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 […]
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. […]
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, 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. […]
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 […]
Friday, 10 Jul 2026
Not quite as hot as yesterday and a little more insect activity. Another good day for butterflies too. The Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) remains the most abundant, but a sudden surge in numbers puts the Chalk Hill Blue (Lysandra coridon) in second place. Meadow Brown and Ringlet are still fairly prominent and I noted maybe a […]
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 […]
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, 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 […]
Monday, 4 May 2026
A warm but very overcast day. Not a single butterfly seen in almost 3 hours. In fact not too much flying around at all, so it was a day for scanning leaves for insects at rest. I found lots of familiar bugs that I have been seeing for the past few weeks, Brassica Shieldbug, Forest […]
Sunday, 10 Aug 2025
Although I have seen it before, at Warnham Nature Reserve in West Sussex and on Park Downs only 2 miles from here, this morning I recorded European Hornet (Vespa crabro) on the Downs for the first time. Although I watched it darting round for a few minutes, it did not land anywhere so I was […]
Friday, 8 Aug 2025
Latest insect added to the year list is the Rufous Grasshopper (Gomphocerippus rufus), several of which were seen at different spots on the Downs. This is apparently regarded as a nationally scarce species and is restricted mainly to chalk grasslands in the south-east of England. After staking out a promising patch of Red Bartsia where […]
Wednesday, 6 Aug 2025
Two new insects today, a female Marjoram Wasp-Sawfly (Tenthredo thompsoni) and a Red Bartsia Bee (Melitta tricincta). These bees stay very close to the ground as their sole source of pollen is the Red Bartsia flowers. They also fly much faster than their bigger bumblebee cousins and more directly, so even trying to follow them […]
Sunday, 3 Aug 2025
Only one new insect today, one of those tricky to identify ichneumon wasps, a pimpline ichneumon which I believe might be Apechthis compunctor? After many sightings of nymphs earlier in the summer I have now seen an adult Speckled Bush-cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima). Other photographs included a female Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), a male Kite-tailed […]
Thursday, 26 Jun 2025
Latest butterflies to put in an appearance are Large White (Pieris brassicae), Green-veined White (Pieris napi) and Comma (Polygonia c-album). Other insects photographed were Ornate-tailed Digger Wasp (Cerceris rybyensis), Common Tachinid (Tachina fera) fly, Roesel’s Bush-cricket (Roeseliana roeselii) and Dimorphic Strider (Macrophya montana) sawfly. On a leaf of a Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) I came across what I think may be […]
Wednesday, 25 Jun 2025
A few showers of rain yesterday, not that you’d notice. Still Marbled White butterflies everywhere you look and both Small Heath and Ringlet seem to be increasing in numbers. First sighting of the summer this morning of a single Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). Other insects seen were Common Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina) 3rd instar nymphs […]
Friday, 16 May 2025
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) and Small Blue (Cupido minimus) are the most numerous butterflies in the open areas with a good number of Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) on the woodland paths. The Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) is beginning to blossom and is supporting a host of insects and spiders. Those photographed today were Small Blue butterfly, […]