Bonchurch Down Delivers a Bevy of Butterflies.

The south facing slopes of Bonchurch Down look out over the English Channel.The Down is well known for the Adonis Blue Butterfly as well as a selection of other butterfly species.The Adonis is not yet on the wing but a walk along the slopes this morning produced a bevy of butterflies.

It was the first sighting this year of Common Blue,Brown Argus,Dingy Skipper,and a Clouded Yellow.The latter is known to breed just a short distance away around Wheelers Bay where adults are observed regularly in April.More than likely the individual seen today was a migrant as we have been  enjoying a very warm southerly wind recently.

New Spring Butterflies.

Spring has now arrived and several newly emerged species are to be seen on the wing.It is always a treat to see the first Orange Tip and at Wheelers Bay today a male was busily feeding on the flowers of the many Honesty plants that grow in any sheltered sunny spot.Another new species here was a male Holly Blue which occasionally stopped its brakeneck flight to nectar on any blooms.

Back at home a female Large White visited my garden to feed on the abundant flowers of our Berberis.This shrub is always a magnet for the bumblebees and also it seems, for this hungry White.

Late Summer Colours.

Not too far from Wheelers Bay is Bonchurch Down, well known for its downland butterflies.This south facing Down has a good population of Adonis Blues and now the second brood of the year is on the wing.Many of the stunningly coloured males are now showing signs of wear but they are still strikingly impressive.

Among other butterflies seen on the Down yesterday are Common Blue,Brown Argus,Meadow Brown, and I am very glad to say,Small Copper.These quarrelsome and restless little butterflies have suffered a decline recently,perhaps due to poor summer weather,so it is good to encounter them now.

 

The Red Devil.

Red Valerian is known by numerous other names one of which is Devil's Beard.So on a long overdue visit ot Wheelers Bay yesterday it was a treat to see drifts of these red flowers along the banks and cliffs of the Bay.The flower is a magnet for butterflies and insects here, particularly as a nectar source for any new arrivals coming in off the sea.
Among the regular visitors to the Bay at this time of year is the Painted Lady ,which like Clouded Yellow, also seen at this time here too,are sometimes out  in good numbers.The latter in particular can be observed flying continuously up and down the revetement only occasionally stopping to nectar from the valerian.

All Now in Top Gear.

That prolonged spell of cold and windy weather has seemingly passed and we are now enjoying very warm sunshine and light breezes.Needless to say that has produced great activity in the butterfly world.

A visit to Bonchurch this morning was rewarded with my first sighting of our Glanville Fritillaries,just two were spotted but numbers are expected to increase quickly in the sunshine over the next few days.Judging by the high count of caterpillars and webs earlier in the year it could well be a bumper year. Another new species for the season was the Common Blue,seen at the same location.This was followed by a walk on Bonchurch Down and after some searching we succeeded in seeing four Common Blue,a Small Copper,one Small Heath,and two Dingy Skippers.The latter two species were also first sightings of 2016.

The Holly Blue pictured below had just emerged and when the wings have developed,she would expect  to take to the air. 

 

Spring Gets Going.

Today the first adult Glanville Fritillary was seen here on the Isle of Wight at Wheelers Bay.Seemingly an early date for the first emergence as the weather has not been kind

I had confined myself to yet another visit to Whiteways in the hope of seeing the Dingy Skipper.Alas no luck,but a count of 3 Green Hairstreak including a mating pair,a Small Copper plus two male Small Blue having a aerial duel was an encouraging total.

Old and New.

The weather remains settled with plenty of sunshine.However at Wheelers Bay today that persistent easterly breeze prevented many butterflies from taking to the wing.Still,the warmth of the early afternoon did tempt out a Large White that fluttered past as I sat on a seaside bench.This must be a very early record for this species and it was soon followed by the discovery of a Small Tortoiseshell that had found a bare piece of ground to sun itself.

The Glanville Fritillary caterpillars seem to be progressing well with several large webs.Many caterpillars were out in the sun and hope is that this will be bumper season.

  

Sky Blue Adonis Blue.

