butterfly-lights of 2020

 

Now that we have come to the end of the butterfly season here is a retrospective of my butterfly highlights of 2020 in the order they appeared throughout the year.

It has been a strange year due to the pandemic. However, apart from limiting the travelling we were able to do while lockdown was in force, for me, it hasn't been that bad. I know for some it was awful, but I got off lightly as I don't gravitate towards (or do much work in) pubs, cafes, cinemas, gyms, hairdressers or all the places that have really suffered. Nor do I have kids that needed home-schooled. And my work was largely unchanged. So apart from travel, including a lost holiday in Spring, things have been for myself, similar to normal. 

19/03/20, Comma, WoL

First butterfly of the year was this Comma on 19th March. (When I say first (both here and later), I of course mean the first one I saw. There had been various reports long before.) Despite this being a rather average specimen that has overwintered (rather than emerged from chrysalis this year), I was delighted, having been starved of Scottish Butterflies since the end of October 2019. I'd expected a Peacock or Small Tortoiseshell so a Comma near the Gallery of Modern Art on the Water of Leith on a sunny interlude mid-March felt like a great omen for the year! This was just shortly before the country went into lockdown!

20/03/20 first Peacock

The next day a cycle to Saltoun Big Wood did not produce the goods. A solitary Peacock felt like being shortchanged on a day when I was scampering round the sunny beauty spot shouting come out, come out, wherever you are!

Realising "keeping it local" would be the theme of the pandemic I was pleased to find an excellent venue in Dr. Neil's Garden, Duddingston. This was 22nd March and after coming across a beautiful Comma, looking glorious on the flowering heather, I bumped into Andrew and Unda and we photographed Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks while the sun shone. There were many really pretty good weather days in Spring which has to have boosted the butterfly populations emerging into warm sun rather than sleety downpours. Unfortunately Dr. Neil's was closed to visitors within a week so I had to go elsewhere.

22/03/20 first Tortoiseshell

5th April and another Comma - positioned like a crafters decoupage gift tag on one of the slates in the Hermitage Walled Garden. Below on the planters a peacock in a blaze of colours.

More sunshine on the 7th April and an over-ambitious riverside cycle to the Tyne between East Linton and Haddington. I had just had my bike serviced and the riverside paths, in places, are exquisite. I had gone looking for early-bird Orange Tips but it would be another 8 days before I found any. Some top notch brand new Peacocks though.

On 13th April I enjoyed a trip round Bawsinch reserve at Duddingston chaperoned by Ken as I wasn't a member at the time. We socially distanced, spending little time in each other's company except when Ken found (and drew my attention to) the first Speckled Wood I'd seen of the year. 

13/04/20 newly speckled!

15/04/20 shiny copper

On a cycle trip to Gullane mid-April I was staggered by this Small Copper at Luffness which has to be a contender for first Scottish Small Copper of 2020. It seemed much smaller than I remembered them from the year before although that might have been due to the species I'd seen of late which were all medium to large in size. On reflection I think it was just a freakishly tiny individual. 

I had gone to Gullane primarily to check on the Holly Blues seen last August but saw none. If they do a Spring emergence in Gullane it is not as visible or near the same areas as the August emergence. I checked the area near the Archerfields gatehouse, one of several sites for H Blues, and while I didn't see them, I did spot - after something of a determined hunt and the unwavering conviction that they must be here somewhere - my first Orange Tips of the season! Result! One of these cracking butterflies that is so visually striking you can recognise it roadside from a speeding car. Early in the season they can be frustratingly flightly; hunting lady OTs rather than landing for a photo. Similarly Small Whites and Large Whites which along with Green Veined Whites were all to appear within the next few days.

15/04/20 Orange Tip (m)

My trip to Gullane was done in Lockdown. I had been unaware of any limits to the amount of exercise we were supposed to observe. I knew these were guidelines rather than laws but was reasonably keen not to disregard the feelings of those making huge sacrifices due to the pandemic. While I may have behaved outside the strictest letter of the guidelines, I was fairly sure I was behaving in a way that would have been impossible to pass on or obtain the virus. I was rebuked by some who felt there should be no leeway regarding the "rules". This made me behave in 2 ways.
1/ To moderate my travels. 
2/ Not to post certain other activities on facebook.
With the benefit of hindsight and given all that was to transpire, from Chief Medical Officers and second homes; to Chief Advisers and Barnard Castle eye tests; to Durdle Door; to BLM marches and gatherings, I'd do it all again exactly the same. Only more so. Until we have a vaccine, exercise and fitness is the single most effective antidote to hospital overcrowding. 

