All
observations by Andy Horton, unless stated otherwise.|
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Sussex
Butterfly Reports (Butterfly Conservation Society)
UK
Butterflies: Sightings
Adur
Butterfly Species
Adur
Moths
Adur
Butterfly Flight Times
Adur
Butterflies: First Dates
Adur
Skippers
Adur
Nature Notes 2011
Adur
Butterfly List 2010
Adur
Butterfly List 2011
Adur
Butterfly List 2012
UK
Butterflies & Moths (alphabetical order by common name)
Sussex
Moth Group Sightings
Diapause
(=hibernation)
UK Leps Taxonomic Butterfly List
27
November 2021
A
Red
Admiral Butterfly was seen on Shoreham
Beach.
A Red Admiral Butterfly fluttered around the Ivy by the cyclepath at Old Shoreham when the sun came out in the afternoon for a brief moment.
25
October 2021
A
Red
Admiral Butterfly fluttered around the
Eastern Avenue railway level crossing gates where there is a
Buddleia
near by.
12
October 2021
White
butterflies fluttered around by the river
at Old Shoreham and a Red Admiral.
11
October 2021
White
butterflies fluttered around by the river
and a Red Admiral
at Cuckoo's Corner,.
6 October
2021
A
white
butterfly fluttered over Kingston Broadway
and a Red Admiral
over the byway to the downs at the top of Kingston Lane.
1 October
2021
A
white
butterfly fluttered around by the river.
22
September 2021
A
Comma
Butterfly visited blackberries
at the top of the southern steps to the lower slopes of Mill
Hill where two Clouded Yellow Butterflies
chased
each other over a large area. Other
butterflies
were occasional
Meadow
Browns,
a worn and damaged Adonis Blue,
occasional
Common
Blues,
a few Whites,
and a few Small Heaths,
17
September 2021
A
Clouded
Yellow Butterfly flew restlessly over
the upper part of Mill Hill searching
for nectar amongst the paucity of flowers.
6 September
2021
Scores
of House Martins
flew to and fro over Mill Hill
prior to emigration. A trek to the lower slopes was curtailed because of
excessive warmth and humidity. Devil's
Bit Scabious was seen flowering at the
northern end. The usual gamut of butterflies
included 40+ Meadow
Browns,
12+ Adonis Blues, 8+
Chalkhill
Blues, occasional
Common
Blues,
frequent Whites,
frequent Small Heaths,
at least one each of Clouded Yellow, Brown
Argus,
Painted Lady (2), Red
Admiral.
31
August 2021
.jpg) |
The Holly Blue is easily identified in early spring, as it emerges well before other blue butterflies. It tends to fly high around bushes and trees, whereas other grassland blues usually stay near ground level. It the common blue found in parks and gardens where it congregates around Holly (in spring) and Ivy (in late summer and autumn). |
Large Whites were common in residential Shoreham on a cloudy day with a few Holly Blues.
27
August 2021
Large
Whites were frequently
seen with a few
Holly Blues.
26 August 2021
Adonis Blue on Carline Thistle
A Kestrel hovered over Mill Hill until after a few minutes a dog appeared and it flew off. Scores of butterflies were disturbed over the lower slopes and for a few minutes when the sun shined in the afternoon this rose to nearly two hundred: 80+ Meadow Browns, 30+ Adonis Blues, 25+ Chalkhill Blues, occasional Common Blues, a few Large Whites, Small Heaths, at least one each of Clouded Yellow, Small Copper, Brown Argus and Treble-bar and Carpet Moths.
22
August 2021
Anchor
Bottom: frequent Meadow
Browns,
occasional
Common Blues, three Adonis
Blues, a few Large
Whites,
one
Peacock
Butterfly, three Small
Heaths, including a mating pair, two Small
Tortoiseshells, and near Dacre Gardens
there were two Holly Blues.
Bramber
Brooks: Speckled Wood.
Nine
species
20
August 2021
Ten
species of butterfly
were seen on the top of Mill Hill
on a black cloudy afternoon: frequent Meadow
Browns,
occasional
Common
Blues,
three Chalkhill
Blues, a few Large
Whites, Red Admirals,
at least one each of Peacock Butterfly,
Wall Brown, Painted Lady, a pair of Small
Tortoiseshells and a probable Small
White.
.jpg)
Painted Lady
16
August 2021
Overcast
and breezy, an afternoon visit to the lower
slopes of Mill Hill was greeted by my first
of the year and an extremely bright Clouded
Yellow Butterfly sparring with the first
of 35+ Chalkhill Blues.
Most of the butterflies on my half acre transect were resting and needed
to be disturbed to be seen. 100+ Meadow
Browns,
at least three of the second brood male Adonis
Blues, occasional
Common
Blues,
at least two of Peacock Butterflies,
Wall Browns, one each of a good condition
Painted
Lady, Large White
and a Small Heath,
were seen in under an hour. On the southern steps there were at least two
Speckled
Woods.
