# My Butterflies and Moths of 2011.



## Testudo Man

Ive been keen on spotting and photographing both Butterflies and Moths this year, and although i know the basics, i am still not sure on some types, so if i should get any of these "types" wrong, feel free to correct me, cheers.

All these pics were taken this year, so far.

Comma.










Orange Tip.










Peacock.










Speckled Wood.



















Brimstone.


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## Testudo Man

Some more.

Small Copper.










Green Hairstreak.



















Holly Blue.










Common Blue(Male).










Common Blue(Female).


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## Tarron

Beautiful piccies you got there, especially the brimstone, how did you even spot that, the camouflage is incredible. Evolution is ace, lol


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## Testudo Man

Tarron said:


> Beautiful piccies you got there, especially the brimstone, how did you even spot that, the camouflage is incredible. Evolution is ace, lol


Cheers...The Brimstones are difficult for sure, they are nearly always on the wing(in flight) and when they finally do land, there are hard to see sometimes. I have other shots of Brimstones under leaves, and you wouldnt notice them, if you didnt know they had landed first.


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## Woodsman

Great pics TT-as usual.:no1:


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## Testudo Man

Woodsman said:


> Great pics TT-as usual.:no1:


Cheers mate, I have a few Moth pics I will upload soon(including a Speckled Yellow moth).


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## Testudo Man

Speckled Yellow Moth.
These are very small, hard to photograph, but little beauties.



















Green-veined whites.
Mating.


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## Amalthea

Some fantastic pics!!!! I regularly take the camera out when I'm walking the mutt.... Keep trying for various butterflies, but then the mutt comes bounding in.... *lol*


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## Woodsman

Funnily enough,I had a Speckled Yellow the other day and it's not something I see often!
Have you ever thought of getting a moth trap? You'd be pleasantly surprised at what turns up,especially in the southern half of the country.
I know some people have had over 1000 species in their gardens over the years.It's always exciting when something new turns up.


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## vonnie

Beautiful photographs. I'm very jealous. I've still only seen orange tips this year!


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## HABU

great pics!!

i'll be out soon taking photos of moths and butterflies...

one of my favorite things!!

:no1:


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## vawn

all i have seen this year is a couple of hollys' and a small blue (though i was chuffed with the small blue) populations are still low round here


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## Testudo Man

Amalthea said:


> Some fantastic pics!!!! I regularly take the camera out when I'm walking the mutt.... Keep trying for various butterflies, but then the mutt comes bounding in.... *lol*


Thanks, its always gonna be difficult for photos, when your walking the playful dog.: victory:



Woodsman said:


> Funnily enough,I had a Speckled Yellow the other day and it's not something I see often!
> Have you ever thought of getting a moth trap? You'd be pleasantly surprised at what turns up,especially in the southern half of the country.
> I know some people have had over 1000 species in their gardens over the years.It's always exciting when something new turns up.


It must be a good year for Speckled yellows then, because ive seen at least 6 of them so far. 
Hmmmmmmmmmm...are there enough hours in the day, if i should set up a moth trap, and get into them some more?:whistling2:. Its something ive thought about recently, maybe i will get one?



vonnie said:


> Beautiful photographs. I'm very jealous. I've still only seen orange tips this year!


Cheers, Ive put the effort in this year, so im pleased with seeing all these to date.



HABU said:


> great pics!!
> 
> i'll be out soon taking photos of moths and butterflies...
> 
> one of my favorite things!!
> 
> :no1:


Thanks mate, get out in your neck of the woods and take some American species for us Brits to wonder over.: victory:



vawn said:


> all i have seen this year is a couple of hollys' and a small blue (though i was chuffed with the small blue) populations are still low round here


Hope it picks up for you down there, ive been lucky to find all these...although ive found some others too: victory: Im sure they are out there for you, just go find some woods local to you, and see what turns up.


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## Testudo Man

Brown Silver line Moth.










Common Heath Moth.










I dont know this type of Moth yet?...Woodsman will know:whistling2::2thumb:










Cinnabar Moth.


