursley, I returned to make the most of today's sunshine and better photographic conditions. Also, given that a few of the eggs seen yesterday had hatched, I thought I'd raise the degree of difficulty and search for one of the newly hatched first instar larvae. After half an hour of searching, I'm pleased to say I was rewarded with finding a tiny White-letter Hairstreak larva feeding on the top of a newly opened Wych Elm flower bud. For information, I found nine eggs today, five of which had hatched. [Posted by Andy Barker]
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| White-letter Hairstreak egg (hatched) Photo © Andy Barker | WLH (1st instar larva) on elm bud (top) Photo © Andy Barker | WLH (1st instar larva) close-up Photo © Andy Barker |
White-letter Hairstreak eggs at Hursley - update. Further to my observations of White-letter Hairstreak eggs near Hursley, on 28 January, I re-visited this morning with three other butterfly enthusiasts. I'm pleased to report that during a 30 minute search we were able to locate 15 eggs. At least three of these had recently hatched, as shown by the neat circular exit hole in the crown of the egg (see image below). Flower bud-burst had just started (see below), which is critical for young larvae. The larvae don't eat the egg-shell, but move to the nearby bud to burrow in and feed, before moving onto leaves at a later stage in their development. [Posted by Andy Barker]
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| White-letter Hairstreak egg Photo © Andy Barker | Freshly hatched WLH egg (upper left) Photo © Andy Barker | Wych Elm bud-burst Photo © Andy Barker |
Red Admiral butterfly nr. Totton/Ashurst. A single Red Admiral was spotted on my flowering Prunus Blireiiana at 14:30 12-2-24 at SO40 7ET It didn’t settle long enough to get a photo. [Posted by Clive Rutland]
Red Admirals at Hillier Gardens. Today's lovely winter sunshine has clearly encouraged many butterflies to make the most of the mild conditions. During a visit to the Hillier Gardens, Braishfield, I was very pleased to see a group of six Red Admirals taking nectar from a single Edgworthia chrysantha plant in the 'Winter Garden', and a further two Red Admirals nectaring on Viburnum bodnantense. [Posted by Andy Barker]
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| Red Admiral (2) on Edgworthia Photo © Andy Barker | Red Admiral (underside) Photo © Andy Barker | Red Admiral on Viburnum Photo © Andy Barker |
White-letter Hairstreak eggs at Hursley. As it was another bright sunny morning I decided to try my luck at finding White-letter Hairstreak at a site near Hursley that I regularly visit to see the butterfly in early July. I'm pleased to report that I found eight eggs in a 25 minute search, which is the best I've ever had when searching for WLH eggs. They're a bit harder to find than Brown Hairstreak eggs, as they're not bright white, and they're found on flowering elm branches, which are usually more than two metres above ground level. However, their 'flying saucer' shape is so distinctive you instantly know when you've spotted one. They're often on the hairy young outermost twigs, near buds, at bud scars, or close to the join with the previous year's growth. Of the eggs I found today, there were two pairs laid close together (see below), and the other four eggs were singletons. These eggs will have been laid in late June or early July last year, so they've been eggs for seven months already, and still have a month or more to go until caterpillars hatch in March. [Posted by Andy Barker]
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| White-letter Hairstreak egg Photo © Andy Barker | Pair of White-letter Hairstreak eggs Photo © Andy Barker | White-letter Hairstreak eggs by same bud Photo © Andy Barker |
Peacock Butterfly at Pennington. Whilst walking the coast path at Pennington I was VERY surprised to see a Peacock Butterfly battling the breeze over the reeds, not the most likely site for a January butterfly, I hope it survives the remainder of this "Winter". [Posted by Kevin Haggar]
Red Admirals in January, New Forest. It was supposedly midwinter but on a lovely sunny day it was mild in the New Forest and one south-facing ride had a minimum of 2 Red Admirals flying - together, some of time, I'm not sure whether they were courting or fighting. My first January Red Admirals [Posted by David Murdoch]
Brown Hairstreak eggs at Basing Wood. Following the sighting of a female Brown Hairstreak on the Basing Wood butterfly transect last summer, five of us set out this morning to see if we could find any eggs. We started at the place where the female butterfly was seen, and sure enough, within a few minutes we'd spotted three eggs, including a pair (see below). Further exploration along adjacent rides produced a grand total of 26 Brown Hairstreak eggs in 90 minutes searching. This included five on one small stem, four of which were in the field of view of a photograph (see below). A couple we met asked if we'd seen anything interesting. We explained about Brown Hairstreak eggs and what they looked like, and with little effort, one of the couple said is this one, and sure enough, he'd found one! We also spotted a single Blue-bordered Carpet moth egg. To round off an excellent visit, as we walked back to the car park, we saw our first Brimstone of the year, enjoying some warm sunshine on a lovely mild winter's day. [Posted by Andy Barker]
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| Brown Hairstreak eggs (2) Photo © Andy Barker | Brown Hairstreak eggs (4) Photo © Andy Barker | Blue-bordered Carpet moth egg Photo © Andy Barker |
North Baddesley sightings.. Seen 15th Jan on my reserve at North Baddesley 1 Peacock, 1 Brimstone Male, 1 Red Admiral. [Posted by kevin ross]
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