Norfolk Butterflies and Moths (3 Viewers)

[Jabberwocky]

Doing some decorating today when my o/h calls theres a butterfly in the garden. Eventually found this Red Admiral sunning itself on the car.

Lewis

 

[HarassedDad]

And someone's just sent me a photo of a pair of RA in cop, taken today!
I had a small tort in Yarmouth on Saturday, so still stuff flying.

 

[pbst39]

Unknown Caterpillar

Hi,

A friend emailed me this picture of a caterpillar. It was taken in Norwich in late september and was apparently about an inch and a half long. I have very little experience in identifying caterpillars and wondered if anyone could help,

thanks in advance

Pete

 

[Birding Bob]

Hi,

A friend emailed me this picture of a caterpillar. It was taken in Norwich in late september and was apparently about an inch and a half long. I have very little experience in identifying caterpillars and wondered if anyone could help,

thanks in advance

Pete

Looks like a Pale Tussock Calliteara pudibunda to me.Rob.

 

[Tractorboy69]

Small Tortoiseshell sunning itself on the clifftop at West Runton today, I guess taking advantage of the mild weather were currently having.

Simon

 

[Andy Benson]

Had a Red Admiral on the wing yesterday in Thorpe St Andrew, will this be the last of the year!

 

[HarassedDad]

The record is one seen 31st December 2006 - so you never know. (They have a habit of waking up on warm days - which is probably why they don't survive hibernation as well as peacocks and small torts.

 

[Lightthiscandle]

Still flying!

Had a Small Tort and a Peacock in the garden at lunchtime: they were feeding, too! (On sedum)

 

[HarassedDad]

Ha! I'd just knocked them off the "Still flying" list on the website - should have known that would get them out and about.

 

[rob lee]

I originally put this on the general forum but thought i`d better re-post here as i know the county recorder has a lot of input on this thread. On the 17th of Jan. i got a call from the kids about a moth/butterfly in our back room, rushing in i was amazed to see a Speckled Wood fluttering weakly up the wall. Answers to my previous post were that it was probably brought into the house as a pupa & had hatched out due to the house`s heating. However, looking at the photo i don`t see a particularly fresh specimen & also our house is hardly what you would call well heated. Answers on a postcard please to ........?

 

[HarassedDad]

I'm gobsmacked. But it's not a Speckled Wood but a Wall Brown. (Check out the third photo here http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=megera and compare with your photo.)

Off the top of my head there's no record of one over-wintering anywhere in the UK, ever. But I'll check that and post back. Wall is now mainly found in Norfolk along the north and east coasts, with isolated records from the brecks: where are you?

 

[rob lee]

Hi, thanks, i`m also gobsmacked, but more due to my miss-i.d.
I`m in Cromer & have never seen Wall Brown hereabouts, plenty of Speckled Woods though . Seriously, I think the last one i saw was on Kelling Heath in 2008.
On the day in question, it was sunny (but cold, so no windows open) & my wife had recently brought some sheets in from the washing line, so i think the insect was possibly basking on them & as she put them on the airer it was then noticed. All supposition of course.

 

[HarassedDad]

Last record of Wall in Cromer was 2003, on the cliffs. The earliest records I have are 28-Feb-03, 08-Mar-09, 29-Mar-02 Sadly the recorders didn't note the condition so we don't know if they were early emergers or late survivors. It seems likely - given the state of your insect - that it over-wintered (hurrah for digital cameras). Interestingly I have another record of "a dark butterfly" seen that day at the top of a tree, so it must have been warm enough to them to wake up.

 

[Tractorboy69]

Just for info I saw Wall near the radar station at Overstrand in August (pic attached) and I've a vague recollection of seeing one on the cliffs below Cromer GC too last summer so there are obviously a few about in the near vicinity to Cromer.

Regards

Simon

 

[HarassedDad]

Thanks, I've added it to the database. Just shows how poorly recorded the county is that it's the first record since 2003. So far I've had 20,000 records for 2009, but they covered only a third of the county - I got no records at all from TF60, and only one report each from TG00 and TL59. Those are 100 sq km areas with no or very little recording at all. So please encourage family and friends to submit records - if they can only ID Red Admirals, then get them to report just Red Admirals - it all helps.

 

[HarassedDad]

Rob, your photo has certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons - with several people questioning my ID! Some questions if I may: Did anyone in the house visit Spain this year? (One suggestion is Southern Speckled Wood in your luggage!), and, if the beastie is still with the small torts, could you get a shot of the underside? and finally, if it dies can we have the corpse please - if all else fails a disection of the genitalia will give a definative ID. Thanks

PS I now have two further records for 2010: a peacock seen Jan 7th, and a Brimstone on Feb 7th.

 

[rob lee]

Hi Andy, thanks for the feedback. We`ve been nowhere near Spain this year or indeed last year for that matter. By S.S.Wood i presume you mean P.a.aegeria, as is in my book ? I can see where they are coming from as regards the ground colour. Unfortunately it may have to remain a mystery as the butterfly did not settle with the S.Torts & was continually fluttering at the window to get out. As i did`nt know what to do for the best & it was sunny i decided to let the insect go in the hope that it would perhaps find a hibernating spot more to its own liking. The photo i posted was the only one of about 10 i took that was worth keeping as the insect was almost continually fluttering, so no underwing shot i`m afraid. Looking at the photo more critically now, my own thoughts for what its worth is that although the sex brand looks good for Wall the forewing ocelli is not isolated as in both sexes of that species & in S5 on the hindwing there is a black spot in the larger orange one like a female S.Wood but not shown by either sex of Wall Brown. Interesting.

 

[HarassedDad]

I had a chance to show your photo to a regional BC meeting at Cambridge yesterday, and the concensus was P.a. aegeria (which I confess I'd never even considered it as a possibility). So not a world first, but a very strange record. It must have pupated indoors somewhere - perhaps a neighbour had released it earlier and your sheet theory is correct.

In other news, Marbled White made it into suffolk (just) last year, being seen on the cambridge/suffolk border: while there are no norfolk records this year it's surely only a matter of time before it's added to our resident list. Purple Emperor continues to thrive just over the border in Theberton Woods in Suffolk (TM4265), and one adult was seen at Minsmere.

 

[HarassedDad]

Dersingham Bog has Orange Underwing and Yellow Horned flying at the moment, and Suffolk has comma and brimstone. So where's the Norfolk butterflies? Brimstone at least should be out by the weekend. (Devon's got GVW flying already!)

 

[Jabberwocky]

Dersingham Bog has Orange Underwing and Yellow Horned flying at the moment, and Suffolk has comma and brimstone. So where's the Norfolk butterflies? Brimstone at least should be out by the weekend. (Devon's got GVW flying already!)

There was a report of a Brimstone in Norwich on the butterfly thread the other day. Haven't seen any myself in the Brecks yet. http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=165788