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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Wednesday, 12 Aug 2026
By my reckoning this is Day 50 without rain – well a couple of spits and spots that didn’t last more than a minute hardly counted. Even the brambles are taking strain. These usually hardy plants have wilting, even dropping leaves, as their survival mode kicks in to ensure that all available resources are channeled […]
Wednesday, 5 Aug 2026
A largely overcast and quite breezy morning so not too many insects on the wing. Most of the butterflies I saw flew up from their resting places, stirred into action by my close proximity. Meadow Brown now seems to be the dominant species, with both Gatekeeper and Chalk Hill Blue numbers seemingly on the decrease. […]
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 […]
Monday, 20 Jul 2026
Butterfly numbers around the same as Saturday with 90% of those seen being either Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) or Chalk Hill Blue. The Gatekeeper still outnumbers the Blue overall, but on the northern part of the main common Chalk Hill Blue is dominant. This is where I managed a photo of the two species on adjacent […]
Saturday, 18 Jul 2026
A cooler feel today with a wind coming from the north. The dryness continues. Hardly a cloud in the sky and still no rain forecast for several days. Overall butterfly numbers were noticeably down on Wednesday, though Gatekeeper is still the most numerous, just ahead of Chalk Hill Blue, while Meadow Brown numbers seem to […]
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. […]
Wednesday, 15 Jul 2026
The Downs desperately needs some rain. All the grass is now straw-coloured. But that has not stopped the butterflies from visiting the flowers. Gatekeeper remains the most numerous, just ahead of Chalk Hill Blue (Lysandra coridon), while the numbers of the rest seem to be dwindling. A few Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Common Blue (Polyomattus icarus), […]