Common
Blues,
Peacock
Comma
Add
more Common
Blues
resting
and mating amongst the long grasses on the top part of Mill Hill south
of the Reservoir plus Red Admirals
around the Buddleia.
I
spotted a Small White
and a Comma
near the Slonk Hill Farm houses.
Fourteen
species of butterfly
15
August 2021
A
Comma,
a Peacock,
and two Holly Blues
were seen on the Buddleia
north of Ropetackle and by the river.
13
August 2021
A
Holly
Blue fluttered at hedge height over Buckingham
Cutting.
10
August 2021
Occasional
Comma Butterflies appeared by the Teville
Stream, Brooklands,
along with a fresh Speckled
Wood, occasional Small
Whites, and three Southern
Hawkers
(dragonfly).
.jpg)
Small Tortoiseshell
Late
in the afternoon, a brief visit to the top of Mill
Hill hosted frequent Meadow Browns,
Common
Blues,
Red
Admirals, and occasional Peacock
Butterflies and
Small
Tortoiseshells.
Eight
species of butterfly
9 August
2021
After
the torrential downpour in the morning, the precipitation stopped under
a cloudy sky in the afternoon. Two Southern
Hawkers
(dragonfly)
patrolled the hedges of the Downs Link
near the Cement Works.
A
Peacock,
Red
Admiral and a Comma
Butterfly were caught by the breeze near
Cuckoo's Corner.
5 August
2021
Rain
stopped play again in the afternoon, but not
before I counted 40 restless male Chalkhill
Blues
on a quarter transect of the lower slopes of Mill
Hill, plus a notable 20+ Peacock Butterflies
attracted to the Buddleia
in flower with a few Red Admirals
and Painted Ladies
and the usual gamut of Gatekeepers, Meadow
Browns,
Brimstones, Common Blues.
Large Whites and 6-spotted
Burnet Moths.
Mill Hill
4 August
2021
Twelve
species of butterfly
showed on the top of Mill Hill
on a surprise sunny afternoon led by the very frequent 75+ Chalkhill
Blues..
Full
List
3 August 2021
Chalkhill Blues
Butterflies
fluttered over the lower slopes of Mill
Hill under a cloudy sky in the afternoon. Frequent 25+ Gatekeepers,
25+ Meadow Browns,
30+ Chalkhill Blues,
including a mating pair,
were joined by occasional Large Whites
and at least one each of a Marbled White,
female Common Blue,
Peacock, and Small
Tortoiseshell. Treble-bar
Moths, Yellow
Shell Moths and
6-spotted
Burnet Moths were seen. A Kite-tailed
Robberfly, Tolmerus atricapillus,
waited in ambush. There was one large brown
Oak
Eggar Moth
caterpillar crawling over the path. On
the top part south of the reservoir, I added a Brimstone
Butterfly. Painted Lady and Small
Heath.
Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown
Late July 2021
.jpg)
Red Admiral
The
common species of butterfly were frequently around, but not listed in detail.
Several days were missed because of rain.
Frequent:
Marbled
Whites. Large Whites,
Meadow
Browns,
Gatekeepers, Small Skippers, Red
Admirals.
Occasional:
Green-veined
White, Peacock, Comma,
Small Heath
23
July 2021
At
last, a handful of male Chalkhill Blue
Butterflies fluttered restlessly over
the lower slopes of Mill Hill.
19
July 2021
My
first Comma Butterfly
of the year was seen by some Stinging Nettles in the twitten to Corbyn
Crescent by Middle Road allotments.
18
July 2021
A
Peacock
Butterfly fluttered around in my kitchen
on a very sunny day.
On
a virtually cloudless day the sun (25º
C) burned anybody who ventured out of the
shade. I still visited the upper part of Mill
Hill in the mid-afternoon where two dozen butterflies fluttered around
the attractive selection of chalkhill flowers
amongst the long grasses south and west of the top car park. Marbled
Whites. Large Whites,
and
Meadow
Browns
were
all restless. There was at least one Small
Heath, a probable Wall
Brown and my first Painted
Lady of the year on the middle slopes
south of the copse,
14 July 2021
Hoverfly, Gatekeeper, Cinnabar Moth caterpillar
A couple of Gatekeepers on the southern steps to the lower slopes of Mill Hill were the first of the year, Other butterflies were occasional Marbled Whites. Large Whites, Meadow Browns, Red Admirals, a few Small Skippers, Small Heaths and one Wall Brown.
28
June 2021
Marbled
White Butterflies were very lively over
the lower slopes of Mill Hill where I also
spotted my first Small Skipper
of the year. New flowers appeared on
a cloudy humid afternoon. Small Heath Butterflies,
pristine Red Admirals,
large Meadow Browns,
a Silver Y Moth
and 6-spotted Burnet Moth
were noted as the first spots of rain were felt.
Full
Report
24
June 2021
My
first Ringlet Butterfly
of the year fluttered around the early post Summer Solstice flowers
over the verge of the Downs Link south
of the Cement Works.
