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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Wednesday, 19 Aug 2026
Hardly drought-breaking rain, but a few light showers overnight end exactly 8 weeks without rain. Apart from a few water drops still sitting on the upper surfaces of some leaves you wouldn’t know it had rained, so well has the little rain that did fall been absorbed into the parched surface. On a cooler, yet […]
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 […]
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 […]
Monday, 22 Jun 2026
Another scorcher, but a steady breeze just to take the edge off the heat. Not a cloud in the sky except for a criss-cross of aircraft contrails. I set off early to beat the ramping up of the heat and was home by 10:30. There were plenty of butterflies around, but not quite in the […]
Tuesday, 16 Jun 2026 – London Wetland Centre
Something different today. I spent a few hours at the London Wetland Centre, exactly a year to the day since my last visit there. I’m only posting a gallery of the species that you are very unlikely to see on Banstead Downs. […]
Monday, 15 Jun 2026
Back to the overcast breezy conditions again this morning. Only butterflies on the wing were Meadow Brown and Marbled White, still by far the most numerous, with dozens of each. The other butterflies seen were all disturbed from their resting places in the low vegetation as I walked past. These comprised Common Blue, Brown Argus, […]
Saturday, 13 Jun 2026
The butterflies are back, in such large numbers that I counted species today, not individual butterflies. Meadow Brown and Marbled White are the most numerous, with dozens of each. Other species noted were Speckled Wood, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Blue, Small Heath, Red Admiral, Large Skipper, Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), my first Dark Green Fritillary […]
Saturday, 30 May 2026
As the hot weather continues unabated there has been a dramatic increase in butterfly numbers today. For once Brimstone was not the most numerous, that honour went to Common Blue. Brimstone were hard pressed too, to outnumber Brown Argus and Small Heath. These were the dominant four species along with but a single sighting of […]
Thursday, 28 May 2026
The record May temperatures continued, with a slightly stronger breeze to take the edge off the heat. Not that the butterflies noticed, with only Brimstone about in any great numbers. There were a few Speckled Wood and Small Heath, a couple of Common Blue, and one each of Painted Lady and Grizzled Skipper. Staying with […]
Sunday, 24 May 2026
Like yesterday, an early start with the temperature over 20°C by 09:00. Bright sunshine and only a light breeze too, but butterfly numbers were no better than yesterday. Brimstone still dominated, but there has been a dramatic increase in Small Blue (Cupido minimus) numbers (I stopped counting at 10). There were a few Speckled Wood […]
Saturday, 23 May 2026
With the temperature already hitting 20°C by 09:00, I returned from my walk today around the time I’d normally be starting out. Sunny again, but only a gentle breeze today, so much better conditions for insects on the wing. There were definitely more butterflies about, with Brimstone and Holly Blue still dominant, but an additional […]
Friday, 22 May 2026
A much hotter day today, which even as I started my walk was already close to being the hottest day of the year. Much more sun than yesterday too, but still very windy. Butterfly sightings were few with the same species seen as yesterday, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Brown Argus, Holly Blue and Common Blue. Like […]
Thursday, 21 May 2026
A much hotter day today, increasingly sunny through the morning, but still very windy. While still not present in large numbers there was a noticeable increase in butterflies on the wing. Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Brown Argus, Holly Blue and Common Blue made up today’s sightings. It was a good day for new sightings of other […]
Monday, 18 May 2026
Rain was forecast for lunchtime, so I headed for the Downs early. Perhaps too early. Another cool morning, largely cloudy and yet again some gusty wind. Total butterfly count was 4, with 3 Common Blue and a single Brimstone, all disturbed from their place of rest. The rest of the insects were also mainly at […]