30-07-26 Colin invited me on his planned trip to the rickety fence, Melrose, to hunt for Scotch Argus butterflies. I jumped at the chance: it is a pretty butterfly, and a great location. The main real reason I'd not planned to visit it solo, was the hassle of travelling. Which previously involved trains, my bike or 10miles of running. Last done (I was surprised to see) in 2022. Always around the end of July. And it had become something of an annual pilgrimage. Always successful in finding the subject although they are not without difficulties. In fact they are downright uncooperative.
After a bit of chat we chose Thursday which was spot on weather-wise. A bit of sunshine along with sporadic cloud cover which is just about perfect for this species (and the half a dozen other species we saw on the day).
this large white appeared and posed nicely, as we crossed the golf course
because Colin hadn't yet got his camera out!
Before we even got in sight of the rickety fence there were scotch argus flying about. They are very numerous at this site and not a problem to see. Getting photos is another story. They will dodge about keeping low to the ground then settle into the darkest corner of long grasses. They prefer to have grass stems criss-cross your line of sight!
As you approach, off they fly for another 5 minutes. The pattern repeats until you are tearing out your hair and decide that painted ladies or small coppers make a much better subject. Yes I know there are some photos here to suggest they perch on top of flowers but 98% of the time they do not, and are a peculiarly frustrating species. I think it is their behaviour or character (as well as the travelling) that is the reason I haven't hurried back here in 4 years.
Another oddity is that the same species in different locations behaves very differently. I vividly recall cycling past a layby on the Mull of Kintyre and seeing dozens of scotch argus all sitting on top of ragwort and not hiding in the least as I jumped off my bike and got the lot of them on a video which is now lost on the partly redundant high maintenance site of Vimeo. I couldn't believe they were the same species as the timid bastards of Melrose.
I think the Melrosian clan have responded to the conditions locally which are mainly tall grasses, gorse bushes and a dearth of tall flowers. (And imaginary fearsome predators!) There were a number of early scabious stems but they weren't getting much attention (other than from small skippers); I walked past them repeatedly in hope.
As you approach, off they fly for another 5 minutes. The pattern repeats until you are tearing out your hair and decide that painted ladies or small coppers make a much better subject. Yes I know there are some photos here to suggest they perch on top of flowers but 98% of the time they do not, and are a peculiarly frustrating species. I think it is their behaviour or character (as well as the travelling) that is the reason I haven't hurried back here in 4 years.
Another oddity is that the same species in different locations behaves very differently. I vividly recall cycling past a layby on the Mull of Kintyre and seeing dozens of scotch argus all sitting on top of ragwort and not hiding in the least as I jumped off my bike and got the lot of them on a video which is now lost on the partly redundant high maintenance site of Vimeo. I couldn't believe they were the same species as the timid bastards of Melrose.
I think the Melrosian clan have responded to the conditions locally which are mainly tall grasses, gorse bushes and a dearth of tall flowers. (And imaginary fearsome predators!) There were a number of early scabious stems but they weren't getting much attention (other than from small skippers); I walked past them repeatedly in hope.
a few peacocks about
Colin was having camera problems.
Right from word go Colin was having camera problems. On his last outing he had set up a custom mode to shoot treetop hairstreaks and might have either changed his main settings by accident or forgotten to put them back after creating a custom setting. Modern cameras are almost too complicated and you can easily end up down an obscure menu making changes you might regret later.
I have set the button for back-button focussing instead for focus bracketing (focus stacking) because I would never use back-button focus, feeling it is daft. (Use the joystick if you want to focus on something not central in the frame.) Unfortunately I can accidentally touch it when holding my camera, which results in the next shots I take (if taken in bursts) being taken in exposure bracketing (one dark, one normal, one light) because that is the first command in bracketing mode. I should probably change it back as it can take ten minutes to notice every third shot is darker, then normal, then lighter.
small tort
not many admirals about but those that were,
were excellent
were excellent
painted lady (just the one)
this is exactly the problem
I came across this low growing umbellifer with a couple of scotch argus on it. I took some photos but they were criss-crossed with grasses and I couldn't get a clean shot. I approached from several angles but to no avail and eventually they both flew off. Thinking they'd return, I pulled out all the grasses nearby and gave myself a clear line of sight for their return. I didn't stand there like a dummy but went off and returned regularly to check my cunning plan. I saw no further argus on that plant in the next two hours. Which about says it all. They are complete bastards.