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## Woodsman

More great pics.wish I could get such good images!
The unidentified one is a Silver Y


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## Amalthea

Testudo Man said:


> Thanks, its always gonna be difficult for photos, when your walking the playful dog.: victory:



:lol2: I know, I know...... Just seems a shame to leave him behind :blush: Plus, I don't trust the scum around here and prefer to have the brat with me.


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## HABU




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## Woodsman

Great photos Habu,beautiful butterflies any chance of the names? the top ones are obviously Swallowtails but no idea of the others.:2thumb:


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## HABU

Woodsman said:


> Great photos Habu,beautiful butterflies any chance of the names? the top ones are obviously Swallowtails but no idea of the others.:2thumb:


so many speices here...


Ohio Division of Wildlife - Butterflies & Skippers of Ohio field guide


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## Hesperia

Stunning photography and creatures!


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## sarasin

Beautiful pics TT, I wish I could take similar ones, but I usually have a 4 yr old with me so I have no chance of getting anywhere near something like that


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## Testudo Man

Woodsman said:


> More great pics.wish I could get such good images!
> The unidentified one is a Silver Y


Thanks for that ID mate, I could have some more Moth ID's coming your way:whistling2:



Amalthea said:


> :lol2: I know, I know...... Just seems a shame to leave him behind :blush: Plus, I don't trust the scum around here and prefer to have the brat with me.


Its always better to set the dog on scum, than bash em with your camera:2thumb:



HABU said:


> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


Nice to see some different types of butterfly there, cheers.



Hesperia said:


> Stunning photography and creatures!


Thanks very much.



sarasin said:


> Beautiful pics TT, I wish I could take similar ones, but I usually have a 4 yr old with me so I have no chance of getting anywhere near something like that


Cheers, I know what its like taking a young one with you, but my youngest is 9 now, so he takes his own camera with him:no1:


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## Testudo Man

I do believe(after searching:blush that these Butterflies are Brown Argus.

I shot these yesterday, in cold, windy, cloudy conditions.


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## vawn

coo ell like blues but brown :2thumb:
have you been to this site yet, plenty of info but also it helps the bubberflies cuz you can add you sightings there n accurate data n all that 

UK Butterflies


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## HABU

Ohio Division of Wildlife - Butterflies & Skippers of Ohio field guide


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## HABU




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## vawn

HABU said:


> image


now you're just showin off :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## HABU

vawn said:


> now you're just showin off :Na_Na_Na_Na:


 haha!! no... this is showing off!


click to play...


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## Woodsman

Is the green one a moon moth or similar Habu? That's a very good website you linked,and to think that just covers the state of Ohio.I wonder how many species are found in the whole of USA.We have less than 60 species of butterfly in the whole of UK.
Here's a link to our website www.butterfly-conservation.org/


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## fergie

Great shots, T.T.


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## Woodsman

Smashing pics of the Brown Argus TT man,a species of carboniferous limestone not found in our area,I've never seen one.


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## vawn

HABU said:


> haha!! no... this is showing off!
> 
> 
> click to play...
> 
> [URL=http://s4.tinypic.com/2dmie5u_th.jpg]image[/URL]


yyyyeah to reiterate, :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## HABU

Woodsman said:


> Is the green one a moon moth or similar Habu? That's a very good website you linked,and to think that just covers the state of Ohio.I wonder how many species are found in the whole of USA.We have less than 60 species of butterfly in the whole of UK.
> Here's a link to our website www.butterfly-conservation.org/


i live in ohio... there are over 900 species of butterflies and moths in ohio alone...

the entire usa?

must be in the thousands of species!:lol2:


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## HABU

sorry about the quality... my camera is crap!:lol2:


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## HABU




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## Woodsman

HABU said:


> i live in ohio... there are over 900 species of butterflies and moths in ohio alone...
> 
> the entire usa?
> 
> must be in the thousands of species!:lol2:


Would be intersting to know the total!
As far as UK goes and including both butterflies and moths we have just over 3000 species.


