Monday, 26 May 2025
It was windy again, with a very gusty southwester blowing, so I stuck to the woodland paths and those along the eastern edges of woodland. The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterfly is still to be seen, as are Small Blue (Cupido minimus) and increasing numbers of Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), but not a Brimstone (Gonepteryx […]
Saturday, 24 May 2025
Insects added today are the Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) moth, a hoverfly, the Sun Fly (Helophilus pendulus), the Patchwork Leafcutter Bee (Megachile centuncularis), the Common Tachinid fly (Tachina fera) and the sawfly Broad-striped Rhogogaster (Rhogogaster scalaris). A good morning for slugs too. However, if I thought insect ID was difficult then slug ID I can forget about. […]
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
The Cuckoo was calling in the same area again today, but still no luck locating him. There were another 4 insects to add to the Downs list today – Common Tenthredopsis (Tenthredopsis nassata), a crane fly (Limonia phragmitidis), Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) and the Tortoise Bug (Eurygaster testudinaria). Latest appearances among the […]
Saturday, 17 May 2025
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), Small Blue (Cupido minimus) and Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterflies are still around in good numbers. The Common Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) continues to support a wide variety of insects, with all of these seen within a few metres of each other – Cinquefoil Strider (Macrophya annulata), Flecked Strider (Macrophya blanda), Red-thighed Macrophya […]
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, […]
Tuesday, 13 May 2025 – Warnham Nature Reserve
Something different today. I spent the morning at the Warnham Nature Reserve, near Horsham in West Sussex. I will just post a gallery of some of the things that you cannot or may not see on Banstead Downs. […]
Wednesday, 7 May 2025
Three more new insect sightings today – Small Yellow Underwing (Panemeria tenebrata) moth, Four-spotted Oak Bug (Dryophilocoris flavoquadrimaculatus) and Wayward Sawfly (Tenthredo temula). I also discovered the larval case of a Coleophora moth on the underside of an English Oak leaf, so possibly C. flavipennella the Yellow Oak Case-bearer moth. The oak trees are definitely […]