Colin at the legendary rickety fence
Rather than walk about together we went our own ways. Colin, having never photographed Scotch Argus before, was determined to get decent photos and perhaps had more patience for them, regarding the situation as a challenge. I got more distracted by the other butterflies and after getting a few shots of scotch argus (enough to justify the journey) reverted to chasing more obliging species on the thistles up towards the golf course.
the most obliging scotch argus tended to be the ones in poorest condition
this one looked like it had been shot with a miniature shotgun
this one looked like it had been shot with a miniature shotgun
empty pupa case of a six spot burnet moth
very rare shot of an SA posing nicely!
commonplace shot of a painted lady
doing what they do all the time!
doing what they do all the time!
small copper on yarrow
which it kept returning to regularly
which it kept returning to regularly
the tail end of the small skipper season
shaded broad-bar moth acting up;
obviously been getting notes from a scotch argus!
obviously been getting notes from a scotch argus!
small skippers!
worn six-spot burnet moth
a few meadow browns about too
shredded green-veined white
another six spot burnet moth
small skipper on scabious
At lunch time I christened this new flask. Saw it in Sainsbury's (£8) and liked the colour although it has shades of old fashioned milk bottle about the silver top. Haven't tried it for hot liquids yet but it kept nearly a litre of squash with half a dozen ice cubes, cold till the last drop. That and homemade sandwiches on homemade bread.
It was only later I noticed the little green chap on the flower bottom left. Obsidentify suggests a Oedemera lurida / virescens. Pollen feeding false-blister beetles.
I saw one scotch argus throw itself into the deep grass and felt so frustrated I thought I'd fish it out. It was surprisingly easy as it was sort of caught up in the grass, to offer my warm fingers, which it happily crawled up onto and then sat for a couple of pics. I had anticipated this and had the DJI Pocket handy for close ups. It walked about for a bit until presumably it felt the need to have grassy stems all around again and flew off.
I tried this with another by lifting the plant it was snuggled under up out the ground and carried it over to where Colin might get a photo. I kept my other hand over the butterfly while going over to Colin to give the feeling of shelter they seem to need. Unfortunately when I tried to pose the plant and butterfly for Colin to photo it realised it was at waist height and nearly fainting from altitude and exposure it dashed off to get back to ground level asap. They are such boring and frustrating wee shits although they are admittedly quite pretty as well, in their deep velvety browns with orange patches.
a lesson in perching
an aging dark green fritillary;
there were a couple about of similar condition
there were a couple about of similar condition
I preferred to hang out at the thistles between the golf course and the rickety fence
where there were plenty of peacocks, commas, an admiral and large whites
a 3 x 3 panorama out the DJI Pocket
a four by one panorama (cropped at both ends to fit here better)
comma
comma, peacock
small tortoiseshell
I was excited to see this scorpion fly (female: it has no 'stinger', the bulb on the tail end the males have) but it saw me coming and I never saw where it scooted off to after the first couple of pics. I don't see enough of them and this might be the only one this Summer.
small tort being wasp-photobombed
back to a stray scotch argus nearly posing!
large white
last couple of attempts then I'm out
Maybe next year I'll try to get across West and do some dragonflies, some more obliging scotch argus and em... more dragonflies. But until then this will have to do. Can't believe we have flashed through all the 2026 butterfly species already. Hopefully a few more good days as we hit maximum lepidopteral possibilities and (fingers crossed) some decent late summer weather. Still, the overcast days let me catch up with overdue blogs and processing photos. So it's not all bad.
Big thanks to Colin for the lift there and back, which flew by, as we are never short of wildlife and camera chat. Even got back home in time to pick up my new suit from the seamstress round the corner who was taking up the arm length for a wedding, in 2 days. I may even blog that if only to record myself dressed in a suit although Mary didn't take many photos. Très dapper!
