Fluttery with Excitement

It's been quite a while since I last posted a blog; however, this is mainly due to the fact that I have been tirelessly chasing after things that flutter! It's has been a most generous season thus far, with the new species keeping on clocking up!

The first of the new species was the stunning Orange Tips, seen at Osborne House. Frustratingly, they just never seem to want to land, at least, whilst coupling is on their mind, so thus far I have only managed to snap a brief shot of one at rest. I should make the observation that the underwing is as appealing as the upper!

After the Orange Tip, I went off in search of the Green Hairstreak. Albeit I have been hunting butterflies for less than a year, the majority of them I have seen before, whilst I thought that the Green Hairstreak wouldn't be a local. However, after some top advice from a local enthusiast, I went off in search of them up Afton Downs. Well, this is not a place for the feint of heart, it's near on vertical! Nonetheless, after a brief stomp we spotted our first ever specimen, which was quickly proceeded by spotting quite a number of them! I was astounded to see just how small they were, being no more than the size of a 20p coin.

So came the next hunt, in search of the Painted Lady which had evaded me all season last year. It was during a stomp up to Needles viewpoint (nr. Old Battery) to capture a sunset photo that by pure chance a pair, dancing in front of me, decided to come to rest. Albeit not the best photos I have taken, I fired off what snaps I could and ticked it off the species list! Another in the bag. After this, whilst taking a stroll through the Brook coastal path, another came to rest in front of me, posing as the sunlight radiated through its stunning wings. It's quite interesting over time how you come to notice the different flight patters on butterflies, with the painted lady being less pacey and more like something being bobbed up and down on a string (in my view...)

The final (butterfly) success story came from multiple attempts at spotting the IoW exclusive Glanville Fritillary. We had around 4 or 5 trips to Wheelers Bay before finally catching glimpse of the beautiful creatures. In my opinion, the underwing is actually its grandest feature. I was lucky to come accross some coupling, which gave me an opportunity to get close enough to capture its true beauty.

Although I have sighted them before, at the same time as the Glanvilles, I spotted a number of Clouded Yellows and although the picture quality isn't as I would have liked, the fact they rarely rest meant it was a valuable capture nonetheless.

Plenty of Green Veined Whites about (below).

Small Heaths coupling (below).

Large White (below).

First of the Small Blues spotted at Mounjoy (below).

Grizzled Skippers are now in flight (below).