Singing the Blues

I must have spent hours in the course of my life stalking Holly Blue butterflies in the hope that they will open their wings while at rest and reveal the beautiful blue of the upper sides. At last it has happened - appropriately on P's birthday and even more happily, thanks to her spotting this obliging, beautiful example.

 

It's not such a good photo but I'm including the second picture because it shows the butterfly going to the max; a Heavenly sight for which I am extremely grateful. My third and fourth pictures show this graceful little creature as you usually see it - and there is nothing second-class about the lovely chalky blue of its underwings. It's just that they are very, very familiar.

It is also remarkably widespread; we have plenty here as we did in Leeds and I regularly saw them when the grandchildren were in very urban Walthamstow as I also do now that they are in Bradford-on-Avon where the two pictures above were taken last week.  So was the one below, which shows a Holly Blue's shadow on the leaf it has chosen as a hiding place. If you see a little blue scrap darting about in your garden, I reckon that it's most likely to be a Holly Blue.

Less happily, I am finding the Box moth all over the place as are other moth enthusiasts. It's also a rather beautiful insect but not if you own a box hedge. The caterpillars are voracious to a degree.

All manner of moths are visiting at the moment and here's a small selection. The first picture going left to right by row shows the micro Syndemis musculana (I think), Pebble Prominent, Smoky Wainscot, Common Rustic, Pale Prominent, Least Carpet, Angle Shades, the pretty micro Anania coronata and another micro which I have yet to ID.  The second has the micro Donacaula forficella, a very worn Lackey, a Marbled Coronet, the micro Pammene regiana, an unknown Carpet-ty type moth,  Treble Lines, Common Swift, Light Emerald in its fresh green glory which sadly fades, and finally a Blood-vein.

One or two others. First a Common footman and the spindlier Scarce Footman for comparison, and then finally a composite of a Yellowtail, Waved Umber,  Ringed China-mark micro very unusually showing its lovely underwings, Latticed Heath (which links to pretend to be a butterfly), Canary-shouldered Thorn and something teeny which, again, I have yet to ID. All suggestions for this and other one above, are most welcome.