Out past Musselburgh on the Esk cyclepath I came across an unassuming corner where a territorial comma ruled the roost. He saw off all comers particularly other Commas but also OTs and Small Whites. I passed by a couple of times and enjoyed taking photos of the comings and goings.

the first of many in-flight photos this year

Tired of following sparring butterflies for ages, I tried to set the zoom to mid-way and get in-flight shots of non-landing insects. Almost impossible to control the focus and shutter speed suitably, the success rate is low. But captivating to see the strange shapes and attitudes they pull while flying. And gives you something to do till they land.

21/04/20 Green Veined White

24/04/20 Large White

I remember parking my bike in a remote spot along the Esk on the way to Dalkeith Country Park and chasing through the undergrowth following this Large White which glided effortlessly through the trees. Just as I was consigning it to the day's lost causes it landed high on leaves and approaching with ninja stealth I got a couple of record shots ahead of most of the LW traffic on East Scottish Butterflies, (the best butterfly site on the internet.)

24/04/20 Orange Tip (f)

30/04/20 Green Hairstreak

I did ponder the Green Hairstreak question for a while. To see them in the Pentlands would require a hour's cycle followed by an hour's run and the reverse back home. By this time a BBC website had announced there was no limit to the amount of exercise we were allowed to take. It was the last time any notion of keeping things to an hour (a caution flagged up in front of a forecast sunny Easter Weekend) was ever mentioned. However the trip would involve more than one mode of exercise which was still being discouraged. In places elsewhere prominent citizens (husbands of medalling Olympians) were running offroad marathons and applauded for charity fundraisers. Strava boasted many folk running, cycling and outdoor swimming, often in the same day. Okay so that must be allowed because the corona-Nazis haven't social-media shamed them.

I had zero worries about C19 and the trip to the Pentlands, but I did worry about the potential for public shaming. Ah fuck it, let's do it. Nobody will know, nobody will be infected one way or the other and no harm will be done unless you can catch covid19 by looking at fence posts. I didn't post it on facebook. And I had a brilliant time. I saw a couple of folk I know who live near the Pentlands and were walking there and we shouted hello from further than 20 yards distance. It was the right decision. Loads of Green Hairstreaks in and near the field beside the firing range set aside for them.

04/05/20 Small White
Almost certainly saw these prior, but didn't get a photo until 4th May

6th May and another cycle to Gullane to search for Holly Blues (still no sign!) and other likely species. Walls were flying at Luffness but very flighty and getting pics was almost impossible. Along at Archerfields Gatehouse a couple of flowering Lilac trees were teeming with butterflies. The plume like flowers (shorter lived than buddleia flowers) were being visited by all the butterflies that were otherwise just flying by looking for mates. Excellent spot for photos.

06/05/20 Wall, Luffness

GH at Holyrood!

Biggest story of the year has to be a green hairstreak being spotted in Holyrood Park for the first time. The park was just exceptional this year (21 butterfly species in all) and kept those of us who live nearby, sane during lockdown. On the 6th May, Richard messaged me that Phil B had tweeted a Green Hairstreak sighting. Not more specific than a few hundred yards West of Dunsapie Loch. On the 7th May, Richard and I tracked one down to a specific gorse bush on the Queen's Drive which got considerable attention over the next week. Close examination of photos showed this to be a different individual to Phil's initial sighting. Richard and I spent days combing the blaeberry clumps of Crow Hill and Richard found one other specimen. Which might hopefully suggest the nucleus of a colony rather than just an individual being blown off course. Fingers crossed for next May. The nearest known colonies up till now have been in several sites over the Pentlands. It might also be worth checking out the Braids, lying as the crow flies between here and there and looking like the most likely halfway house.

