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 […]
Wednesday, 14 Oct 2026
I don’t see too many Orange Ladybird on the Downs, but today I found an Orange Ladybird (Halyzia sedecimguttata) pupa on the underside of an Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) leaf. The adult ladybird will surely emerge soon as ladybirds overwinter as adults. Whereas most adult ladybirds feed on aphids, the Orange Lady bird is a fungivore, […]
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 […]
Tuesday, 6 Oct 2026
A lovely warm and sunny early afternoon on what is billed as our last day of summer temperatures. There are still a few butterflies about. Today’s count was 4, with 2 each of Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) and Speckled Wood. The Small Copper are in very good condition and may be around for at least […]
Friday, 25 Sep 2026
My walk today was badly timed, with the cloud cover only giving way to sunshine as I arrived home. As a result, there was not much insect movement. There was only one butterfly seen. That was a Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), which was last recorded almost 3 weeks ago. There were no Ivy Bees on […]
Tuesday, 16 Jun 2026 – London Wetland Centre
Something different today. I spent a few hours at the London Wetland Centre, exactly a year to the day since my last visit there. I’m only posting a gallery of the species that you are very unlikely to see on Banstead Downs. […]
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 […]
Friday, 22 May 2026
A much hotter day today, which even as I started my walk was already close to being the hottest day of the year. Much more sun than yesterday too, but still very windy. Butterfly sightings were few with the same species seen as yesterday, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Brown Argus, Holly Blue and Common Blue. Like […]
Friday, 15 May 2026
A largely overcast, cool day with a fresh breeze, not boding too well for insects on the wing. Nor did I see a single butterfly on the wing yet oddly found two at rest on a patch of Cow Parsley, each the first of its species that I have noted this season. They were Common […]
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
A bit more sunshine today, so the butterflies are back, but not many. Just a handful of Brimstone, Speckled Wood, and Holly Blue, and one each of Green Hairstreak, Painted Lady, and Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages). Like yesterday, it was leaf searching that provided most of my photo opportunities from a variety of different plants. […]
Saturday, 2 May 2026
Yet another warm sunny day and hardly a breath of wind. The Brimstone butterflies were out by the dozen, but only a handful of Holly Blue, a pair of Orange Tip, and single Red Admiral and Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages). It was a day for beetles. Most of the Garlic Mustard flowers and many […]
Friday, 1 May 2026
The month of May began with the hottest day of the year so far and the grass on the Downs starting to take a bit of strain from the lack of recent rain. The ‘May blossom’ on the Common Hawthorn is starting to add a splash of colour to the trees, albeit white. Still the […]
Thursday, 30 Apr 2026
Weather very similar to yesterday, but the wind not quite as strong. Butterfly numbers still not responding to the warm weather. Brimstone still the most numerous, then Holly Blue, a few Green Hairstreak, a single Small Copper, and the first Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) of the season. Oak trees yet again provided quite a number […]
Wednesday, 29 Apr 2026
Warm, mostly sunny, but a very strong wind. So, I wasn’t expecting too many butterflies on the wing. Total numbers were down on two days ago, and Brimstone still dominates, with the rest almost all Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus), but for single Green-veined White (Pieris napi), Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) and Grizzled Skipper (no photo […]
Monday, 27 Apr 2026
The weather very much the same as my last walk on the Downs two days ago. Disappointingly still no increase in butterfly activity. Brimstone still dominate, with a supporting cast of Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), Holly Blue and Green Hairstreak. I did get glimpses of what might have been one of the Skippers and an […]
Saturday, 25 Apr 2026
Another cloudless, very warm day, but just a light breeze, so butterfly sightings should have been better. Sadly, they were much like yesterday. Brimstone still dominates, with a few a few Speckled Wood, Holly Blue and Green Hairstreak, and just a single Orange Tip. The second moth on the wing of the season, after hundreds […]
Friday, 24 Apr 2026
On another cloudless, warm day the wind continues to blow, keeping down the butterfly sightings. Brimstone is still present in good numbers, supported by a few Speckled Wood and Holly Blue, and just single Peacock, Painted Lady and Green Hairstreak. It is the third time this month that I have seen the lone Common Buzzard […]
Tuesday, 21 Apr 2026
Weather was similar to yesterday but gradually clouding over while I was out. Total butterfly count was 7, yet oddly there were 6 species seen. There were 2 Green-veined White (Pieris napi) and 1 each of Brimstone, Small White, Holly Blue, Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) and a first of the season Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). […]
Saturday, 18 Apr 2026
A warm, sunny day with little wind. Yet still no great numbers of butterflies, and still the usual suspects, Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), Peacock (Aglais io), Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) and Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). The Green Longhorn moth (Adela reaumurella) seemed to be out in even bigger numbers today and swarming again too. The Common Spindle (Euonymus […]
Thursday, 16 Apr 2026
A cloudy morning with intermittent showers, so I waited until after lunch to get onto the Downs. At least the sun was shining, but it was quite windy. Butterfly numbers well down on two days ago with just a few Brimstone and Speckled Wood about, and a single Peacock. Last year was a bumper year […]