Monday, 6 Oct 2025
It looks like ‘Fall’ has started. After some rain and very strong winds in the last few days the ground is becoming covered in leaves. It is a great time of year for spider webs too, as the low angle sun picks them out very well. By far the most common insect […]
Friday, 19 Sep 2025
A last bit of summery weather today, with an almost cloudless sky and the temperature already pushing 20° by 10:00. The last few butterflies were on the wing with a good variety but not many of anything. A grand total of 3 Common Blue, 2 Small Copper, 1 Speckled Wood, 1 Meadow Brown and 1 […]
Saturday, 30 Aug 2025
A surprisingly large number of Small Copper still, which is by far the dominant butterfly, with a few Small White and Meadow Brown. New species added were a Sycamore Moth (Acronicta aceris) caterpillar, Diamond-back Marble (Eudemis profundana) moth, Oak Borer (Agrilus angustulus) beetle and Sallow Gall Midge (Iteomyia capreae) galls on Salix sp. leaf. […]
Saturday, 9 Aug 2025
Another two insects added today with Acorn Weevil (Curculio glandium) and Wall Mason Wasp (Ancistrocerus parietum). I also added a female Kite-tailed Robberfly (Machimus atricapillus) and an adult Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina) to my image gallery. The purple fruits of the Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), sometimes referred to as dogberries, are now ripening. They look […]
Saturday, 2 Aug 2025
New insects added today were Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) moth, a possible Common Furrow Bee (Lasioglossum calceatum?) and Parent Bug (Elasmucha grisea). Latest photographs of already recorded species include a Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus) seen for the first time despite its name on Dock, Sun Fly (Helophilus pendulus) hoverfly (a.k.a. ‘The Footballer’), a Common Wasp […]
Friday, 18 Jul 2025
The first Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) seen since 1st May – or maybe I’ve been writing them off as female Common Blues. New insects added to the list are a pair of wasps, a female Greater Pennant Wasp (Gasteruption jaculator) and a Sharp-shouldered Fly Fox (Ectemnius dives) both on the same Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium). At […]
Friday, 11 Jul 2025
As I mentioned on 1st July it is becoming a much more uncommon sight to see a Song Thush, but this morning I had a pair on the path ahead of me near the south-eastern corner. There has been a major eruption of Chalkhill Blue (Lysandra coridon) butterflies. Particularly along the northern edge of the […]
Wednesday, 9 Jul 2025
An unexpected curtailment of this morning’s walk, but 30 minutes was enough for me to locate a 22-spotted ladybird (Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata) larva on Hogweed. Also found another new flower, one of my summer favourites, Common Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris). […]
Saturday, 5 Jul 2025
Heavily overcast and breezy morning so conditions not great for photography. Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) butterfly numbers increasing dramatically, probably the most prominent species right now. Saw (and heard!) a pair of very noisy Jay (Garrulus glandarius) in the oak trees at the south end of the sheep grazing enclosure. There is a Common Red Soldier […]
Monday, 30 Jun 2025
A scorcher today. It was 29°C already at 11:00. I’d normally be on the Downs then but have been home over an hour already. Saw the first Peacock (Aglais io) butterfly since 28th April and there were three new insects added to my list – Median Wasp (Dolichovespula media), Nettle-tap moth (Anthophila fabriciana) and a tumbling flower […]
Friday, 27 Jun 2025
Having seen my one and only Green-veined White (Pieris napi) this summer yesterday, another presented itself for a photo opportunity this morning. New additions to the insect list are Ringed Tubetail (Fagisyrphus cinctus) hoverfly and Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva), a major emergence of these, swarming all over Cow Parsley and Hogweed. Also, on the large […]
Monday, 23 Jun 2025
We need rain. There is a distinct straw-coloured tinge to all the greenery now. Marbled White is still the most numerous butterfly, Meadow Brown and Small Heath numbers are increasing and the latest to emerge in good numbers is Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus). Two weeks ago today I posted an image of the spectabilis form of […]
Tuesday, 17 Jun 2025
Among the butterflies today was the first Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) of the season. New insects added were Brown Oak Tortrix (Archips crataegana) and the first tumbling flower beetle (Variimorda villosa) of the season. On the flower front the first of the Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) is close to blooming. Nature note for the […]
Monday, 16 Jun 2025 – London Wetland Centre
Something different today. I spent the morning at the London Wetland Centre. I usually go there for birdwatching, but decided this time to leave the 300 mm lens at home and concentrate instead on insects. I won’t give details of everything I saw, just post a gallery of the insects (and some snails) that you […]
Saturday, 14 Jun 2025
Very windy again today. Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) still the dominant butterfly, seemingly on every patch of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense). Dark Green Fritillary (Speyeria aglaja) are definitely increasing in numbers. An insect added to the year’s list was Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis) moth. On a Hogweed I came across a Flower Crab Spider (Misumena […]
Friday, 13 Jun 2025
On a very hot humid day with only a gentle breeze Dark Green Fritillary (Speyeria aglaja) are still present in large numbers along with Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) but today outnumbered by Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) which seems to be reaching peak numbers. Some new additions were Artichoke Beetle (Sphaeroderma testaceum), Silver Y (Autographa gamma) moth and […]
Thursday, 12 Jun 2025
Not seen since 5th April one of the resident Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) swooped low enough near me that I was able to get a decent photo with just a 135 mm lens. A second wave of Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) butterflies seems to be starting, and there were also large numbers of Speckled Wood (Pararge […]
Monday, 9 Jun 2025
Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) butterflies are starting to appear, while it was yet another good day for other insects. New sightings were 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), Common Marble moth (Celypha lacunana), a leaf-curling sac spider (Clubiona lutescens), Variable Tenthredo (Tenthredo livida) and a Lauxaniid fly (Minettia inusta). On a large stand of as yet non-flowering […]
Saturday, 7 Jun 2025
The first Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) of the summer on the Downs put in appearance this morning – well the first I have really noticed anyway. There was also a small flock of 6 or 7 Common Swift (Apus apus) swooping low over the main grassland area hawking insects. The insect list continues to swell. […]
Wednesday, 4 Jun 2025
Several Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) calling this morning but still no clear sighting. It was a very good day for insects with lots of new additions – Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius), Yellow-lined Plant Bug (Deraeocoris flavilinea), Small Green Pot Beetle (Cryptocephalus hypochaeridis), Meadow Tortrix (Grapholita compositella) moth, Yellow-legged Mining Bee (Andrena flavipes?), Tree Bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum) and Tapered Drone Fly (Eristalis […]