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## Nicki_

Thanks for this thread! 

I love butterflies so much and I was happily enjoying myself browsing through all the pretty pictures!


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## HABU




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## HABU




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## HABU




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## vawn

i want the blue one :mf_dribble:
i looked into gettin some of those pupa but it would cause probs for the natural species


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## Testudo Man

vawn said:


> coo ell like blues but brown :2thumb:
> have you been to this site yet, plenty of info but also it helps the bubberflies cuz you can add you sightings there n accurate data n all that
> 
> UK Butterflies


Yeah, they are very similar to the blues, just a fair bit smaller in size.

Ive seen that site too, its good for info.



HABU said:


> image


Wow, that looks cool enough to be a kite!



fergie said:


> Great shots, T.T.


Cheers mate, ive gone all out on Butterfly/Moths this year.



Woodsman said:


> Smashing pics of the Brown Argus TT man,a species of carboniferous limestone not found in our area,I've never seen one.


Thanks a lot, we(my young son and I) stumbled on this huge man made hill(dug from a local quarry i would think?) it does look a bit like limestone/chalk? my son has named it Butterfly Hill. Its a cool place, and that were weve been finding some of these butterflies.



HABU said:


> image
> 
> 
> image
> 
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> sorry about the quality... my camera is crap!:lol2:


Some nice looking butterflies here mate.


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## Testudo Man

Comparison between Common Blue and Brown Argus butterfly here.

The Brown Argus(on the right) is the smaller of the two.











Speckled Yellow Moths mating.



















Not sure on this Moth??? Woodsman:whistling2:



















And i think this is a Burnet Companion Moth?


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## HABU

snapped this one last year outside a store...


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## HABU

monarch...


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## carolevali

*Hi, I'm new to this *

I have just joined all about you. I love the magazine and have been going to sign up on line for months......... anyway I got there in the end looking forward to chatting to new people


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## Woodsman

Testudo Man said:


> Comparison between Common Blue and Brown Argus butterfly here.
> 
> The Brown Argus(on the right) is the smaller of the two.
> 
> image
> 
> 
> Speckled Yellow Moths mating.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Not sure on this Moth??? Woodsman:whistling2:
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> And i think this is a Burnet Companion Moth?
> 
> image


Wow! you've been getting some amazing shots.
You're right about the Burnet Companion,I'm not 100% certain but think the unidentified one is a Latticed Heath maybe a bit worn,but seeing as it's a day flying species can't see it being anything else.


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## Woodsman

HABU said:


> image
> 
> 
> monarch...


Habu,all these amazing insects are making me want to emigrate to USA !!!


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## Testudo Man

Woodsman said:


> Wow! you've been getting some amazing shots.
> You're right about the Burnet Companion,I'm not 100% certain but think the unidentified one is a Latticed Heath maybe a bit worn,but seeing as it's a day flying species can't see it being anything else.


Cheers mate, ive put the effort in for some nice shots this year. Thanks for the ID on that moth too: victory:


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## Woodsman

Testudo Man said:


> Cheers mate, ive put the effort in for some nice shots this year. Thanks for the ID on that moth too: victory:


I've got some pics of rather nice micro moths which my wife and son have been trying to put up (I'm hopeless at computer stuff) but they can't get the sizing right.I'll get my elder son to have a go when he comes home from uni.Look forward to seeing more of your pics.


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## Testudo Man

Woodsman said:


> I've got some pics of rather nice micro moths which my wife and son have been trying to put up (I'm hopeless at computer stuff) but they can't get the sizing right.I'll get my elder son to have a go when he comes home from uni.Look forward to seeing more of your pics.


Where are your micro moth pics then mate: victory:


Its been awhile for me, so time for an update.

Large Skipper i think?










Meadow Browns are everywhere right now.










Small Tortoiseshell.










Painted Lady.


