Suffolk, England

John Cooper · Administrator

RE: Butterflies of Suffolk

Admiral Wormbones · Veteran Member

Hello John, yes most things turn out a total disaster as far as man is concerned when he interferes with nature, nature can look after itself it always has done if left alone.
The site you are talking about was for a superstore and you can bet they had no interest whatsoever in what they were destroying, just build and worry about such things afterwards. I think you will find a colony of Silver Studded Blue's were destroyed when that Superstore at Martlesham was built as well. At least they are gone now. Believe it or not it is a colony of the right type of Ants you need for the Silver Studed Blue Buterflies as they spend the winter in the Ants nest. I often wish it was a hundred years ago before all our modern trash ruined the countryside.

-- Edited by Admiral Wormbones at 18:24, 2008-03-17

Admiral Wormbones · Veteran Member

Here are a few close up pictures of Butterflies eyes that I took when the oppertunity arose as it often did with patience. In these photos no long lens was used just knowhow, persistance and patience. If you look at the last photo, on the log, you will see a Grayling Butterfly, a pair of hands and a camera. this is my friend Robert filming the eye of the Grayling. The butterfly would fly up and he would follow it till it settled again and so on till he got the shot he wanted even if it took an hour. It used to seem to me that the beast you were following, be it Butterfly or whatever would get to trust you and stay still after a while, which is only right as we never ever harmed anything we were after.

No.1 The black eyes of a Large Skipper
No.2 The speckled eyes of a female Orange Tip
No.3 The speckled eyes of The Rare Heath Fritillery
No.4 The lined eye of a Grayling
No.5 Robert filming the eye of a Grayling.

Robert always took films while I made do with a still camera.

Large Skipper's black eyes.jpg The eye of an Orange Tip.jpg Eyes of a Heath Fritillary.jpg Eye of a Grayling.jpg Robert Filming a Grayling.jpg

Admiral Wormbones · Veteran Member

I post a picture of my pal Robert up a tree with close focus binoculars looking for the eggs of the White Admiral Butterfly on wild honeysuckle. This turned out to be a wasted day, We knew that the White Admiral laid her eggs on wild honeysuckle but as we learnt later that she lays her eggs in a shadiest place usually round a piece of honeysuckle that is round the trunk of a tree about a foot off the ground. Again Tunstall Forest is the place to look, you must look for a sunny clearing in the forest with lots of bramble bushes in flower. Sit by the bushes and be patient, you will be rewarded when you see a pair of black wings gliding towards you then use your skills to get close to photograph this rare Butterfly feeding on bramble blossom. Again Tunstall Forrest is the place.

John Cooper · Administrator

That is patience personified AW!