Off the mark
I’m relieved to finally get my butterfly season off the mark with a Brimstone and a Peacock today. I feel I’ve been letting the side down!
Brimstone Butterfly, Gonepteryx rhamni
The Last Comma
Winter’s on its way, they’ll soon be gone. Enjoy the weekend.
Comma, Polygonia c-album. Sony DSC-HX20V f4.5 14.8mm 1/160 ISO 100
Large Skipper
It wasn’t a vintage summer for butterflies, but I did quite well for skippers, recording all three species which occur in this part of the country.
Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus. Nikon D5200 Tokina 100mm f16 1/90 ISO 200
Scrape scrape
I hadn’t anticipated scraping the photographic barrel this early in the year, but a combination of Life and The Weather means I am. Consequently, expect to be subjected to my Greatest Hits album for a while, either until the weather improves or Life goes away and stops bothering me. These are shots from the summer that slipped through the net somehow and never got published.
Peacock, Aglais io. Nikon D5200 Tamron 150-600mm f8 300mm 1/125 ISO 200
Fresh
At a time when so many butterflies are looking tatty and tired, it’s good to see spanking fresh Speckled Woods, which can have up to three generations per year, emerging. This is a butterfly that I tend to associate with the arrival of spring, but they are even more welcome at this dog-eared end of the season.
Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria. Nikon D5200 Tamron 17-50mm f8 50mm 1/250 ISO 200
My lasting shame and embarrassment
Silver-Washed Fritillary, Argynnis paphia. Nikon D5200 Tokina 100mm f16 1/125 ISO 200
It is to my lasting shame and embarrassment that it has taken me so long to get to Bedford Purlieus. Fabulous.
Painted Lady
Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui. Sony DSC-HX20V f4.5 18mm 1/320 ISO 100
It’s enough to turn a chap’s head – although based on the shape of the abdomen, I think this Lady is a bloke?
Interesting Painted Lady fact: This is the only butterfly species ever to have been recorded in Iceland.
Marbled White
Marbled White, Melanargia galathea. Nikon D5200 Tokina 100mm f11 1/750 ISO 200
Speckled Wood
Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria. Nikon D5200 Tokina 100mm f16 1/350 ISO 200
Nothing unusual, but I rather like this shot.
AJC Photography 