Bugs & Shrikes

 I have yet to see either the Purple or White-letter Hairstreaks nectaring but a trip to Fornebu yesterday to allow the Beast to run around socialise within the fenced in dog park gave me at least 5 Brown Hairstreaks (slåpetornstjertvinge) which were all nectaring and showing ridiculously well. I saw the upperwing of 4 and all these were males suggesting that they had only just emerged (males usually emerge before females). This is a very good count for this species in Norway and the planting of lots of ornamental plant including Blackthorn seems to have been good for them and Fornebu may well be one of the very best locations for the species.

I also saw 3 musk beetles which is an enormous species of longhorn beetle. There were not many birds to see although I did flush a migrant Great Snipe from long grass whilst searching for butterflies.

Today I was in Maridalen and came across quite a few Red-backed Shrikes. First I had a male with three young begging for food. It is normal that it is the male that looks after the young once they leave the nest and the female normally disappears very quickly. It was therefore surprising when I later found an adult female feeding a single youngster. Had the male been predated and she was left to bring up the young on her own?

male Red-backed Shrike (tornskate)

juvenile and male

a headless youngster

and an adult female with a youngster

Brown Hairstreak (slåpetornstjertvinge)

all brown upperwing shows it to be a male

a Common Blue (tiriltungeblåvinge) and a slightly obscured Brown Hairstreak

Musk Beetle (muskosbukk)

Peacock butterfly (dagpåfugløye)

Green-veined Whites (rapssommerfugl) attempting to mate