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 […]
Thursday, 14 Aug 2025
Butterfly numbers greatly reduced. Small Copper is now the dominant species. A few Brown Argus (Aricia agestis), Small White (Pieris rapae), Speckled Wood and Gatekeeper still present. New insects added were Large Rose Sawfly (Arge pagana) and an unexpected passenger on my shorts after walking along the edge of the sheep enclosure, a Castor Bean Tick […]
Tuesday, 12 Aug 2025 – Park Downs
Having been alerted to the presence of several Silver-spotted Skipper butterflies at Park Downs, another of the Banstead Commons Conservators properties, I decided to try my luck. I did find a single male and will restrict my post to images of the species not yet seen on Banstead Downs (with the exception of the hoverfly). […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Wednesday, 30 Jul 2025
Another very overcast morning after a few overnight rain showers, which didn’t stop me adding several new insects to the list for this year. A moth, two flies and two wasps – Dingy Footman (Collita griseola), grass fly (Meromyza sp.), Snail-killing Fly (Trypetoptera punctulata), Yellow-tipped Darwin Wasp (Ichneumon stramentor) and Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) […]
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 […]
Friday, 25 Jul 2025
Two days of heavy showers has seen a lush greenness return to the Downs. Chalk Hill Blue (Lysandra coridon) still predominates, but I have a first ever sighting anywhere of Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus). A rather worn specimen but still a Purple Hairstreak! Other new sightings were a female ichneumon wasp (Ichneumon suspiciosus?), a female Red […]
Monday, 21 Jul 2025
Some good heavy rain in the past 2 days but the ground has been so dry that all was soaked up leaving the paths only slightly damp. No muddy puddles anywhere. At least that awful straw colour of the grass is returning to green with much new growth stimulated by the rain. A week since […]
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 […]
Monday, 14 Jul 2025
What a start to my walk today! Just 3 minutes after setting foot on the Downs I realised that there were a Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) doe and her fawn walking towards me along the path. So I fired off a quick couple of shots and ducked into the trees to my right, trying to […]
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 […]
Saturday, 28 Jun 2025
Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) and Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) are now the most numerous butterflies. New insects for this year’s Downs list are the flies Common Splay-wing (Phania funesta) and Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), an ichneumon wasp (possibly genus Trychosis, cf. T. legator), a possible Yellow-legged Mining Bee (Andrena flavipes?) and the very photogenic (and […]
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 […]
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 […]
Friday, 30 May 2025
A much better day weatherwise today, and with that two new additions to the Down’s butterfly list for the season – Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) and Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina insularis). Other insects photographed were Mint Moth (Pyrausta aurata), Dimorphic Strider (Macrophya montana) sawfly, Violet Black-legged Robberfly (Dioctria atricapilla) and Large Spearhorn (Chrysotoxum cautum) hoverfly. […]
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
A second Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), one of the summer migrant birds, was noted this morning. It was very windy again today, but some good overnight rain meant that in the more sheltered areas there was still a lot of insect activity. Yet again there were lots of Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterflies on the […]