Marsh Fritillary larvae. Many of you will be aware that BC Hants & IoW Branch has a joint project with the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust involving captive breeding of Marsh Fritillary larvae (under licence) for eventual release to selected sites in N.E.Hampshire. I'm very pleased to announce that all three of our breeders have reported larval activity in recent mild weather following their winter dormancy. The attached photo taken today shows a large group of larvae basking on the remnants of their winter web, in between bouts of feeding on young leaves of Devil's-bit Scabious. [Posted by Andy Barker]
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| Photo © Andy Barker |
Havant Thicket. Following my walk in Havant Thicket on Saturday where I saw my first sighting of the year, I returned on Monday in sunshine once more where the temperature reached 15.5 degrees. At the far end of the perimeter path close to Bell's Copse (SU708103), a male Brimstone flew past me very actively. [Posted by Roy Symonds]
Brimstone butterfly. we too had a brimstone butterfly flying around the garden in bright sunshine. [Posted by Robert Bryant]
My first Brimstones of 2017. This morning while cycling round Winchester between 11.00 and 12.00 I saw 7 Brimstones in flight. The temperature was between 14 and 15 degC. [Posted by Bob Whitmarsh]
Brimstone. Brimstone flying in warm sunshine in Sway. [Posted by Tony Blakeley]
Early Peacock Butterfly. I really wasn't expecting to make any reports so early in the year but couldn't resist sharing this lovely Peacock I found whilst fishing in the Test valley today. [Posted by Mark Wagstaff]
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| Peacock - Test Valley (nr Romsey) Photo © Mark Wagstaff |
Havant Thicket. Today (18th February), with the weather warm and sunny, the temperature reached 11 degrees. I walked one of the main paths in Havant Thicket (SU713103) hoping to see my first butterfly of the year. I was very pleased when a Peacock flew out of the hedgerow past me. In the afternoon I went over the border in West Sussex to nearby Stansted Forest for a walk, almost the same length and saw nothing. [Posted by Roy Symonds]
Acres Down New Forest. With the temperatures much more acceptable this weekend a walk over Acres Down produced my first butterflies of the year, three Red Admirals and a single Small Tortoiseshell, provided some signs of spring early on in the year. [Posted by Chris Rose]
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| Red Admiral, Acres Down Photo © Chris Rose | Red Admiral, Acres Down Photo © Chris Rose |
White Admiral larvae. All monitored White Admiral larvae present & correct in Pamber Forest today, with one out in the open as it waits for the starting gun :) The maximum count of 19 is now down to 11. [Posted by Pete Eeles]
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| Photo © Pete Eeles | Photo © Pete Eeles |
Noar Hill Brown Hairstreak Egg -Hunt. Withstanding the cold weather I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people turning up for the Egg-Hunt today with some new-faces as well which was good to see. In fact once we got down and got our eye-in it was really quite pleasant. Over 3 hours we counted up to 130 eggs, which was about the same tally as the 2016 egg-hunt. We found several Blackthorn twigs with up to eight eggs, one had two doubles, and four single eggs on a Blackthorn bush about two foot tall, quite a sight to so see so many eggs in one area. In fact it was in an area I had noted several females patrolling an Ash tree in September last. I would like to thank all who took part and look forward to seeing you all again in the future on a field trip. [Posted by Ashley Whitlock]
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| Double Egg on a Blackthorn twig Photo © Ashley Whitlock | The route around Noar Hill (Kelvin Richards) Photo © Ashley Whitlock | Female Brown Hairstreak how will it fare in 2017? Photo © Ashley Whitlock |
Brown Hairstreak Egg-Hunt Noar Hill and surrounding area. This Sunday February 12th I intend to have a Brown Hairstreak Egg-Hunt at Noar Hill, park in the usual places. Meet at 10:30 it will be cold so wrap up accordingly, with plenty of mud around due to the amount of rain we have had it will be muddy as well.See you there. [Posted by Ashley Whitlock]
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| Photo © Ashley Whitlock | Photo © Ashley Whitlock | Photo © Ashley Whitlock |
first Peacock. My first butterfly of the year - a Peacock flying briefly in the garden at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve. [Posted by Jenny Mallett]
Red Admiral in garden. A Red Admiral was seen in the garden trying to get into my conservatory at 3.00pm, which just shows how much the weather has warmed up, since last week. [Posted by Ashley Whitlock]
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| Roll on the good weather! Photo © Ashley Whitlock |