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Butterflies Page 10
Image Taken on 13 Aug 2017
at 12:26 Image of day on 01 Oct 2017
This is a Common Blue Butterfly, for all that her wings are brown.
You can see a blue haze of hairs over her body.
 feeding on knapweed(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20171001_df3_20170813_1226_088 common blue butterfly female (damaged right wing) feeding on knapweed(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 30 Jul 2014
at 11:11 Image of day on 12 Oct 2014
The female Common Blue butterfly has brown tops to her wings with a 'dashing'
orange border the male does without. As you can see the species is very fond
of feeding on ground level clover flowers that spring up after mowing.
.jpg)
Ref: 20141012_df2_20140730_1111_002 common blue butterfly female feeding on clover flower(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 26 Aug 2019
at 12:06 Image of day on 21 Oct 2019
On one of the recently cut Field margins this opening Convolvulus (which
sort of 'unfolds' origami style) attracts this Common Blue Butterfly for a feed.
This is the only pic we got before it flew off into the adjacent hedge.
Not 'Common' here at all.
The label is not a mistake - the female Common Blue Butterfly isn't blue
on either side of the wings!
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20191021_df3_20190826_1206_010 common blue butterfly female on opening convolvulus (id only)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 20 Aug 2010
at 12:19 Image of day on 28 Sep 2010
Here you can see this female Common Blue butterfly reaching to
the bottom of the flower rather than the more visible anthers it
is standing on.
.jpg)
Ref: 20100928_db1_20100820_1219_203 common blue butterfly female side view on blackberry flower(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 20 Aug 2010
at 12:16 Image of day on 27 Sep 2010
The female common blues do not usually display there brown upper
wing surface in the way that the males do. Here we see her basking
for a moment.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20100927_db1_20100820_1216_113 common blue butterfly female top view on blackberry flower (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 20 Aug 2010
at 12:17 Image of day on 28 Sep 2010
This one suddenly uncoiled her proboscis to reach into the
nectaries of a bramble flower. We have never noticed one reaching
out sideways like this before from one flower to reach another
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20100928_db1_20100820_1217_170+172+173 common blue butterfly female uncoiling proboscis to reach across to flower 1-3 of 3 (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 06 Aug 2010
at 08:41 Image of day on 06 Sep 2010
The Common Blue butterflies are seen over our 'meadow' intermittently
during the year
Here are two views of an individual that stayed for a few minutes before
doing the 'vanishing trick'.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20100906_df1_20100806_0841_017 common blue butterfly male bottom side (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 30 Jul 2014
at 12:31 Image of day on 12 Oct 2014
When we walk down the meadow path little flakes of sky (thank you Magritte for
popularising the notion) flutter away from us, never reaching higher than about a
metre from the ground.
Only the male Common Blue butterfly has the blue top to the wings.
.jpg)
Ref: 20141012_df2_20140730_1231_011 common blue butterfly male feeding on clover flower(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 19 Aug 2011
at 12:43 Image of day on 08 Oct 2011
We still have several blue butterflies on the plot whenever the sun comes
out. Here a Common Blue male feeding on a nearly finished clover flower.
.jpg)
Ref: 20111008_df1_20110819_1243_363 common blue butterfly male feeding on clover flower(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 24 Aug 2011
at 12:15 Image of day on 08 Oct 2011
The dominant meadow flower at the moment is the Purple Loosestrife.
Here a male Common Blue butterfly sips up some nectar
.jpg)
Ref: 20111008_df1_20110824_1215_045 common blue butterfly male feeding on purple loosestrife flower(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 21 Sep 2010
at 13:02 Image of day on 14 Nov 2010
A common Blue butterfly male feeding on some ragwort flowers. Its
a bit faded on both sides - signs of a life well spent in the
sunshine? If he has a memory for such things (pretty unlikely!)
he is going to be disappointed to find it gone later in the day
after a grass cut (its was growing in a grass walk). We don't let
poisonous Ragwort seed in this cattle country anyway. The yellow
buddleia (which flowers until first frost) will have to do.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20101114_df1_20100921_1302_041 common blue butterfly male feeding on ragwort (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 20 Aug 2010
at 12:35 Image of day on 27 Sep 2010
The main image is a lucky (if spending an hour trying is 'luck')
single frame of a male Common blue butterfly spotting a female
and coming over to try his luck! The bottom 2 show her turning
round, and then him trying to couple with her.
They flew off in a blur without coupling (but may have elsewhere).
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20100927_db1_20100820_1235_269+272+280 common blue butterfly male flies to female on blackberry flower & attempts to mate 01+04+12 of 17 (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
Image Taken on 31 May 2011
at 12:28 Image of day on 01 Jul 2011
A couple of portraits of an immaculate male Common Blue butterfly as it
flew around our 'meadow'.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20110701_df1_20110531_1228_075 common blue butterfly male on buttercup (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 16 May 2011
at 16:23 Image of day on 11 Jun 2011
Following an unusually good showing of Holly Blue butterflies in April,
we now have the Common Blue butterfly - here the male which actually does
have a blue top to the wings (unlike the females brown).
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20110611_df1_20110516_1623_015 common blue butterfly male on buttercup (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 31 May 2011
at 12:32 Image of day on 01 Jul 2011
By now the Common Blue butterfly had moved on to a patch of clover.
.jpg)
Ref: 20110701_df1_20110531_1232_127 common blue butterfly male on clover flower(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 16 Aug 2015
at 16:00 Image of day on 16 Oct 2015
A Common Blue butterfly giving us a look at the top and bottom surfaces
of all 4 wings.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20151016_df3_20150816_1600_227 common blue butterfly male on teasel (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 16 Aug 2015
at 16:01 Image of day on 16 Oct 2015
The markings on the bottom of the wings of the Common Blue
butterfly are very intricate, and vary somewhat between the sexes.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20151016_df3_20150816_1601_234 common blue butterfly male on teasel (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Aug 2010
at 16:47 Image of day on 17 Sep 2010
Common Blue butterflies are, for the moment, almost 'common' - a
nice change from previous years. Here one is on a thistle flower
with a chance water drop on the grass stem magnifying stem
detail.
.jpg)
Ref: 20100917_df1_20100814_1647_004 common blue butterfly male on thistle flower with grass stem magnified by water drop(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 25 Aug 2013
at 15:15 Image of day on 16 Oct 2013
This Common Blue butterfly was perched on a grass stem amongst an
impressive 'crop' of thistles. The colour shone out among the
whites & Browns.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20131016_a77_20130825_1515_497 common blue butterfly on grass stem in front of thistle seed head (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 06 Aug 2009
at 10:48 Image of day on 17 Sep 2009
A closer and more sedate view of the beautiful patterned wing.
.jpg)
Ref: 20090917_da1_20090806_1048_026_ft1 common blue butterfly on thistle flower(r+mb id@576).jpg
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