Wildlife early 2009

[Gunilla]

Here is a Painted Lady for you, Lesley. I had some visiting my garden yesterday. They seem a bit pale this time of year. The ones you see here in autumn have much brighter colours.

Painted Lady on Allium

[WimB]

Here are some more pictures of Painted lady's (Vanessa cardui) taken today in my garden.
They are a migratory butterfly who are coming from Central Africa (where they have spend their winter), that's also the reason why their colours are a bit pale (they have travelled very far 

Lesley, they are direct relatives of Vanessa kershawi, which you might see in New-Zealand.

[Lesley Cox]

Thank you both for these lovely pictures. I did a quick Google on Vanessa kershawi and see that it is the Australian Painted Lady. I've not seen her in New zealand though it may be here, perhaps in the North Island. However, I DID see one last September in a Blue Mountains garden in New South Wales. My host didn't see it so couldn't tell me what I'd seen, but that was definitely IT.

[Paul T]

So that is the little fairly common brown and black one that we have?  I thought it looked similar.

[Anthony Darby]

I have seen dozens over the weekend, often two chasing one another. I walked for several miles on Saturday evening and every hundred yards or so along the edge of a wood I saw at least one. At rest, with the points of their wings forming a straight line through the thorax 3" is about right. These ones are the result of a huge emergence in Morocco and hit our shores about 10 days ago. The larvae feed on nettles and, especially, thistles.

[Paddy Tobin]

Loads and loads of them here also. We were walking along a new road, not in use yet, and the verges were simply awash with them.

Paddy

[Anthony Darby]

The BBCS is doing a survey to chart the sightings: http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/sightings/1097/painted_lady.html It seems it is the biggest migration since 1996, at least. I wonder if other species, like the clouded yellow, will also arrive in similar numbers?

[mark smyth]

and I can tell you I saw 'millions' while in Scotland last week

[Maggi Young]

and I can tell you I saw 'millions' while in Scotland last week

Did you? They're not in Aberdeen yet, as far as I have seen. 

[Anthony Darby]

Were you at Gardening Scotland Mark?

[mark smyth]

Of course!
The only Rockers I saw were the Shaws, Ian Young, and Ian Christie. The trip came at a very bad time because I'm unemployed again! That's twice in one year and the most I have ever been since I left school

Every garden I visited especially Threave had many Painted Ladies

[Ragged Robin]

The BBCS is doing a survey to chart the sightings: http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/sightings/1097/painted_lady.html It seems it is the biggest migration since 1996, at least. I wonder if other species, like the clouded yellow, will also arrive in similar numbers?

There are loads of painted ladies here too some pale, others brighter, one was sunning itself on a rock this morning (hugging it almost!) and another looked very battered having lost one back wing - I was amazed it could still fly    I posted a photo of the Clouded yellow earlier that I saw here in the meadow but have not seen another as yet...they are incredibly beautiful...altogether there are butterflies & bees and other insects busy all day on my meadow patch (the only remaining wild flowers nearby as the rest have been strimmed 

[annew]

Lovely photo, Robin.

[fermi de Sousa]

Every garden I visited especially Threave had many Painted Ladies

When I was around 12 I went butterfly catching with a school-friend and when we came back to his place we told his mum about the ones we'd seen - she said we were too young for Painted Ladies 
cheers
fermi

[Ragged Robin]

His Mum had a great sense of humour - at 12 did you get the joke Fermi?