Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch
Saving butterflies, moths and our environment
White letter hairstreak. Batford - weedy/ scrubby field by the B653 - At least 3 WHITE LETTER HAIRSTREAKS in SW corner of field in small elms around large bramble bush. [Posted by Darin Stanley]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. A very warm and sunny day from the outset, but at least it wasn't quite so warm in the morning when I toured my local patch again. 16 species were seen: Meadow Brown(250+), Small Heath(50+), Green-veined White(25), Small White(20), Marbled White(17), Common Blue(12), Red Admiral(10), Small Skipper(10), Comma(9), Large White(8), Large Skipper(4), Holly Blue(2), Painted Lady(2), Small Copper(1), Small Tortoiseshell(1), Brown Argus(1). Notable were the numbers of GVW - all very fresh and including many sets of mating pairs. The contrast between the undersides of the sexes is particularly clear when they are paired, with the female showing a strong lemon yellow. The other highlight was the number of Marbled Whites, the highest I have seen here, and also including a pairing. The sexes in this species are also quite distinct underneath, with the female in cream and gold contrasting with the male's black-and-white. [Posted by Dave Miller]
White Admiral in Bramfield Park Wood. Not a great picture but it was above my head. Very pleased to see it after a two year absence of records in this traditional location for White Admiral [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Sightings at Oakwood Park. At Oakwood Park this afternoon [1425 to 1500 BST] - 1 Comma W of 10 km line, 1 Cinnabar, 1 Orange Beauty [Commophila aeneana] - my first of the year for this site, 3 Small Heath, 5 Marbled White, male Large Skipper & 2 Burnet sp [either Six-spot or Narrow-bordered Five-spot] - only seen in flight - I would favour them being the latter, because they generally fly earlier - all E of 10 km line. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Tracks around Danemead HMWT. No luck spotting White Admiral or SWF on this hot day but still early doors. Different to yesterday I did find Small Skippers (or maybe Essex) and several Painted Ladys, one even agreed to pose. Also I accidentally woke up a sleeping Silver Y. [Posted by Nathan Ellis]
first Silver Washed Fritillary. doing my transect in broxbourne woods near the west car park. I saw 2 Silver Washed Fritillaries. or it maybe one travelling around a bit. [Posted by steve kiln]
Small Blues on TV!. Great footage of Small Blue on Springwatch this week, with some interesting behavioural observations. You can watch it on iPlayer, Episode 10, starting after 11 mins 30 secs. Or if you watch from the start there is some great footage of Yellow-banded Longhorn Moths lekking. Here's the link Springwatch [Posted by Malcolm Hull]
White-letter Hairstreak in Stevenage. White-letter Hairstreak active over the elm canopy at Six Hills Common at 0845 hours [Posted by Peter Clarke]
FOY Marbled Whites and Small Skipper. On my Alexandra Park transect at midday I saw two new species for 2025: a couple of Marbled Whites and a Small Skipper. [Posted by Dee Cullen]
White Admiral outside Danemead HMWT. I saw this guy yesterday jetting about but wanted a photo which I got on today's walk. Lots of new faces around - at least a dozen fresh Red Admirals and a pair of Small Tortoiseshells necturing on buttercups. Haven't seen a Marbled White yet around the farm only elsewhere. Also FOY - Silver Y. Happy hunting [Posted by Nathan Ellis]
Sightings at Enfield. At private sites near Trent Park - 2 Common Blue, 3 Marbled White & 1 Straw Dot. 1 Red Admiral along 'London Loop' path at Bay Farm. At Gordon Hill Station - 1 Comma & 1 Small White nectaring on Bramble blossom. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. Fewer species seen today on my local patch (14), but one was a butterfly I hadn't seen yesterday - a Brimstone. It looked completely fresh, and might well have been the first of the summer generation. By contrast, in amongst all the bright new summer Commas was one left over from 2024's hibernators. The other standout from the day was a very blue female Common Blue. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Sightings at Enfield & Southgate. At Chase Road/Charter Way, N14 - 1 Double-striped Pug at bus-stop shelter - my first of the year [FOY]. At Trent Park - 3 Large Skipper at North Lawn & 1 Comma at 'Old Golf Course'. At private sites near Trent Park - 1 Large Skipper, 2 Comma, 1 male Common Blue, 2 male Marbled White - my first of the year [FOY], 1 Barred Yellow, 2 Brimstone Moth & 1 Brown Silver-line. At Lakeside, EN2 - 1 Red Admiral. At ASDA Southgate - 1 Scarce Silver-lines - my first of the year [FOY] & only my second record here, 2 Treble Brown Spot & 1 White Ermine - my first of the year [FOY]. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]
FFY Marbled Whites. My first 2 of the year at the old Rivers Orchard and fields Sawbridgeworth, mid afternoon. [Posted by Laurence Drummond]
Gatekeeper. Early Gatekeeper confirmed on bramble on site near Swakeleys A40 roundabout after Transport for London verge monitoring [Posted by Paul Busby]
Holly Blue bonanza. Doing my transect at Waterford Heath South pit. The site has a lot of Holly Blues (13 on the site today ) because of one of its food plants is goats rhue an alien invasive plant. Also had a Painted Lady ,plenty of Meadow Browns but no Common Blues. [Posted by steve kiln]
Sightings from Stanwell Moor. On a mostly bright rather than sunny day, I counted over 200 butterflies on my local patch, with 16 species seen. These included 23 Red Admirals, possibly part of a migration as there was also a faded Painted Lady in amongst them. There were good numbers of new Commas, more Marbled Whites (including a female) and as ever the everpresent Small Heaths and Meadow Browns. The former are having an excellent year here. Large Skippers are doing well, but the Smalls are only in single figures without the day-on-day increase I've seen in previous years - and of Essex Skippers there is (so far) no sign. This may be attributable to the timing of the grass cut on this site last year, which was right in the middle of their season. [Posted by Dave Miller]
Cranford Country Park. Purple Hairstreak and Small Skippers seen on long established transect route. This transect and others in Hillingdon are available for volunteers, happy to provide more details and walk the route. [Posted by Paul Busby]
Dark Green Fritillaries near Benington. We walked from Benington to Hooks Cross via the wide conservation verge along Walkern Road. We saw 57 along the verge, they were on pretty well every patch of Greater Knapweed in the cloudy bright conditions. Also seen on the walk were Small and Large Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, Peacock larvae, Small Heath, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Common Blue, Brimstone, Small White and Green-veined White. On the moth side of things Yellow Shell, Cinnabar, Treble Bar, Pyrausta aurata, Sitochroa verticalis, White Plume, Latticed Heath and Nemophora degeerella. [Posted by Andrew Wood]
Sightings at Forty Hall CP & North Enfield. 1 Chimney Sweeper, 4 Large Skipper [3 males & 1 female], 1 Holly Blue, 1 Comma & 2 Speckled Wood at Forty Hall CP, Enfield. 2 Speckled Wood at Gough Park, Forty Hill. 1 Barred Yellow - my first of the year [FOY], 9 Large Skipper, 6 Cinnabar, 4 Small Heath & 1 Comma at a private site in North Enfield. [Posted by Robert Mark Callf]