Richard at the famous gorse bush.

07/05/20 Painted Lady

About once a decade there will be a massive invasion/migration of Painted Ladies from the continent; France or Africa. They are the butterfly with the largest migration patterns, though how, why and when are less easy to interpret or predict. 2019 was a Painted Lady year. They seemed to follow the East coast and had been reported from England and the Borders, right up to Aberdeeshire and beyond. Tens of thousands appeared and you would get buddleias with dozens crowded on them. Everywhere along the coast in East Lothian was so busy with them, I became indifferent to them. I stopped bothering to take photos of this magnificent insect as they became more commonplace. 

This year they have been quite scarce. I anticipated all the activity last year would leave thousands of eggs and caterpillars and an increase in numbers this year. Not so. No idea why. But it certainly made me appreciate any specimens I came across this year. In Holyrood Park the best place to find them (along with Red Admirals, another species that has seemed thin on the ground this year) was on the summit of Crow Hill and the highest point of Salisbury Crags. When I was getting bored with Small Coppers and the Green Hairstreak on the roadside verge I'd hike up the hill to see if there were any lager subjects about. Often there would be a handful of specimens playing King of the Castle, jousting and zooming about in the wind, including Walls and Graylings (sunbathers on the south facing sides) later in the year.

Being windy on Crow Hill the butterflies would often lay flat to the grass rather than perching on a prominence like a gorse stalk. Which makes for poor photos. I would switch from zoom to macro which often involved lying on the grass and inchworming closer with arm extended until my lens was just a few centimetres from the prone insect. Being able to see the delicate underwing scales and woolly vest of a Painted Lady would be the hardwon prize for a successful safari.

08/05/20 Mother Shipton moths
female above, male below

10/05/20 Red Admiral

People had been seeing Red Admirals for ages - possibly since March, but I'd not seen one by May and was really beginning to wonder why. So I was pleased to spot this one at the Commie Pool entrance gatehouse to Holyrood, on the lilac bush in the garden. Finally!

Small Tortoiseshell shot in macro mode
amazing detail, short focal distance

I was using macro mode more and more in preference to zoom. I use a compact so it switches from one to the other without having to change lenses. On seeing a specimen I'd use zoom for the first couple of record shots, then move forward to get a decent zoom close up. I'd still be three or four metres away and if you don't make sudden movements, this shouldn't scare off most butterflies. Once you have a decent record shot you can afford to move in close and risk chasing it off. I think on a bright day the smallest distance for macro shots is 30mm - half a finger length away - pretty much not far off touching the butterfly. At this distance (if the butterfly doesn't fly off) the photo reveals incredible detail - the scales on the wings and hairs on the eyes. (They appear to have hairy eyes!) The downside is a short depth of field, the amount in focus. This can be compensated for by stacking images: combining the focussed areas of several photos with different focus points. Often the feel of the image in macro is more like from a butterfly's point of view. Although how they actually comprehend the world, through sight and other senses is anyone's guess.

wall, flower

Trying to get a decent photo of a Wall on the flowers at the roadside verge in Holyrood was one of the Summer's big challenges. I never felt I fully ticked that box at all despite many many photos taken. Eventually the deal was done with the copulating couple (of  Walls) at Luffness that Joan found, making one of the better pics this year. They are one of the more easily spooked species and often don't settle for long on flowers.

Small Coppers on the other hand, often seem to enjoy posing for photos!

20/05/20 Small Heath

The Small Heath is a modest fellow. He hides his pretty yellow uppers away when landed and has a furry and almost unformed face and head. They, in their universal appearances everywhere, tend to go unnoticed or uncelebrated, but are always a small, delicate joy. I was quite late to record the first one, I may well have seen others but failed to get a decent photo as they are small and often dive into the undergrowth at the approach of a camera wielding chump. Making life trickier. If the temps are low they are not above hitching a lift on a warm hand (11 pics below) which makes a photo easier and a never fails to warm a heart.

20/05/20 4 spot chaser emerging at Marl Loch
Libellula quadrimaculata!