14
June 2021
The
first of the year Meadow Brown Butterflies
fluttered
in the sunshine amongst the long grasses and
Oxeye
Daisies on the bank between the River
Adur towpath and Shoreham
Airport.
8 June
2021
A
Buzzard
soared over a sunny (19°C)
Mill
Hill in the early afternoon. Butterflies
were lively and frequent: Common Blues,
Dingy
Skippers, Small Heath Butterflies, Brimstones
and Silver Y Moths over
the lower slopes, A pair of Speckled Woods
sparred in the copse at the top of Chanctonbury Drive. A Holly
Blue fluttered by the hedge by the southern
car park to Mill Hill.
31
May 2021
Butterflies
fluttered over the sun drenched (21°C)
lower slopes of Mill Hill: 30+ male Common
Blues, 4+ male Adonis
Blues, frequent Dingy
Skippers and Grizzled
Skippers, my first Brown
Argus
and
Cinnabar Moth
of the year, frequent Brimstones,
a few Small Heath Butterflies and
a probable Wall Brown.
By the flowering Hawthorn-lined
road there was a Holly Blue.
Other butterflies seen in north Shoreham were Large
Whites, Small Whites, a Red
Admiral and two Speckled
Woods.
Thirteen
butterfly species and one macro-moth
27 May 2021
.jpg)
The sun shined in the afternoon for the first time in over a week, I was able to confirm my first male Adonis Blue Butterfly of the year with frequent Brimstones but not many other butterflies on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. Ten species were seen in the afternoon.
19
May 2021
Swathes
of Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis
comosa, covered the lower slopes of
Mill
Hill on a cloudy afternoon inimical for watching butterflies.
In
an hour I spotted to my first of the year
Small
Heath Butterfly and a few first of the
year Dingy Skippers,
at least three male Common Blues,
a Brimstone Butterfly,
a few Large Whites
and Red Admirals.
At the top of Chanctonbury Drive, the flutter of blue was a Holly
Blue. (I
was surprised not to see an Adonis Blue.)
Seven
species
18
May 2021
Another
cloudy day, but I spotted a definite pair
of Green-veined Whites
over the Downs Link between Old Shoreham
and the Cement Works as well as a Brimstone
Butterfly and a few Red
Admirals.
17
May 2021
Despite
a cloudy day with spots of rain, I
spotted my first of the year Holly Blue
Butterfly and first male Orange-tip
Butterfly in Old Shoreham.
12
May 2021
Five
o'clock in the afternoon is a bit late in
the day for seeing active butterflies on the lower slopes of Mill
Hill as most of them will have gone to roost. I did manage to spot
my first male Adonis Blue
(not confirmed -subsequently thought to be a Common
Blue) , and my first of the year Small
Copper visiting the abundant Horseshoe
Vetch,
Hippocrepis comosa.
A
flock of up to a dozen corvids, mostly Jackdaws.
were persistently feeding on something amongst the short vegetation on
the steeper slopes. A Peacock Butterfly
flew down and I disturbed a handful of Grizzled
Skippers.
7
May 2021
Tripping
over butterflies at Mill Hill today with a grand total of 14 species recorded.
Dozens of Dingy Skipper & Grizzled Skipper, Green-veined White, Small
White, Brimstone and a singleton Orange-tip doing the rounds. Wall are
coming along nicely with at least half a dozen bobbing around, a female
already ovipositing. A handful of Small Copper seeing off all-comers which
included my first Common Blue of the year, around 6 males seen. Green Hairstreak
also doing well, regularly getting stuck in with the multi species aerial
brawls, again about half a dozen active. The afternoon brought out 4 or
5 fresh looking Peacock and there were good numbers of fresh immigrant
Red Admirals, a female was seen egg laying (from the state of some they
must have come via Jersey!). A single Comma made a very brief appearance
(unable to tell if it were an early hutchinsoni or a late hibernator).
The day started off with a rare Sussex sight of a female Small Tortoiseshell
avidly investigating some nettle on the edge of the horse paddocks on the
south side of the Shoreham Bypass.
I
only managed to spot eleven species of butterfly,
the last seven on the lower slopes of Mill Hill: Red
Admiral, Speckled
Wood, Small White,
Large White, Green-veined White, Brimstone,
Wall Brown, Peacock,
Grizzled
Skipper,
Dingy
Skipper, Common
Blue. I also noted a few pyralid
moths
Pyrausta nigrata. Blackthorn had ceased
to flower.
Mill
Hill Nature Reserve on facebook
22
April 2021
A
few
Peacock Butterflies
visited the battered and frequent
Sweet
Violets and Dog
Violets scattered thinly over the lower
slopes of Mill Hill. A bright yellow Brimstone
Butterfly fluttered by the Holly
Tree.
17
April 2021
A
Small
White Butterfly flew down Corbyn Crescent
in Shoreham in the sunshine.
15 April 2021
.jpg)
Red
Admiral
at
the top of Chanctonbury Drive, north Shoreham