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## NickBenger

Wow this is inspiring, I think I will get some photos of the butterflies tomoz I have a photo of a speckled wood so maybe it's time to add to the collection


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## Woodsman

Finally managed to get someone with more computer savvy than me to upload (or should it be download!) some of our micro moth pics.
Most micro moths only go by their scientific names,many are at least as colourful as butterflies.


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## Testudo Man

Woodsman said:


> Finally managed to get someone with more computer savvy than me to upload (or should it be download!) some of our micro moth pics.
> Most micro moths only go by their scientific names,many are at least as colourful as butterflies.
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image
> image


Some nice Moths there mate(great photos too) i might have some more moths for you to ID soon enough.:whistling2:





So onto the Heath Fritillaries, and it seems these are now one of the UK's rarest butterflies. I was within 10 miles of their known habitat a couple of weeks ago, and since i had never seen one before, i had to go get me some pics.:whistling2:




























Here you see attempted mating activity.


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## Woodsman

Testudo Man said:


> Some nice Moths there mate(great photos too) i might have some more moths for you to ID soon enough.:whistling2:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So onto the Heath Fritillaries, and it seems these are now one of the UK's rarest butterflies. I was within 10 miles of their known habitat a couple of weeks ago, and since i had never seen one before, i had to go get me some pics.:whistling2:
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> Here you see attempted mating activity.
> 
> image


Now these I would like to see,as you say-sadly one of our rarest butterflies.And as usual great pics.


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## Testudo Man

Woodsman said:


> Now these I would like to see,as you say-sadly one of our rarest butterflies.And as usual great pics.


Cheers for that, the sun was out and behind me, which made for ideal conditions, so I was very pleased with these photos.

I arrived at the location at just after 3.00pm, I had a tip off were to look for them, and sure enough, within 5 minutes i found some. Their flight is slow, and it seems they glide at times, so it was quite easy to capture good images. I spent a good 30 minutes there, and must have seen at least 10 to 15 of them.


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## NickBenger

Not a great photo but heres one I found whilst on a walk, any ideas on species?..I'll try to keep adding to the thread although I'm not knowledgeably on species I like to see all the pics and would like to see how many species we could get


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## Woodsman

It's a Yellow Shell moth, Dogman.A nice thing to see,they're not really day flying moths but are very easily disturbed from vegetation.
Look forward to seeing more of your pics.:2thumb:


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## NickBenger

Woodsman said:


> It's a Yellow Shell moth, Dogman.A nice thing to see,they're not really day flying moths but are very easily disturbed from vegetation.
> Look forward to seeing more of your pics.:2thumb:


Aaaah it's always awesome to be able to get a specie name so I can research them and know that I saw and photographed that.. Thanks for the compliment and I will keep taking pics. I found it whilst walking the dog, it was certainly fast and was trying to get back into the bush hence the photo isn't great.


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## vonnie

So many great pics and I've still hardly seen anything!

Lots and lots of orange tips, the odd white but apart from those just one peacock and this morning what I think was a ringlet although I couldn't get close enough to get a great ID.

Is this a regional thing? TM are there actually great numbers and variety down there or am I just unlucky?


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## Woodsman

They do have a greater number of butterflies and moths in the southern parts of Britain Vonnie.Also,the recent weather hasn't helped,where they've had drought conditions, it's been wet and cold for us "oop north"
Lets hope for some summer weather soon.:2thumb:


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## Testudo Man

vonnie said:


> So many great pics and I've still hardly seen anything!
> 
> Lots and lots of orange tips, the odd white but apart from those just one peacock and this morning what I think was a ringlet although I couldn't get close enough to get a great ID.
> 
> Is this a regional thing? TM are there actually great numbers and variety down there or am I just unlucky?


I have yet to see a Ringlet myself.

As Woodsman has said, weve had a drought down here(although the last few days its rained a lot) so the climate must play a role in butterfly activity.

Also, i have made the effort to find and photograph butterflies this year, more than I ever have in the past, im just out there looking for them, whilst looking for birds, reptiles and other wildlife too.