More governed by the warm sun than specific dates, this chaser only sat on my finger warming its new wings because it was brand new and still a bit dopey from climbing out its own skin. Give it an hour and it wouldn't go within yards of a human even if he was crouching knee deep in stinking muddy pondwater with a camera trying to get shots of the first dragonfly day of the year.

26/05/20 Northern Brown Argus

Few people outside of butterfly circles will have fully appreciated the delight of the Northern Brown Argus. It is a real cracker but unfortunately is so small you could easily walk past this lovely butterfly without noticing it. A cousin of the common blue they have similar undersides and a brown upper reminiscent of a female CB without any blue and with the addition of 2 white dots. They are charming, have huge Disney eyes and when fresh, an oily iridescence on the uppers that reflects a bluey green sheen. Tricky to photograph due to their size, but if they fly off, they probably won't fly far. A regular prize at the roadside verge in Holyrood. Often seen (almost playfully) sparring with blues and coppers.

Small Heath

31/05/20 Common Blue

The eagerly anticipated first Common Blue of the year was in the stone trap below Salisbury Crags (there is a little conclave directly below the Cat's Nick) on the last day of May. Last year it was 10th June (at the top end of the Radical Road) so a bit earlier for 2020 and perhaps due to so many fine days weather this Spring and Summer. There was a pattern of earlier appearances than usual but it wasn't universal.

Common Blues are right up there as one of the top butterflies we have, and for good reason. When fresh you can see them from a hundred yards away a brilliant electric blink, they are like an alien lifeform radiating 6 shades of blue from powder to purple, a patch of pure light torn from the Summer sky and flitting between flowers. Never disappointing, the first one of the year is like a swift kick in the heart. 

One of the best sites for NBAs and Blues was directly below the Cat's Nick where the yellow flowers of  birds foot trefoil on the higher side of the stone trap is just out the wind and attracts maybe a dozen species throughout the Summer.

The second Common Blue of the year was just below the high end of the Radical Road, 01/06/20 same place as last year's first. My memories of the blues at Aberlady reserve are they fly off at the least provocation. These first 2 were surprisingly unflustered about me creeping ever closer and pointing the camera at them.

NBA showing that sheen.

02/06/20 Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

These Bavelaw based so-and-sos gave me the right run-around last year. I was up the (eleven miles of climb) road to the Pentlands 5 times before they appeared eventually (rather tattered!) after mid-June. This year all the fritillaries seemed to be out very early. Sadly there was no way to see the Pearl-bordereds that I have travelled to Pitlochry the last couple of years to see, but we were not allowed to travel by car or train during lockdown so that was that.

I had heard that there were various sightings of SPBFs around the country and risked the same disappointments of last year again, by setting off to find them on the 2nd June. However they do not stay fresh long and are best seen when newly emerged as they are a vivid orange colour and have gloriously stained-glass-like underwings. Unfortunately my nearest venues are fields of long grasses without prominent perches until the thistles flower later in the month. So inevitably the butterflies - if you can find them after a long trek over lumpy tussocky fields of barbed wire games and black sucking mud fun - are hidden between strands of focus-grabbing grasses and photo-ruining foliage.

This year the fates were with me. I have no idea why it all went so well by comparison to last year. And it WAS NOT a walk in the park. But to my immense relief they were there - and super fresh; by luck and judgement I'd nailed the right day to catch them early! And they were not being complete bastards! I did have to spend a couple of hours jogging over hideous terrain while keeping an eye on the the little orange darlings, not watching the tussocks and holes over which I was skipping. (It was much drier this year the ground giving underfoot, like a soft sponge wrung out but not bone dry.) And I came away with a few decent enough pics of pretty orange butterflies sat on ragged robin and cuckooflowers. What a relief!

More Holyrood beauties...

06/06/20 Common Blue (f)

18/06/20 6 spot Burnet moth

Burnet Moth Caterpillar

19/06/20

19/06/20 Meadow Brown

19/06/20 Ringlet (almost without rings)

20/06/20 Yellow Shell Moth
tricky buggers to get near

Thought this was an NBA but having no white spots was more likely a common blue female with unusually little blue colouration on upper wings.

