Wildlife summer 2012

[Paul T]

That Arran Brown is just so rich and velvety.  Positively sumptuous.  Never seen a butterfly so velvet looking. 

Thanks for the wonderful pics everyone.

[Anthony Darby]

What a pity it was never found on Arran.

[Hoy]

That Arran Brown is just so rich and velvety.  Positively sumptuous.  Never seen a butterfly so velvet looking. 

Thanks for the wonderful pics everyone.

Yes, maybe it's for heating up quickly in the chilly early mornings here

Anthony, where does it live then apart from at my place?

[Hoy]

sometimes predators make me so angry ....

Mark, an idea for you?




http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nordland/1.8259712

[Anthony Darby]

Yes, maybe it's for heating up quickly in the chilly early mornings here

Anthony, where does it live then apart from at my place?

This is from Tom Tolman's 1997 book "Butterflies of Britain and Europe" (Collins).

[mark smyth]

A home made sand martin colony - wow

[Natalia]

pest of our forests

[Anthony Darby]

A very elegant pest though.

[Hoy]

Anthony, thank you.

Here's another one, the Scotch Burnet. Does it exist in Scotland

[daveyp1970]

OMG WOW Hoy that is stunning,i have never seen that sp before.Keep them coming please.

[Anthony Darby]

Mountains in Aberdeenshire. Feeds on crowberry. I have (?) a SNH publication on burnets in Scotland somewhere?

[Maggi Young]

I have (?) a SNH publication on burnets in Scotland somewhere?

http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/species-action-framework/species-action-list/ss-burnet-moth/

[Stephenb]

Anthony, where does it live then apart from at my place?

At my place - it's the commonest butterfly here (at least at this time of year). I had also assumed it was named on Arran...anyone know why it was called Arran Brown? A different Arran?

[Maggi Young]

That Arran Brown is truly a lovely creature.  Never seen such a thing - indeed all butterflies are proving very scarce here this year.

I found this quote from a UK butterfly website : http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

   Arran Brown    Erebia ligea
The presence of this butterfly in the British Isles has long been disputed. However, there are several historical records that would suggest that it was once found in Scotland. The first record is from the Isle of Arran, Scotland, in 1803, from where this butterfly gets its name. Any confusion is not helped by the close similarity with the Scotch Argus – to the extent that some specimens of Arran Brown were discovered within series of Scotch Argus in old collections.

British specimens of this species are few and far between. There is certainly insufficient evidence to conclusively determine if the species was ever resident, a migrant, or accidentally or deliberately introduced.

[Anthony Darby]

I doubt it was ever found. 100 or so years ago Erebia ligea was a better known continental species and may have been misidentified and then linked with some erroneously 'labelled' specimens purported to have been caught on Arran. Erebia aethiops, the Scotch argus, is similar and found on Arran, so there could have been a mix up? Victorians were famous for not labelling specimens and then just producing them like a rabbit out of the hat and saying with conviction what they think is true but in actual fact can't be.