Saturday, 11 Oct 2025
Still managing to see some new insects. Today it is the Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus) and it is my first ever sighting of this species. Other insect photos were of yet another variation to the spot pattern on a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis), a late Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) on a still flowering Musk […]
Thursday, 9 Oct 2025
Common Banded Hoverfly (Syrphus ribesii) and Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) are still the most numerous hoverflies, but I managed to pick out a Plain-faced Drone Fly (Eristalis arbustorum). Both Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) and Seven-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata) are about in good numbers, particularly on sycamore and dogwood leaves. I also found a Cucumber Green […]
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 […]
Wednesday, 1 Oct 2025
It may be autumn but I can still add some new insects to the year list. This morning’s sighting was a soldier fly, the Twin-spot Centurion (Sargus bipunctatus). Other species photographed include the European Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus), which seems to be very abundant right now, and another Parent Bug (Elasmucha grisea), this one on a […]
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2025
Maybe the butterfly season is now officially closed. ZERO count this morning. With the area of the old sheep enclosure now accessible I decided to check out some of the trees in this area and added a few things to my lists. On a Common Hazel (Corylus avellana) leaf I found a leaf mine possibly […]
Thursday, 25 Sep 2025
Butterfly numbers continue to be counted on one hand with 2 Small Copper, a single male Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), a female Meadow Brown and a Speckled Wood making up today’s tally. A new insect, but not the greatest of photographs, is the White-footed Hoverfly (Platycheirus albimanus). Also photographed was a Common Froghopper (Philaenus spumarius). […]
Saturday, 20 Sep 2025
Overcast and quite windy, neither great weather for insects nor photography. Nevertheless, I did manage a photo of another Parent Bug (Elasmucha grisea) on a birch leaf, this one presumably with no more parenting duties, or more likely a new adult that will now overwinter. There were a few distant butterflies about and another sighting […]
Thursday, 28 Aug 2025
Only Speckled Wood and Small Copper butterflies to be seen today. Some of the Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) took a liking to some rotting apples beneath a Crab Apple tree. New species added were a leafhopper (Arboridia ribauti) on a Wild Cherry leaf, a Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis) and a possible Banded Comb-Footed Spider […]
Monday, 25 Aug 2025
Very few butterflies on the wing. A few Gatekeeper and Speckled Wood, a single Large White and some distant unidentified blues. The Common Sycamore Aphid that have been keeping tight formation in aestivation on the underside of sycamore leaves for the past few months have vanished. They will have dispersed and migrated to other sycamore […]
Friday, 22 Aug 2025
Two new insects today, a Mother of Pearl (Patania ruralis) moth and a Silver Birch Aphid (Euceraphis betulae), as well as leaf mines on a birch leaf caused by larvae of the Birch Tortrix (Epinotia immundana) moth and on oak leaves caused by larvae of the Oak Cloud (Acrocercops brongniardella) moth and a Stigmella sp. moth. […]
Sunday, 17 Aug 2025
New insects added were the caterpillar of the Fox Moth (Macrothylacia rubi) and a female Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis). This is my first species of damselfly recorded on the Downs and together with the Southern Hawker dragonfly only the second member of the Odontata. I discovered an Apple Leaf Miner moth (Lyonetia clerkella) leaf […]
Friday, 15 Aug 2025
New insect today another one of those very confusing ichneumon wasp males that all look very similar. My best guess on this one and it could be the most appropriate name for it in this case is Ichneumon confusor. On the upper surface of an English Oak leaf I came across what I believe to […]
Monday, 11 Aug 2025
Butterfly numbers generally are dwindling, although Small Copper numbers have increased again. Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown still dominate, but there are still significant numbers of Chalkhill Blue, even though these are starting to look increasingly worn and tatty. The odd Speckled Wood, Red Admiral and Brimstone are still to be seen. There were no new […]
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 […]
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, 1 Aug 2025
Good numbers of Brown Argus and Small Copper around this morning. Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown are increasing, and the large numbers of Chalkhill Blue are beginning to tail off. New insects for the summer were Long-legged Plant Bug (Phytocoris varipes), Alder Spittlebug (Aphrophora alni), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and Spotted Wolf Spider (Pardosa amentata), the latter […]
Monday, 28 Jul 2025
Good numbers of Brown Argus present today, outnumbered by Small Copper, which are in much greater numbers than recent days. Insects added today were Tiger Ichneumon Wasp (Ichneumon xanthorius), a tiny (+/- 5 mm) Orthocentrus ichneumon wasp that landed on my watch strap, European Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) and Kite-tailed Robberfly (Machimus atricapillus). Also photographed were […]
Sunday, 27 Jul 2025
A very overcast day and I was out much earlier than usual so not too much activity. Despite the conditions I did find one new insect on a bramble stem, the Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus pratensis) and another on a sycamore leaf, a mosquito, a Culex sp., possibly the Southern House Mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus?). Also […]
Tuesday, 22 Jul 2025
Chalkhill Blue is still present in amazingly large numbers. New sightings included Wavy-barred Sable (Pyrausta nigrata), Tortoise Shield Bug (Eurygaster testudinaria) final stage nymph and Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax). On an English Oak (Quercus robur) the galls of the Knopper Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalicis) were found, as well as the egg sacs of the Sputnik Spider […]