Saturday, 17 Oct 2026
A surprising first photo of the day was a Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) butterfly. Flight season for the second (summer) brood of Holly Blue ends around the first week of September, so to see one today implies that this is from a third brood. A third brood only occurred 9 times in the whole of […]
Wednesday, 14 Oct 2026
I don’t see too many Orange Ladybird on the Downs, but today I found an Orange Ladybird (Halyzia sedecimguttata) pupa on the underside of an Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) leaf. The adult ladybird will surely emerge soon as ladybirds overwinter as adults. Whereas most adult ladybirds feed on aphids, the Orange Lady bird is a fungivore, […]
Sunday, 11 Oct 2026
Two new species added today, an ichneumon wasp and a lauxaniid fly. It was another sunny autumn day with very little wind, which meant lots of insect activity. Particularly noticeable now are the Vespidae wasps, especially Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and German Wasp. They can be seen in any tangle of brambles, flying in and […]
Thursday, 8 Oct 2026
The first morning with a truly autumnal feel to it. I put on a light sweater rather reluctantly, but it was definitely needed when the wind blew. In my last report I posted an image of a female, while today it is a male Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus). It seems to be the most abundant […]
Tuesday, 6 Oct 2026
A lovely warm and sunny early afternoon on what is billed as our last day of summer temperatures. There are still a few butterflies about. Today’s count was 4, with 2 each of Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) and Speckled Wood. The Small Copper are in very good condition and may be around for at least […]
Friday, 2 Oct 2026
It is that time of year when leaves are starting to fall. Very distracting, when a yellowed leaf flutters down and your immediate reaction is ‘Butterfly’, even though you know that butterfly season is over. I did, however, see a single late Meadow Brown. The ivy bees are out in great numbers. Almost every patch […]
Tuesday, 29 Sep 2026
Just like last Friday, there was only one butterfly seen this morning. It was also a Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) – the same one? Also, just like last Friday, despite the warm, sunny weather, there was very little of interest to warrant photos. I did make a few exceptions. I found some Green Shieldbug (Palomena […]
Friday, 25 Sep 2026
My walk today was badly timed, with the cloud cover only giving way to sunshine as I arrived home. As a result, there was not much insect movement. There was only one butterfly seen. That was a Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), which was last recorded almost 3 weeks ago. There were no Ivy Bees on […]
Wednesday, 23 Sep 2026
The butterflies are easy to count now. Today’s total was 3, but all different, Small White, Small Copper and surprisingly the first Brimstone recorded since 31st July, almost 8 weeks ago. However, my primary focus today was to try and get a good photo of an Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) collecting pollen from ivy flowers. […]
Monday, 21 Sep 2026
I thought that today’s warm, almost windless conditions might just bring out the last few diehard butterflies and I wasn’t wrong. Although the total was a mere 7 individuals, there were 4 different species, 4 Small White (Pieris rapae) and 1 each of Small Copper, Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) and Meadow Brown. Trying to find […]
Friday, 18 Sep 2026
Well, the total butterfly count today was a single Small Copper. We are definitely approaching the end of flight season. A pair of Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) circled over the Downs for the entire 2 hours that I spent there. One came low enough to get a (not completely in focus) shot. The markings on […]
Monday, 14 Sep 2026
A morning that must have been close to 100% humidity – without a moderate breeze we would probably have had a mist. There was a heavy dew on everything. There was not a butterfly to be seen, but I managed to stir up a single Rush Veneer moth (Nomophila noctuella) from the grass. I came […]
Thursday, 10 Sep 2026
Even fewer butterflies about today. Only 2 Small Copper, 2 Small Heath and a single Meadow Brown were seen. Three weeks ago, I encountered a female of what was a new species for me on the Downs and today I found a male Common Darter dragonfly (Sympetrum striolatum). Another first today was an ichneumon wasp […]
Monday, 7 Sep 2026
A mostly cloudy, humid and rather windy morning. Counting the butterflies today was easy – 3 Small Heath and just one each of Small Copper, Speckled Wood and Common Blue. The only other insect of note was a 4th instar nymph of the Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) on a Buckthorn leaf. Otherwise, my focus today […]
Saturday, 5 Sep 2026
A sunny morning with just a light breeze, yet there were so few butterflies about that it was quite easy to count them. The latest one to be the day’s most numerous was Small White on 9, followed by 5 Small Heath, 4 Common Blue, 1 Small Copper, 1 Brown Argus and just 1 Meadow […]
Tuesday, 1 Sep 2026
Meadow Brown is no longer the dominant butterfly species. That honour now goes to Small Copper, with all 8 that I noted being very fresh-looking individuals, whereas the 5 Meadow Brown were worn and faded. Apart from these two I saw 4 Small White, 3 Common Blue, 2 Small Heath and a single Brown Argus […]
Monday, 31 Aug 2026
After some substantial rain in the past few days there was a refreshing greenness to the Downs again this morning. There were not many butterflies on the wing, with the count of Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), most looking faded and worn, Small Heath and Small Copper all reaching only 8 or 9. These, together with […]
Friday, 28 Aug 2026
Twenty-four hours since the first meaningful rain in 9 weeks and there is definitely a fresher look to the Downs today. I suspect that this has more to do with the rain washing away a 9-week dust accumulation than it has with any new foliage growth. Butterfly numbers are still well down and likely to […]
Tuesday, 25 Aug 2026
Even fewer butterflies on the wing today but I was stirring them into action from their resting places in the grass as I walked along. I didn’t try and count individual numbers today, rather just species, although it was obvious that Meadow Brown still dominates. Small Heath, Small White, Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Common Blue […]
Monday, 24 Aug 2026
Another pleasant day for walking, with a strong easterly breeze countering the continuing high humidity. Insect numbers were yet again poor, with butterfly numbers down again (although as I rarely walk the same route on two consecutive visits direct comparisons are not that meaningful). Meadow Brown is still the most numerous, with Small Heath next, […]