Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Hampshire Butterflies - Whiteley Pastures - 22nd June

Headed to Whiteley Pastures mainly for Purple Emperor, I had to cross the Hamble into east Hampshire, not something I do very often but there seem to be very few reliable sites in west Hampshire. Walked a big loop of the woodland getting views of several Purple Emperor high in the trees. It was not until having almost completed the loop that good views of Purple Emperor were obtained, however, these were flying around the tops of willows and lower levels of oak but not coming to ground - glimpses of purple were none-the-less obtained. The best location was at 50.8877, -1.2352429.

Comma

White Admiral

Red Admiral

Silver-washed Fritillary

Gold-ringed Dragonfly

The grossly spectacular Tachinid fly Nowickia ferox