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Taken at Prees Heath, Whitchurch during their four or five day mating season. These beautiful insects are about the size of an adults thumb nail.
Prees Heath Nature Reserve in Shropshire (UK) (9312J)
UK Butterflies 2017 winner (category: behaviour)
I photographed this male Silver-studded Blue at the RSPB South Stack reserve on Anglesey. We visited South Stack to look for Choughs after we had seen the Elegant Tern. This one is slightly unusual in that it lacks the silver studs that give rise to the name. Silver-studded Blues are commonest on southern heathlands around the New Forest and Thames Basin. Beyond that they are decidedly localised, though often common where they do occur. They are noticeably smaller than Common Blues, with a more leaden blue colouration, with a row of black studs around the hindwing margin. Its caterpillars feed on a variety of plants including gorse, heather and rock-rose, but they also have a relationship with black ants of the genus Lasius. Ants carry the young larvae into their nests where they tend and protect them, presumably for the sugary solutions they exude. But it is not known whether they actually feed on ant larvae (like Large Blues do), but at night the caterpillars emerge from the ants' nests to feed on vegetation. Female Silver-studded Blues selectively lay eggs on vegetation close to Black Ant nests.
The Silver-studded Blue has the scientific name Plebejus argus. Plebejus were basically the Plebs or common folk, as this was Linnaeus's "dumping ground" for all the small butterflies like blues and skippers. These were lower than the grand Swallowtails, Emperors and Admirals. And so to the name argus. In Greek mythology Zeus was in love with Io, so to indulge himself without arousing his wife Hera's suspicion, he turned her into a Heifer. Hera found out and placed her under the care of Argus, who had a hundred eyes. Zeus enlisted the help of Hermes who lulled Argus to sleep with his flute and then cut off Argus's head. Hera consoled herself by setting Argus's eyes into the tail of the peacock. So any butterfly that has numerous eyespots often has the name Argus, and elsewhere in the animal kingdom (eg Great Argus Pheasant).
I posted a male Silver-studded Blue recently and today it was in Explore. I'm not expecting as much attention for this duller female, but it is the first time I have managed a photograph of a female with wings open.
I remember my first encounter with Silver-studded Blues was in my early teens while visiting my Uncle in Surrey. He lived right next door to Whitmoor Common and I wandered onto the heathland there and saw thousands. But I had to consult my Observer's Book of Butterflies to work out which species it was. I identified them as Silver-studded Blues, but I wrongly thought the females were Brown Argus as I could not see any trace of blue on them. Female Silver-studded Blues from the northern populations tend to show more blue on the upperwings than ones from the south. The silver studs that give rise to the name, are inside the black spots around the edge of the underwing hindwing, and are present in both sexes. Here they are on a male I took some years ago: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/5824137718/in/photolist
The Silver-studded Blue has the scientific name Plebejus argus. Plebejus were basically the Plebs or common folk, as this was Linnaeus's "dumping ground" for all the small butterflies like blues and skippers. These were lower than the grand Swallowtails, Emperors and Admirals. And so to the name argus. In Greek mythology Zeus was in love with Io, so to indulge himself without arousing his wife Hera's suspicion, he turned her into a Heifer. Hera found out and placed her under the care of Argus, who had a hundred eyes. Zeus enlisted the help of Hermes who lulled Argus to sleep with his flute and then cut off Argus's head. Hera consoled herself by setting Argus's eyes into the tail of the peacock. So any butterfly that has numerous eyespots often has the name Argus, and elsewhere in the animal kingdom (eg Great Argus Pheasant).
a very quick shot of me, messy, waiting for the rain, while leon gently snores in his recliner.
I've been working in the little greenhouse.
someday I'll try to get a closer view of the opal.
photo booth
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had this idea since October as well. i have tons of photo ideas from the October 2012 that I never did and I'm trying to go back and do them.
i think what kept me from doing this was the lack of studs.
Probably my last MOD regarding the actual batch of SC cars. After building the original model I was wondering if a conversion is possible at all, but when I understood that the frontend can be built without using stickers things came together quite nicely.
Same procedure as always:
- shortened vehicle
- shortened wheelbase
- smaller wheels
- 5-wide windscreen and roof
- the car is much lower than before
- no stickers mimicking constructive elements, everything that can be built should be built
- filled gap behind the rear mudguard (I understand it's supposed to be a vent like on the original car but not many people will recognize that, I guess - it rather looks like an unfinished section)
The car has 8 visible studs which is rather unusual for my models - it would be nice to have those 2x3 tiles with hole in red some day.
Thanks for looking!
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