20/06/20 Dark Green Fritillary

Another fritillary to emerge ahead of schedule was the magnificent DGF. I always associate these tangerine terrors with Aberlady Reserve and the first 2 weeks in July. Along with the Burnet Moths and Common Blues, the place becomes the epicentre of the Summer. I've noticed and enjoyed them since I started running at Gullane long before I knew their name. Which is one of the daftest things about them as they are obviously orange, not Dark Green. They can be very difficult to approach early in the season. The one above was caught at the end of the day and was prob looking for a roost, having spent all day flying at 80mph trying to find lady DGFs. 

21/06/20 Five Spot Burnet

Someone said technically all the 5 spotters around here are Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Moths which are different from Five-spot Burnet Moths. I'm not sure I care, (they look VERY nearly identical) though I do like these moths. Partly for their striking colours and also (like the 6 spotters) because they don't rush off when you get up close. They contain hydrogen cyanide which doesn't taste great. As a result they don't get predated by birds so can be a little more relaxed around the dinner table which makes for easier photos. There were loads of both sorts this year in Holyrood and on the flowers next to the Parliament buildings.

21/06/20 Grayling

Loads of Graylings in Holyrood as well. Generally they are found up near the crags where they blend into the warm coloured rock so convincingly that you don't see them if they don't move. Another species that rarely opens it wings on the ground (outwith courtship displays) these are a fascinating butterfly and one that is changing from occasional sighting to regularly photographed resident. Andrew and Unda found them near the buddleias of Regents Road. There are probably far more than we can easily ascertain because of their camouflage and their preference for high steep walls or cliffs. I noticed some playing tag with a Painted Lady on the highest shelves of Salisbury Crags.

I remembered getting lucky with this Ringlet which was hiding deep in cover and I just jammed my camera into the grass in hit-and-hope mode for one of the better ringlet photos this year.

Small Tort, Arthur's Seat, and Ken!

For a while there were 2.5 areas of flowering thistles near the Commie Pool entrance of Holyrood visited by Tortoiseshells, Peacocks, RAs, Meadow Browns, Ringlets and several butterfly friends with cameras. Especially after Richard reported a DGF there. I would almost always take a gander when out running or butterflying and it almost always had something worth the effort.

25/06/20 Small Skipper - charming and seen more regularly everywhere

Last year down at Archerfields beach I had found a chinese privet shrub (as above) that was fantastic for DGFs. It seemed to flower all Summer and pulled these speedsters out the air allowing me to get great photos. This year I returned eagerly but the flowers were smaller, less abundant and it wasn't the DGF magnet it had been. I think that was down to a very dry Spring. I returned several times during July before throwing in the towel, really disgruntled to have found, then lost, a superb ally. 

I had more in the way of luck with DGFs just a mile from home. Last year Mairi had seen a couple mating in Holyrood Park. DGFs that is. Prior to this year, they had been just rare visitors. This year it was perhaps the offspring of that union that were seen regularly in the area between the Salisbury Crags, Dumbiedykes and Holyrood Palace; lets call it the Queen's Triangle, the long strip of untrimmed scrubland opposite Dynamic Earth. If I felt the need (which was frequent!) I'd horse about in the rough long grass there till something bright orange flew up and I'd chase it about till it landed. It was a surprisingly effective strategy.

02/07/20 Chimney Sweeper Moth

This year's only brand new species. It has been a really good year for spotting lepidotera but this is the only one that was new to me. I've probably run past loads, they are relatively common in Holyrood, but this is my first photo of one. I saw a couple during the season. However they are really small and tricky to get a decent photo of. (I refuse to wear specs for anything but reading and computer activities.)

a very fine specimen down Aberlady way

09/07/20 Hummingbird Hawkmoth (rubbish photo!)

These are rare but hopefully becoming less so. One of the positives of climate change and Scotland warming. I saw 2 this year. Not absolutely sure about the other one as it was gone in seconds. Last year I saw 1 in Spain and first ever was last July in Holyrood. They are both brilliant and rubbish. Brilliant because they zip about like hummingbirds and are so different to anything else, unless you crossed a big flat fat moth with a hoverfly. But rubbish because they travel far too fast, are nearly invisible and are prone to leaving at a great rate of knots, never to be seen again. The ones I have seen are kinda grey and frustrating. I have learned in the few experiences I have had with them that you should shoot video rather than stills as they just look like a blurry smear if you don't have a big camera than can stop that wingbeat. That photo above is a still from a movie. The movie is also crap because the thing flew off before I could even think about focus. I have no idea where you'd even start to look for them and have only come across them by chance. This year's were both in Aberlady/Gullane on a very warm day in July. Where they go when it's not warm is anybody's guess.

second pair of common blues mating this year!