I found these in my back garden at the end of May, they are White-letter hairstreaks, and a hell of a job to photograph, because they stay up high in Elm treetops. Since the rain came though, they have vanished now. They are not that common to see by all accounts, and Ive been told they showed early in the year.






















And a Moth for the Woodsman, I dont know what this one is?


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## Woodsman

Testudo Man said:


> I have yet to see a Ringlet myself.
> 
> As Woodsman has said, weve had a drought down here(although the last few days its rained a lot) so the climate must play a role in butterfly activity.
> 
> Also, i have made the effort to find and photograph butterflies this year, more than I ever have in the past, im just out there looking for them, whilst looking for birds, reptiles and other wildlife too.
> 
> I found these in my back garden at the end of May, they are White-letter hairstreaks, and a hell of a job to photograph, because they stay up high in Elm treetops. Since the rain came though, they have vanished now. They are not that common to see by all accounts, and Ive been told they showed early in the year.
> 
> image
> 
> 
> image
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And a Moth for the Woodsman, I dont know what this one is?
> 
> image


Dammit TTman!all these rarities you keep finding make me want to move to Kent. WL Hairstreaks were unheard of in this area,mainly due to the scarcity of elms.My friend set out to find all the Elms in the district and managed to find a few of the butterflies.Apparently they fly round the treetops in sunshine,rarely coming low down.
The moth is a Silver-ground Carpet.


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## Testudo Man

Woodsman said:


> Dammit TTman!all these rarities you keep finding make me want to move to Kent. WL Hairstreaks were unheard of in this area,mainly due to the scarcity of elms.My friend set out to find all the Elms in the district and managed to find a few of the butterflies.Apparently they fly round the treetops in sunshine,rarely coming low down.
> The moth is a Silver-ground Carpet.


Cheers for the Moth ID mate.

Your right, those WL Hairstreaks rarely come down from the treetops, I had to climb on my shed roof just to get close to them, and i had my camera at its max zoom of 18X! They land close to the leaf(almost out of sight) and i only ever saw them in sunlight. Unfortunately we had heavy rain fall and i did find the remains of one stuck to my side car door(just a wing and a couple of limbs) and i havent seen them since:bash:


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## NickBenger

More Identification needed:
This one was TINY.. 
















And this one is illusive, lets test your id knowledge try get this :lol2:


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## Woodsman

TheDogMan said:


> More Identification needed:
> This one was TINY..
> image
> image
> And this one is illusive, lets test your id knowledge try get this :lol2:
> image


Years ago someone tried to make micro moths more accessible by giving them common names.This never caught on,almost all our 1600 or so species of micro moth are known only by their scientific name.
Your little white job was called a Swan-feather Dwarf,scientifically known as _Elachista argentella._
Is the bottom pic.a hidden Gatekeeper?


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## NickBenger

Woodsman said:


> Years ago someone tried to make micro moths more accessible by giving them common names.This never caught on,almost all our 1600 or so species of micro moth are known only by their scientific name.
> Your little white job was called a Swan-feather Dwarf,scientifically known as _Elachista argentella._
> Is the bottom pic.a hidden Gatekeeper?


I don't know mate, sorry I worded that like I had the answer :lol2: ...You don't know the middle one then?


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## HABU

tortoise shell butterfly...


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## NickBenger

HABU said:


> tortoise shell butterfly...


Aaaah thank you, I've found two species when looking these up the small and the large variety. However the large are reported to be extinct in England?So I'd assume this is a small, although tbh it was quite a large butterfully..


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## Woodsman

TheDogMan said:


> Aaaah thank you, I've found two species when looking these up the small and the large variety. However the large are reported to be extinct in England?So I'd assume this is a small, although tbh it was quite a large butterfully..


 Large T.shells do turn up from time to time as immigrants.Yours is definitely a Small.


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## NickBenger

Woodsman said:


> Large T.shells do turn up from time to time as immigrants.Yours is definitely a Small.


