Dark Green Fritillary. Photo: Shona Refoy
Visiting Badbury Rings on 14/06/19 Shona found her first Dark Green Fritillary of the year. This one is a male, showing the distinct bright orange background with dark markings, whereas the females are much paler with light coloured lower wing markings.
Posted on: 16 June, 2019
Marbled White. Photo: Shona Refoy
Shona visited Badbury Rings on 14/06/19, and even though the wind was howling she found some lovely butterflies. This Marbled White is a male, the female has a creamy edge to the top fore-wings, and when seen the underwings are a lovely yellowy cream colour.
Posted on: 16 June, 2019
Poplar Hawkmoths, Mating. photo: Dave Law
Dave found these on 10th June, and tells us:
Found this mating pair of Poplar Hawkmoths while having a days fishing at Todber Manor lakes . This picture clearly shows the differences in size ,colour and antennae ( female holding the branch )
This species comes to light frequently and is the most widely distributed and common species in the UK. However to find a mating pair in the daytime is a treat by anyone’s standards.
It is found from May- early August with an occasional partial second generation in the south August- September.
Posted on: 16 June, 2019
Silver-studded Blue.Photo: Mark Pike
Silver-studded Blue. Photo: Mark Pike
Mark braved the howling gales at Higher Hyde Heath on 8/06/19 and was rewarded with sightings of two stunning Silver-studded Blues. This species seem to be appearing a little early this year, we can only hope that the heavy rain and colder temperatures will not cause them a problem.
Posted on: 10 June, 2019
Red Admiral. Photo: Martin Wood
Martin was on a wildlife spotting walk at Lytchett Fields on 9/06/19 when he spotted this lovely Red Admiral.
This butterfly is primarily a migrant to our shores, although sightings of individuals and immature stages in the first few months of the year, especially in the south of England, mean that this butterfly is now considered resident. This resident population is considered to only be a small fraction of the population seen in the British Isles, which gets topped up every year with migrants arriving in May and June that originate in central Europe.
Posted on: 10 June, 2019
Eyed Hawkmoths. Photo: Julia Thomas
Julia had a nice surprise when she found this mating pair of Eyed Hawkmoths in her Corfe Mullen garden on 10/06/19.
This large moth varies in hue from grey through to a pinkish brown base colour. It can be found early May-mid July and in the South sometimes a partial second generation, Aug-Sept.
As this species is not seen on our gallery very often, the photo below has been included to show what it looks like when resting with its wings spread out.
Photo courtesy of Butterfly Conservation
Posted on: 10 June, 2019
Yellow Barred Longhorn moth. Photo: Mark Pike
On 5/6/19 at Motcombe Meadows, Mark says:
Quite a few of these unmistakable little day flying Yellow Barred Longhorn Moths around the meadows today.
The males (with the ridiculously long antennae) often come together in small groups to do a sort of sky dance in the sunshine, I was stood in the same spot for about five mins or so and it was fascinating to watch them. Tricky to get those antennae in the shot with the main part of the moth!
Well done Mark, you did it, a super little moth!
Posted on: 7 June, 2019
Brown Argus. Photo: Mike Lowing
Mike sent us this photo taken at Providence Farm on 14/05/19, and queried whether it was indeed a Brown Argus as they can be a very tricky species to identify without a clear sighting of the underside fore-wing. The Common Blue female with which this species is often confused, has an extra spot on the lower half of this wing which is missing in the Brown Argus. In Mike’s photo this area is just covered by the hind-wing making correct ID difficult.
However on balance we have decided it most probably is a Brown Argus.
There are other pointers towards correct ID which can be found on http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk
Posted on: 7 June, 2019
Common Blue. Photo: Harold Gillen
Lulworth Skipper. Photo: Harold Gillen
Harold tells us.
I helped out on the Lulworth Walk yesterday, 5/06/19 and saw plenty of Lulworth Skippers and a lovely female Common Blue.
Saw 12 species in all including my first Large Skipper and Meadow Brown of the season.
Well done Harold sounds like a very successful event.
Posted on: 7 June, 2019
Large Skipper. Photo: Shona Refoy
Large Skipper. Photo: Shona Refoy
Shona found a good few Large Skippers at Giant’s Hill, Cerne Abbas on 1/06/19 and was pleased to get a photo of the only female (top) she saw that day before tripping on uneven ground and frightening it off.
Butterfly photography can be a dangerous hobby especially on a hillside such as Giant’s hill!😱
Posted on: 4 June, 2019
Wall Brown. Photo: Mark Pike
What a great find and a super photograph.
Mark tells us:
According to the official records the last Wall seen at Badbury Rings was in 2013 and before that only single sightings in 1995 & 2011 since 1992 when records began, until I came across this one today 31/5/19. I was rather surprised to say the least, especially as it was a dull and windy day!
Posted on: 2 June, 2019
Small Elephant Hawkmoth. Photo: Mark Pike
Mark was chuffed to find this beautiful daytime flying moth at Badbury Rings on 31/05/19.
This species like to feed on all the Bedstraws, but particularly Lady’s Bedstraw.
Posted on: 2 June, 2019
Meadow Brown. Photo: Shona Refoy
Shona visited Powerstock Railway on 1/06/19 hoping for Wood White butterflies which sadly are no longer found on this site, but was pleased to see her first Meadow Brown of the year.
Posted on: 2 June, 2019
Small Blue. Photo: Cliona Dando
Common Blue. Photo: Cliona Dando
Cliona visited Portland on 30/05.19 and says:
I was so excited yesterday to see Adonis Blues, Common Blues, Small Blues and Dingy Skippers all flitting around together. It was a joyful sight to behold in amongst the glorious colours and sunshine at Tout Quarry. Wonderful! Here are a couple of photos I took on my phone, as I just want to share my excitement and enthusiasm 🙂
We are pleased you did share the photos with us Cliona.
Posted on: 2 June, 2019
Forester moth. Photo: Mark Pike
Mark found six of these beautiful iridescent green moths when he visited Motcombe Meadows on 30/05/19
This moth can be found feeding at flowers such as Ragged Robin, Field and Devil’s bit Scabious, clovers and Viper’s-Bugloss between May and July. Occasional an individual can be found in August.
Posted on: 30 May, 2019
More photos: Gallery Archive