This Small Skipper was already atop this orchid in Hunter's Bog when I came across it but the sun was behind a cloud. I got down on the ground to take a photo, then realised it would be SO much better if the sun came out. I waited and waited holding my breath that it wouldn't fly off or that my legs wouldn't cramp. Eventually, after an eternity, the sun came out and Bingo! (Got up and walked off like John Wayne for a bit.)

mid-July fresh Small Copper

21/07/20 Plume Moth

If you sat down to design a robust and practical moth capable of being taken outside and surviving more than 10 minutes you probably wouldn't design a plume moth. I don't see enough of these. Probably because they don't last 10 mins outdoors.

Mairi drew my attention to a small clique of Graylings just above the first bay of the Rad Road. Handily the rocks and dirt path didn't always match their cryptic wing patterns quite as well, and made for better photos. Graylings will lower their forewings when resting. (And you lose the orange colour and eye-spot.) You can induce them to flick it back out by lifting an arm or popping a small stone or twig near them, although you have a limited time to get the subject back in frame all nicely lined up, get it back in focus and... dammit that wing has gone again!

third pairing of Common Blues of the year

25/07/20 Holly Blue

As August approached I was very curious as to whether the Gullane Holly Blues would materialise or not. Richard had also been keeping an eye on this project and spotted the first of the year on 24th July I think. I often run at Gullane at the weekends so on Saturday 25th we parked near the famous public toilets and sure enough there was a powder blue butterfly atop the ivy wall nearby. Interestingly that wall has changed hands and is now owned by a young family who live in the house behind it. The mum was keen to hear about these rare butterflies having been curious about random folk staring mindlessly up at the ivy. She mentioned she had snowberries growing in the garden - another of the elements that appeal to the August HBs as it flowers around then. She also (much later) reported that she watched 6 HBs cavorting around her kitchen window at the height of the season and came out to the wall to see if I was about. Although I visit the area a lot the chances had to be slim! Unfortunately I wasn't and missed the Holly Blue garden party! 

The Holly Blue site up the hill (West end of Gullane) beside the snowberries never produced the numbers we saw there last year. The snowberries seemed slightly stunted this year - perhaps another result of the dry Spring. Also every occasion I turned up there, the wind seemed to be an issue. And yet it was worth the occasional climb up as I saw on one visit a pair of Skippers mating, a Wall and a fabulous Common Blue female which I chased for some time before it stopped deep in a field of grass. I employed all my ninja stealth moves to approach it. The wind was making everything sway horribly, so I used my left hand to hold onto the grasses on which the butterfly perched,  while operating the camera in macro mode with the other hand, camera nearly touching the butterfly. It was a ballet at the top of a windy hill and it was a surprise when the photos actually looked as good as I hoped!

superbly coloured female common blue

31/07/20 Latticed Heath Moth

31/07/20 Scorpion Fly (f)

It's not a butterfly, but one of my favourite pics of 2020 was this Scorpion Fly. I was down in Melrose below the Eildon Hills looking for Scotch Argus Butterflies and it was something of a testing day. This lady fly totally cheered me up because you don't see them that often and they have the most fabulous faces! And the focus was just right to show it off. They are called scorpion flies because the males have what looks like a scorpion type stinger but is in fact just weird genitalia. They don't sting or bite and this one sat like a pro for its photo. 

Which is more than the Scotch Argus! The final species of the year. The rickety fence saw lots of butterfly hunters this year and from what Fiona said (who I bumped into there) this was just about the worst day to visit. Also met Lisa and Archie. There were loads of butterflies but the hot sun made them extra-flightly and camera-shy and they hid in the undergrowth. Not my finest hour. But I managed to get enough photos that I didn't have to return. It is a great area (and about the nearest place to see Scotch Argus) and I followed the route I had established the previous year taking in the Eildons and a pond nearby for odonata, as well as a few of the usual butterfly suspects you'd expect to come across.

