2008
22
JUL
|
Adonis Blues at Lydden Temple Ewell |
|
|
Tuesday, 22 July 2008 |
Adonis Blues at Lydden Temple Ewell | - Click on the image above to view gallery
|
|
This time of year is always an exciting time if you enjoy watching blue butterflies, as late July and August is the time when many species of blue butterflies emerge either for the first time or for some their second broods of the year. I’m very lucky that one of the best places for blue butterflies locally is at Lydden Temple Ewell: a nature reserve just outside of Dover. The reserve is on chalk downland: perfect for blue butterflies as it’s just the type of habitat where their larval food plants grow. It just so happens that we live just 20 minutes from there so it’s never too much of a problem to nip over there whenever the weather is suitable.
Now the weather has been the problem this year as summer has once again been very disappointing. If you want to get pictures of butterflies the ideal weather would be a calm, warm sunny day and how many of those have we had this year? I’m not deterred though and even when the conditions are less than perfect I’ll still visit just to see what is about. On one such visit I was wondering what on earth I was doing there. It clouded over, was starting to rain and the wind blew up so strong it was very unpleasant. I’d seen only a handful of butterflies as they were all hiding very sensibly in the grass. So I set about packing up my bag ready to go home thinking this visit had been a waste of time. While I was doing just this I noticed a tiny plant which had in the past evaded me: an orchid with the very grand name of Autumn Lady’s Tresses (Spiranthus spiralis). It’s such an insignificant flower not a bit like all the other spectacular orchids I’d taken pictures of during this year. It’s easy to see why you might never notice it and I must have walked past it on previous visits too. I’m certain that if I had been taking pictures of butterflies that afternoon I would never have seen it.
I have visited on several occasions now and each time has had a different highlight just like finding the orchid. I have learnt it’s best never really to expect too much especially if the weather is against you as this can often leave you feeling very disappointed in your blurry shots when you see them on the computer screen. The biggest enemy when taking macro shots is the wind. If the subject you are trying desperately to get in focus is constantly on the move there is really not much you can do. I’ve learnt that very often if you are patient there is a lull in the wind and if you are lucky then a butterfly will be in a good position for a picture just at the right moment. Also, if you get a willing subject at any time you have to make the most of it.
Now blue butterflies are just so delightful, none more so than the Adonis Blue (Polymmatus bergus) and there is nothing like the excitement I feel when I see the flash of electric blue whizzing past me and I’m certain I’ve seen a male. If the sun catches them just right they really are stunning. As a complete contrast the female seems very drab until you look closely. One time this year I found a female who I was certain was just emerging as her wings were all crumpled and had a iridescent sheen to her. She was busy feeding on Marjoram and it was really good to get a close look at her but I could only really see the details once I saw the pictures on the computer.
Another very common butterfly at Lydden is the Chalkhill Blue (Polymmatus coridon). It’s usual for this gorgeous butterfly to emerge in very large numbers and if you are lucky enough to be at a site soon after this happens you are likely to see hundreds flying very low to the ground, especially if it’s a sunny day. The delight of a Chalkhill Blue only really becomes obvious to me when you see the pictures on the computer screen. They are just delightful and also very hairy too: something that would be hard to see if you didn’t have a picture to view.  Adonis Blue  Chalkhill Blue  Common Blue In the mix of blue butterflies there is also the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus). As these are roughly the same size as the Adonis Blue (3.2 cm) they can sometimes be mistaken for one, but once you see an Adonis Blue there’s no mistaking it. To add to the confusion, female blue butterflies are brown with sometimes a patch of blue on their wings. So how on earth do you tell all these blue butterflies apart as they are flying past you at speed? It can be hard but once you start watching them it does get easier and of course there is always the photos you have to help with identification. One way you can be certain too is the pattern and colour on the underwings, which are very distinctive for each species. A handy tip if you want to get a close look at them from a distance is to have a pair of binoculars with you.
Recommended Reading If you are interesting in finding out more about Britain's butterflies, these books are very handy to have. You can buy them directly through Amazon.co.uk from this site.   
|
There are of course far more butterflies than the blue varieties at Lydden and several visits over the whole season will ensure you get to see those too. It’s a well known site for seeing Silver-spotted Skippers (Hesperia comma) too, although they are so fast you have to very observant and you can be watching them one second and the next they seem to vanish. They like to feed on Scabious, so they do stop but only very briefly. The pictures were taken over several visits in at times very frustrating weather on many occasions I have sat waiting patiently for the sun to come out and with it the butterflies Good job I’ve plenty of patience as taking pictures of butterflies requires a rather large amount of it
 |
|
|