Ok :2thumb: These are by far the most plentiful butterflies in my area, they seem to fly next to each other in the air too?I'm not sure if it's fighting or courtship or what?..


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## Woodsman

TheDogMan said:


> Ok :2thumb: These are by far the most plentiful butterflies in my area, they seem to fly next to each other in the air too?I'm not sure if it's fighting or courtship or what?..


 Probably a bit of both.


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## NickBenger

Woodsman said:


> Probably a bit of both.


Still v.interesting to watch, I read that this species is also on the decline so it's nice to know I have seen so many..may indicate good things


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## Woodsman

TheDogMan said:


> Still v.interesting to watch, I read that this species is also on the decline so it's nice to know I have seen so many..may indicate good things


They did suffer a drastic decline,however,this past couple of years has seen a significant increase in numbers.It was thought the decline was due to a parasitic wasp,but recent research suggests other factors were involved.


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## NickBenger

Woodsman said:


> They did suffer a drastic decline,however,this past couple of years has seen a significant increase in numbers.It was thought the decline was due to a parasitic wasp,but recent research suggests other factors were involved.


Interesting, thanks for the info btw.. It's nice to know the species in the area, as I see the same ones everyday but never used to know names


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## vonnie

Well what a difference a couple of weeks makes. Not in variety sadly, but in terms of quantity I've seen a lot this weekend.

Small day flying moths are everywhere, and on a 20 minute walk with the dogs this morning there were dozens and dozens of ringlets.

I also saw a skipper. Unsure whether it was a small or large though, but either way looking at their distribution this is about as far North as they're usually found. Beautiful colour.


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## Testudo Man

vonnie said:


> Well what a difference a couple of weeks makes. Not in variety sadly, but in terms of quantity I've seen a lot this weekend.
> 
> Small day flying moths are everywhere, and on a 20 minute walk with the dogs this morning there were dozens and dozens of ringlets.
> 
> I also saw a skipper. Unsure whether it was a small or large though, but either way looking at their distribution this is about as far North as they're usually found. Beautiful colour.


Glad to see you guys up north are getting to see some Butterflies. Its supposed to be a good year for large skippers, so i heard.

Ive been busy searching:whistling2: 

Ringlet(my 1st sighting).










This is probably a pair of large Skippers(Male on left, Female on right).










A very poor shot of a Purple Hairstreak(my 1st sighting).










Another 1st sighting for me, and this was very difficult to get a chance of a photo...I got very lucky(but i did put in a lot of effort for this)

A fantastic butterfly, A White Admiral.


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## fergie

I can only hope and pray to see such an array of butterflies and moths. I did get some shots on Saturday which I'll upload once I get them sorted.


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## Testudo Man

fergie said:


> I can only hope and pray to see such an array of butterflies and moths. I did get some shots on Saturday which I'll upload once I get them sorted.


Look forward to seeing your pics mate.

This is the 1st year ive really made the effort to find local(to me)Butterflies and Moths. I did take a few photos of Butterflies last year, but not as much as this year. I should have a count up soon, Im doing well:whistling2:


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## vonnie

Well I am just giddy with excitement this evening!!! I'll come on here and waffle about it because no-one else in this house would have the slightest interest 

First red admiral of the year this morning. Then on the evening walk I was kicking myself for not taking a camera as I was studying one of the ringlets at close range when a blue damselfly landed literally inches from me! The first I have ever seen in that area.

Got back home and walking to the back door I spotted something among the flowers. Well I couldn't miss it. Flight pattern similar to a bee but it was HUGE. I've never seen anything like it. It never stopped for long enough for me to get a great look, but I could tell from the wing shape and the speed the wings were beating that it had to be a moth. But then it also had a 'tail', black with white marks.

Rushed in to ID it and as you've probably guessed it was one of these

Identify a day-flying moth - Butterfly Conservation)

It was even on red valerian, as per the description :lol2: As usual when I see something interesting to me, it's actually quite common, but I'm still chuffed. What a beautiful creature.