A long overdue visit to Wheelers Bay at Bonchurch yesterday discovered  some late summer colour behind the revetment at the base of the cliffs.Several species of butterfly were feeding on the ample drifts of Red Valerian and other flowering plants. Among them, a single male Adonis Blue splendid in striking sky blue. August and September is the time of the Adonis Blue second emergence of the season on our downland,so this individual is some distance away from his usual habitat on Bonchurch Down.

Visiting My Favourite Island Sites.

The prospect of a warm and sunny spring day encouraged me to visit a few of my favourite locations on the Island.First stop the National Trust owned Whiteways Quarry now a Viewpoint Carpark, commanding majestic views over our south-western coast.Here at the old quarry, a fantastic assortment of spring butterflies are protected by the shelter of Afton Down and today there was another new species to see.The Small Blue is our smallest butterfly and lives in very compact colonies.The males are usually the first to emerge and can be recognized by the dusting of blue scales on their upper wings.At least three were present today.Also here were a pair of mating Wall Brown butterflies.This species has declined in the UK over the years but can still be seen in good numbers on the Isle of Wight.

Leaving the carpark for a drive south along the coast to Wheelers Bay at Bonchurch, for another look at our Glanville Fritillaries which are the first in the country to appear at this location.Although at times the cloud shaded the sun today I counted four individuals.Many more will emerge along our southern coast during May.

Finally a steep walk up to Bonchurch Down that overlooks the village of Bonchuch and  the town of Ventnor.This south facing Down is one of the prime places on the Island for the spectacular Adonis Blue butterfly and a walk along the Downs' steep sides produced a first male Adonis.

Our Special One on the Wing.

Following several days of gale force winds along our Island coast,today we had just a lively breeze with plenty of sunshine.An ideal opportunity to see the newly emerged Glanville Fritillaries and an early start this morning produced one very new butterfly seeking a sheltered sunny spot away from the breeze.

Baywatch.

The sunny weather is still here and a visit to Wheelers Bay was a must today.The brisk breeze of the morning abated in the afternoon warmth and I was pleased to come upon two Common Blue butterflies.The first  a very bright blue male that I had already heard was on the wing at the Bay.The second a beautiful blue variety female with orange margins, rather than the normal brown colour of most females. The undersides of both sexes are similar but the female underside is slightly browner than the male.
As usual the Clouded Yellows were evident by their swift flight along the base of the cliff and I was lucky to be treated to the sight of a female helice form briefly flitting from dandelion to dandelion, before it flew on.

There are numerous references to Wheelers Bay on my blog with photographs of this coastal stretch between the town of Ventnor and the village of Bonchurch.
It is perhaps the best spot on the Island for butterflies as many species can be seen here throughout the season.With the Bays south facing position continental species do fly in over the Channel given favourable conditions.

The piece de resistance of this site however is the presence of the Glanville Fritillary that was encouraged to colonize here in the early 1990s because of a suitable habitat in which to breed.Although numbers at the Bay have fallen over the years due to some habitat loss it is the first place to see newly emerged Glanvilles in the UK. 

Warmest Day of the Year.

Temperatures rose to their highest of the year so far today and a visit to Wheelers Bay at Bonchurch resulted in two Clouded Yellow butterflies racing along the revetment plus two Holly Blue,one of which was a female egg laying on a small rowan tree and another taking the salts on the chalk.

Recalling Januarys' Painted Ladies.

Now that January is almost here again and perhaps the worst of our winter weather is yet to come I remember the month of January 2013 when summer and winter arrived.

The first day of the year produced the first butterfly of the year with a Painted Lady at Wheelers Bay, at Ventnor. The mild weather then continued and on one of a few spring-like days during that first two weeks of the month we were treated to at least three Painted Ladies at the bay. At this time of course,flowering plants are at a premium but the slopes of cliffs at the bay are covered in Winter Heliotrope and it is in flower.This was obviously a welcome food source to these butterflies and they spent a lot of time and energy nectaring on these plants.

But the balmy weather was not to last as within the next few days the winter blast arrived and cold snowy conditions prevailed. I hope that they had the sense to head south after stocking up on the Heliotrope at the bay.