The last of this years butterflying

Early August saw pretty much the last of my searching for butterflies locally, with me being largely busy for the following few weeks. My last couple of outings were of course to Bucknell Wood, near Silverstone and were very enjoyable and memorable!

A visit on Saturday 08/08 in particular, was very memorable. In glorious sunshine, I managed to see one of the latest ever sightings of Purple Emperor in Northants. I presume it was a female due to it's large size and lack of purple flash. It was a fabulous sight as it effortlessly cruised over my head and slowly cruised round some nearby oaks. In the binoculars, you could make out a fair old chunk missing out of one of it's wings but overall, it was in pretty good nick. Sadly no photos but do you know what, sometimes it's just nice to enjoy the moment rather than worrying too much about getting a photo!

That day was also memorable for the numbers of Valezina Silver-Washed Fritillary with a total of FIVE seen! The one below was photographed a few days later on 12/08.

Silver-Washed numbers too were in good health however the majority were looking decidedly tatty!

Finally on the 10/08, several hairstreak were for once to be seen low down, nectaring and I managed to see 2 each of White-Letter Hairstreak and Purple Hairstreak.

I also managed to see my first ever second brood Wood Whites, with 1 on 06/08 & 2 on 12/08. These hopefully signify that the species is in relatively good health locally.

Finally, there have been awesome numbers of fresh Large White, Brimstones & Peacocks, together with fresh second brood Common Blue, Brown Argus (my first for the site) and a couple of nice Painted Lady too!

So now with the butterfly season drawing gradually to a close, on reflection it's been a great 2015 with a few nice discoveries and a handful of new species for me too. All I can say is bring on 2016!