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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, 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 […]
Saturday, 15 Aug 2026
Drought Day 53. It seems like many insects have just given up. Walking along the woodland paths even three days ago you would see swarms of midges/gnats/mosquitoes, or hoverflies hovering. Gone. Apart from a few Meadow Brown butterflies and a single Speckled Wood, virtually no other airborne insects on these paths. Three days ago, you […]
Saturday, 8 Aug 2026
I only walked paths along woodland edges today, so my observations of butterfly abundance would be strongly influenced by that. Meadow Brown made up about 90% of total sightings, with a handful of Small Heath, Common Blue and Chalk Hill Blue, and one each of Gatekeeper, Red Admiral, Small Copper, Brown Argus and Ringlet. The […]
Saturday, 1 Aug 2026
Another good day for butterfly numbers, with Chalk Hill Blue probably now outnumbering Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) and Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), these three making up well over 90% of the total seen. There were just a few Small White and Common Blue, with just one each of Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), Painted Lady, Brown Argus (Aricia […]
Friday, 31 Jul 2026
The last day of a month with not a drop of rain and the parched conditions seem to be keeping insect numbers depressed. Apart from butterflies and the prominent pollinators, bees and hoverflies, there is little to be seen other than ladybirds and aphids. There are still good numbers of butterflies with Gatekeeper and Chalk […]
Monday, 27 Jul 2026
I concentrated today on the small portion of the Downs east of Sutton Lane, so not as representative of the ‘big picture’ as usual. Butterflies were largely restricted to Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) and Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), with a few Small and Green-veined Whites. Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) was seen yet again. They do seem […]
Saturday, 25 Jul 2026
A morning when I all I wanted to do was get home and process my images as my first sighting of the day was, I was sure, a butterfly species that I had not seen before. I did locate a rather extensive and particularly dense patch of Red Bartsia, so tried my luck at Red […]
Friday, 24 Jul 2026
The lightest breeze in a week and a very muggy morning, which seemed to make for very good butterfly numbers. Gatekeeper and Chalk Hill Blue still make up 90% of the total number and perhaps Chalk Hill Blue may now be the dominant species. The northern half of the main grassland is seething with them. […]
Wednesday, 22 Jul 2026
Another 11 species of butterfly seen today, a somewhat different mix to Monday, though Gatekeeper and Chalk Hill Blue (Lysandra coridon) still dominate numbers. A few each of Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Small Blue and Common Blue were noted, with single Green-veined White, Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) and two surprises. The first was a […]
Thursday, 16 Jul 2026 – Winkworth Arboretum
Paid a visit this morning to the National Trust property at Winkworth Arboretum, near Godalming in Surrey. As I have done previously with visits to localities other than Banstead Downs, I am only posting images of species that I have not yet seen or photographed, or which I am unlikely to see on Banstead Downs. […]
Friday, 3 Jul 2026 – New Forest and adjacent areas
Just back today from a week away, based in West Wellow, Hampshire, on the north-eastern edge of the New Forest. It proved a good base for walks not only in the New Forest and locally along the River Test, but also on the Dorset coast and near Salisbury in Wiltshire. As I have done previously […]
Wednesday, 10 Jun 2026
After five days of very unseasonal weather, with gusty winds and intermittent showers (I don’t like being caught in a sudden heavy shower with a camera slung over each shoulder) I decided it was time to get back onto the Downs this morning. However, with overcast, breezy conditions still, there was not too much insect […]