31/07/20 Scotch Argus

This Summer I had a few excellent days butterfly hunting with fellow runners Colin and Joan. There was never any shortage of chat about running and butterflies! C&J were always wildlife enthusiasts but more recently converted from birds to being more keen on butterflies. They are Perth based so when they said they were planning exploring the coast down this way I suggested I could come along and point them in the right direction. It all went very well. I did worry slightly when we arranged to meet on an afternoon that started in pretty average weather! But it picked up, the sun came out, and so did the butterflies. And we ticked pretty much all the boxes on their wish list, particularly Walls, Holly Blues and Small Skippers. 

Wall to Wall
Joan spotted these 2 - best wall photo of 2020!

On the way back to the train at Drem I passed a couple of fields where the farmer had planted Lacy Phacelia round the edge of the crop, the purple flowering plant below, which was doing an excellent job of attracting pollinators as well as making a superb backdrop for butterfly photos. There were Large Whites and Small T-shells and it made an excellent place to spend 30 mins taking photos in the sun before catching the train home.

peacock on lacy phacelia

8/8/20 last NBA of the year at Burnmouth

in-flight shot with St Abbs Head in background

Possibly the best Holly Blue shots were taken at Archerfields Gatehouse. There are several plants there (buddleia, snowberry, brambles, lilac, short grass, long grass, sycamore trees) that attract butterflies although Richard and I turned up there in late July and could only find a wasp and a lacewing! On certain days in August when the wind wasn't too high you could find Red Admirals, Commas, Peacocks, Walls, Small Tortoiseshells, Speckled Woods, Common Darters and a couple of Holly Blues which scrapped with each other. It became my favourite spot for a short while and Mary also enjoyed taking photos there on a good day, when everything was interacting: the sun out, the bees buzzing, and the place alive with butterflies. 

HBs mostly sit with wings closed
but in weak sun will open them slightly or occasionally fully

The Holly Blues have certainly established a foothold in Gullane and the surrounding areas. In Scotland they have up until now popped up in random sightings, rarely or never to appear in the same place twice. "While the butterfly will be found in the same locality year after year, it does not form discrete colonies and will wander across the landscape." Peter Eeles, Life Cycles.

They seem to have settled in Gullane although there was no sign of any in what might have been a Spring emergence. "The most Northern populations produce a single brood." Peter Eeles. The caterpillars of either emergence feed on different foodplants. Spring larval food, holly. Summer larval food: ivy. We should really call these Gullane blues Ivy Blues.

In August it seemed they were even more prevalent that last year when, weather permitting, you could almost guarantee a sighting in one of several sites. The sites all seemed to have similarities. Flowering snowberry canes, a mature sycamore tree nearby, a tall wall topped with ivy. Although similar in colour to Common Blues they are higher fliers and prefer trees and dark, shiny leaved shrubs to open grass and flowers. And the preferred weather: sunshine and the less wind the better. When I was leaving Gosford Estate and saw a lane with a large amount of snowberry bushes below some sycamore trees, the lot in dappled sunshine and shaded from the wind I thought it was perfect for Holly Blues, and was photographing one within minutes. 

It is impossible to know for sure why the Holly Blues have chosen Gullane. Or from where they have travelled. It will be a combination of climate and shaded wooded areas near the coast with a good amount of mature trees and gardens. They also seem to be travelling up Ireland's East coast from the South. Again coastal and sheltered wooded areas seem preferable. In Central and Southern England they are more common in people's gardens than Common Blues and seen so regularly that nobody makes a fuss about them. In Scotland they are so rare they are nearly mythical. They have had an association with Edinburgh since the first decade of the millennium (as the most Northerly outpost) with regular sightings in the Lothians, but until this settlement at Gullane have never been recorded returning to the same area year on year. I suspect and hope this is the beginning of a new era.