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## Woodsman

vonnie said:


> Well I am just giddy with excitement this evening!!! I'll come on here and waffle about it because no-one else in this house would have the slightest interest
> 
> First red admiral of the year this morning. Then on the evening walk I was kicking myself for not taking a camera as I was studying one of the ringlets at close range when a blue damselfly landed literally inches from me! The first I have ever seen in that area.
> 
> Got back home and walking to the back door I spotted something among the flowers. Well I couldn't miss it. Flight pattern similar to a bee but it was HUGE. I've never seen anything like it. It never stopped for long enough for me to get a great look, but I could tell from the wing shape and the speed the wings were beating that it had to be a moth. But then it also had a 'tail', black with white marks.
> 
> Rushed in to ID it and as you've probably guessed it was one of these
> 
> Identify a day-flying moth - Butterfly Conservation)
> 
> It was even on red valerian, as per the description :lol2: As usual when I see something interesting to me, it's actually quite common, but I'm still chuffed. What a beautiful creature.


Always exciting to see Humminbird Hawkmoths,and they're not that common at all.If you can get hold of some Nicotiana affinis tobacco plants from a garden centre,and watch the flowers at dusk,you may attract Convolvulus Hawkmoths,these share the distinction of being the largest moths to visit UK with the Deaths Head Hawkmoth.When first seen they are often mistaken for a bird.Make sure the plants are affinis or alata though,these have the strongest scent of all tobacco plants,the various cultivated forms are useless.
In our local woods last night,the Gold Swift moths were doing their mating dances above the bracken,they look just like little puppets on strings.Well worth checking out any bracken patches at dusk.The males emit a pheromone which smells of pineapple!


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## NickBenger

I went to a new area, I've seen the top species before but not managed to get a good photo but I've never seen the bottom species.


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## Testudo Man

Been off the forum for awhile:whistling2:

So a couple of new ones from me.

Male Silver-washed fritillary. (photographed 30th of June)












Another 1st for me, shot these pics on the 1st July. A Hummingbird Hawk moth both in flight, and at rest.






















And a note to the *Woodsman*...Ive took the plunge, and set up a very small basic "Moth trap" (made from stuff just lying around:blush...It works quite well too mate, I reckon i have over 30 different types of moths so far, Ive just gotta try and ID the blighters now:whistling2::blush:


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## vonnie

You got a pic of the hummingbird :gasp: I didn't even bother trying. Didn't think my camera would cope with the speed of those wings!

Mine was back in the garden again on Saturday and I got a really good look at it this time. They're just stunning to look at aren't they.


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## Woodsman

TheDogMan said:


> image
> image
> I went to a new area, I've seen the top species before but not managed to get a good photo but I've never seen the bottom species.


Good pics.
Your top one is a Ringlet and the other one looks like a Marbled White which is a much more localised beast.


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## Woodsman

Testudo Man said:


> Been off the forum for awhile:whistling2:
> 
> So a couple of new ones from me.
> 
> Male Silver-washed fritillary. (photographed 30th of June)
> 
> image
> 
> 
> 
> Another 1st for me, shot these pics on the 1st July. A Hummingbird Hawk moth both in flight, and at rest.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And a note to the *Woodsman*...Ive took the plunge, and set up a very small basic "Moth trap" (made from stuff just lying around:blush...It works quite well too mate, I reckon i have over 30 different types of moths so far, Ive just gotta try and ID the blighters now:whistling2::blush:


I've not been on for a while either.
A lot of Hummingbird Hawkmoths in the country at the moment,I had one in the polytunnel the other day.I've got my tobacco plants in flower ready for the hoped for influx of Convolvulus Hawkmoths.
Good on you for setting up a trap,you soon learn to I.d.them,apart from the micro's that is.


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## NickBenger

Woodsman said:


> Good pics.
> Your top one is a Ringlet and the other one looks like a Marbled White which is a much more localised beast.


Aaah thank you, As I said I've seen ringlets before. The marbled white's were found on a big hilly area (Cadbury Camp) just outside of my town I think the area's ran by the national trust. There were a fair few in the area.


