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 […]
Sunday, 11 Oct 2026
Two new species added today, an ichneumon wasp and a lauxaniid fly. It was another sunny autumn day with very little wind, which meant lots of insect activity. Particularly noticeable now are the Vespidae wasps, especially Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and German Wasp. They can be seen in any tangle of brambles, flying in and […]
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 […]
Wednesday, 23 Sep 2026
The butterflies are easy to count now. Today’s total was 3, but all different, Small White, Small Copper and surprisingly the first Brimstone recorded since 31st July, almost 8 weeks ago. However, my primary focus today was to try and get a good photo of an Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) collecting pollen from ivy flowers. […]
Thursday, 10 Sep 2026
Even fewer butterflies about today. Only 2 Small Copper, 2 Small Heath and a single Meadow Brown were seen. Three weeks ago, I encountered a female of what was a new species for me on the Downs and today I found a male Common Darter dragonfly (Sympetrum striolatum). Another first today was an ichneumon wasp […]
Saturday, 5 Sep 2026
A sunny morning with just a light breeze, yet there were so few butterflies about that it was quite easy to count them. The latest one to be the day’s most numerous was Small White on 9, followed by 5 Small Heath, 4 Common Blue, 1 Small Copper, 1 Brown Argus and just 1 Meadow […]
Friday, 28 Aug 2026
Twenty-four hours since the first meaningful rain in 9 weeks and there is definitely a fresher look to the Downs today. I suspect that this has more to do with the rain washing away a 9-week dust accumulation than it has with any new foliage growth. Butterfly numbers are still well down and likely to […]
Monday, 24 Aug 2026
Another pleasant day for walking, with a strong easterly breeze countering the continuing high humidity. Insect numbers were yet again poor, with butterfly numbers down again (although as I rarely walk the same route on two consecutive visits direct comparisons are not that meaningful). Meadow Brown is still the most numerous, with Small Heath next, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Wednesday, 10 Jun 2026
After five days of very unseasonal weather, with gusty winds and intermittent showers (I don’t like being caught in a sudden heavy shower with a camera slung over each shoulder) I decided it was time to get back onto the Downs this morning. However, with overcast, breezy conditions still, there was not too much insect […]
Friday, 5 Jun 2026
Four days since my last excursion onto the Downs, during which time there has been some much-welcomed rain. Hogweed flowers on which I was photographing insects at waist height just those four days ago are now eye-level! I spotted my first Common Swift (Apus apus) of the summer over the main grassland, at least 4 […]
Monday, 1 Jun 2026
Slightly cooler today and the butterfly numbers continue to increase, although I did not see a single Brimstone. Even without the Brimstone, I managed to see 10 different species. Speckled Wood still patrols the woodland paths and edges, but numbers of Common Blue, Small Heath, Brown Argus and Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) are all up […]
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 […]
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 […]