In August they were spotted in even more places around Gullane than last year - 2 churchyards and next to Goose Green on several more high walls topped with ivy with trees nearby. I have a feeling in just a few years the growing colonies of single brood Gullane Holly Blues will be indistinguishable in their habits from the ones of central and Southern England. 

2 commas in the same sentence

Although these 2 photos look nearly identical I think they are 2 different butterflies (note position of nick on forewing relative to pattern) on 2 different snowberry flowers!

Another amazing migrant heading North with the global warming is the Banded Demoiselle. Strictly speaking not a butterfly but so fantastic a creature it's not worth splitting hairs. Richard (yet again!) flagged up Bandies at Gosford. A couple of pals who lived in Longniddry had recommended Gosford as a place to run ages ago but my experience there was pretty much limited to a very brief diversion through the grounds during the Edinburgh Marathon. It is a lovely place for a wander and they are actively encouraging visitors. I got off the train at Longniddry (20/08/20) and had my planned run there hijacked by loads of amazing butterflies all along the coastal paths on the way. Particularly Large Whites and Walls.

female Wall

20/08/20 Banded Demoiselle

After looking in what seemed the most likely places - the Lily Pond and most highly reeded areas - I was beginning to lose hope when I came across 2 male bandies (no females) in a small clump of reeds at the otherwise unprotected edge of the large pond. Tricky to get very close to them, there was a fair bit of wormlike wriggling on the ground with camera held out in front, but I was happy with the results and terrific to have these sci-fi marvels living so close to home.

old campaigner in the sunshine

29/08/20 a flotilla of Admirals, Yellowcraigs

30/08/20 last Holly Blue of the year at Gosford

06/09/20

Luffness Mains Farm (just behind Aberlady) planted out a 10yard border of sunflowers along one edge of a field of Oilseed Radish. It attracted (at least) 8 species of butterfly and silver Ys and gave a radiating splash of sunshine yellow that felt like Northern France. Just brilliant. Can't sing their praises high enough. I thought it would have been for some set-aside grant but it was "just for fun". I visited there twice. They were encouraging people to visit and even help themselves to the flowers!!! The flowers were all blooming at different rates and I think every butterfly for miles came to nectar. I just took photos but thought it was the best community gesture and butterfly booster since New Winton wildflower seeded the corner junction of the main road from Tranent in 2018.

08/09/20 late common blue but not the last!

08/09/20 Comma hunting at Saltoun

I heard from Julie (on East Scottish Butterflies fb group) that there were Commas at Saltoun Big Wood. I made 2 trips because you can't have too many comma photos. I took far too many comma photos. First time was with Mary but it was so good and you just don't get that many chances to spend all day with dozens of commas I went back the following week on my own. Damn it was good. Also I had forgotten to find Black Darters on the first trip, an excellent dragonfly that often hangs out at the ponds.

Silver Y hiding

14/09/20 second trip to Saltoun

14/09/20 Black Darter

back to Gosford 17/09/20

17/09/20 return to the sunflowers, Luffness Mains Farm

another Painted Lady but not the same one

oilseed radish

17/09/20

I was intrigued to see this chap out and about in the sunny weather mid September. We drove past Luffness a few times before October and I was sure he had a couple of weeks left in him judging by the length of white fringe, but Mary wasn't interested enough to stop the car to let me check if he was still the last CB in Scotland. Pretty sure he was a strong contender for the spot. Similarly this Small Heath, still knocking it out the park on the same day making 17th Sept. a 10 species day!

m and f speckleds, Dalmeny 26th Sept

last gasp of admirals 27th Sept

Speckled in Newbyth Wood 
where I saw my first 5 years ago!

Autumnal

I have been lazy about visiting the Botanics as you have to book ahead (due to covid) and who knows what moment to book as the forecast has been somewhat unreliable and mixed of late. However numbers have been falling off and you can sometimes get night-before bookings or same day tickets. It came to mind that the Botanic's flowers attract the last of the year's RAs or Commas sometimes after they have disappeared everywhere else. I went along a couple of times and saw what is almost certainly the last one of the year on Oct. 20th - usually it is the end of the month but hey everything is a little early this year. See you again when I emerge out my chrysalis in March!

20/10/20 Last flutter of the year