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## Woodsman

TheDogMan said:


> Aaah thank you, As I said I've seen ringlets before. The marbled white's were found on a big hilly area (Cadbury Camp) just outside of my town I think the area's ran by the national trust. There were a fair few in the area.


 You southerners have all the luck! we have neither Marbled Whites nor T.T man's Silver-washed Fritillaries in North Wales:mrgreen:


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## NickBenger

Woodsman said:


> You southerners have all the luck! we have neither Marbled Whites nor T.T man's Silver-washed Fritillaries in North Wales:mrgreen:


that's just the way the cookie crumbles... :lol2:


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## Testudo Man

vonnie said:


> You got a pic of the hummingbird :gasp: I didn't even bother trying. Didn't think my camera would cope with the speed of those wings!
> 
> Mine was back in the garden again on Saturday and I got a really good look at it this time. They're just stunning to look at aren't they.


You should of had a go at taking some pics of the Humming bird hawk moth, theres a certain amount of luck involved in getting a half decent shot of it though...plus your camera is higher spec than mine, so i reckon you would have done alright...And you are very lucky to have one visit your own garden:gasp:




Woodsman said:


> I've not been on for a while either.
> A lot of Hummingbird Hawkmoths in the country at the moment,I had one in the polytunnel the other day.I've got my tobacco plants in flower ready for the hoped for influx of Convolvulus Hawkmoths.
> Good on you for setting up a trap,you soon learn to I.d.them,apart from the micro's that is.


My PC "bit the dust" hence the reason Ive been quiet on here, but its all good now, so i can start to post some moth pics soon enough:whistling2:.

Here is a pic of my "lash up" moth trap:blush:...I think I need to make a better one though, i reckon im missing a lot of moths, because hardly any of them are found inside, I found a fair few around the area of the moth trap.


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## Woodsman

Testudo Man said:


> You should of had a go at taking some pics of the Humming bird hawk moth, theres a certain amount of luck involved in getting a half decent shot of it though...plus your camera is higher spec than mine, so i reckon you would have done alright...And you are very lucky to have one visit your own garden:gasp:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My PC "bit the dust" hence the reason Ive been quiet on here, but its all good now, so i can start to post some moth pics soon enough:whistling2:.
> 
> Here is a pic of my "lash up" moth trap:blush:...I think I need to make a better one though, i reckon im missing a lot of moths, because hardly any of them are found inside, I found a fair few around the area of the moth trap.
> 
> image


I must confess to being hopeless at making anything,consequently all my traps are bought ones.
Perhaps the bulb is too high above the trap on yours? the usual bulb used is 125w mercury vapour but these need a choke.For field trapping we use 160w MBT blended bulbs suspended in front of a sheet.These don't need a choke but explode violently if just a few raindrops hit them.
A good guide to building your own trap-google ALS guide to moth trapping.
Happy trapping!!be warned it's highly addictive.


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## Testudo Man

Woodsman said:


> I must confess to being hopeless at making anything,consequently all my traps are bought ones.
> Perhaps the bulb is too high above the trap on yours? the usual bulb used is 125w mercury vapour but these need a choke.For field trapping we use 160w MBT blended bulbs suspended in front of a sheet.These don't need a choke but explode violently if just a few raindrops hit them.
> A good guide to building your own trap-google ALS guide to moth trapping.
> Happy trapping!!be warned it's highly addictive.


 
Your right, its a bit addictive:blush: I reckon I have 50 to 75(maybe more?!) new moth species from the garden:whistling2: Ive just gotta name em now!!! Ive made another moth trap too(very very basic) so Ive one in the back garden, and the other one under the carport.
Ive got some pretty good photos this last month, but ive been off the forum (again) for awhile.

Back to the Butterflies...

Male Chalkhill Blue.










Female Chalkhill Blue.










Gatekeeper.










Holly blue.


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## vawn

i've been seeing loadsa gatekeepers lately :2thumb:


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