Tuesday, 14 Oct 2025
I reached the Downs this morning with a song bouncing round in my head from the year I graduated from university – this will give away my age. I was hearing Maddie Prior singing the opening line from a 1973 Steeleye Span song, “One misty, moisty morning, when cloudy was the weather”. It just described […]
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 […]
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 […]
Monday, 29 Sep 2025
A very heavy dew this morning after an early mist. A distinct autumnal feel and look about the Downs today. The first patch of brambles I came to I watched for a few minutes as one of my favourite birds, a Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), searched for insects, larvae or spiders. […]
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). […]
Tuesday, 23 Sep 2025
The temperature dipping, with the first single digit overnight temperature of the autumn. ZERO butterflies, but… Something much more interesting. I came across a huge Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) colony, which was found because it straddled a path in one of the clearings making the entrances to the hundreds of nests more visible. A search […]
Friday, 19 Sep 2025
A last bit of summery weather today, with an almost cloudless sky and the temperature already pushing 20° by 10:00. The last few butterflies were on the wing with a good variety but not many of anything. A grand total of 3 Common Blue, 2 Small Copper, 1 Speckled Wood, 1 Meadow Brown and 1 […]
Sunday, 14 Sep 2025
Exactly 2 weeks since my last walk on the Downs. My wife and I have been away for a while. What a difference in 2 weeks. Summer is gone and with it most of the insects. I walked for an hour, much needed exercise after the short holiday, and my tally of insects was – […]
Saturday, 30 Aug 2025
A surprisingly large number of Small Copper still, which is by far the dominant butterfly, with a few Small White and Meadow Brown. New species added were a Sycamore Moth (Acronicta aceris) caterpillar, Diamond-back Marble (Eudemis profundana) moth, Oak Borer (Agrilus angustulus) beetle and Sallow Gall Midge (Iteomyia capreae) galls on Salix sp. leaf. […]
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 […]
Saturday, 23 Aug 2025
There are two reliable locations for seeing the Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) dragonfly and I was fortunate to see it at both this morning. It is such a strong, fast flyer and rarely seems to settle anywhere that getting photos is extremely difficult. The larvae in the Buckthorn Bent-wing (Bucculatrix frangutella) leaf mines are now leaving […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]