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 […]
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 […]
Tuesday, 1 Sep 2026
Meadow Brown is no longer the dominant butterfly species. That honour now goes to Small Copper, with all 8 that I noted being very fresh-looking individuals, whereas the 5 Meadow Brown were worn and faded. Apart from these two I saw 4 Small White, 3 Common Blue, 2 Small Heath and a single Brown Argus […]
Monday, 31 Aug 2026
After some substantial rain in the past few days there was a refreshing greenness to the Downs again this morning. There were not many butterflies on the wing, with the count of Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), most looking faded and worn, Small Heath and Small Copper all reaching only 8 or 9. These, together with […]
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, 15 Aug 2026
Drought Day 53. It seems like many insects have just given up. Walking along the woodland paths even three days ago you would see swarms of midges/gnats/mosquitoes, or hoverflies hovering. Gone. Apart from a few Meadow Brown butterflies and a single Speckled Wood, virtually no other airborne insects on these paths. Three days ago, you […]
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 […]
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 […]
Thursday, 16 Jul 2026 – Winkworth Arboretum
Paid a visit this morning to the National Trust property at Winkworth Arboretum, near Godalming in Surrey. As I have done previously with visits to localities other than Banstead Downs, I am only posting images of species that I have not yet seen or photographed, or which I am unlikely to see on Banstead Downs. […]
Wednesday, 15 Jul 2026
The Downs desperately needs some rain. All the grass is now straw-coloured. But that has not stopped the butterflies from visiting the flowers. Gatekeeper remains the most numerous, just ahead of Chalk Hill Blue (Lysandra coridon), while the numbers of the rest seem to be dwindling. A few Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Common Blue (Polyomattus icarus), […]
Wednesday, 8 Jul 2026
This was essentially just a long hot walk. Apart from butterflies, greenbottles, flesh flies and the odd hoverfly, as well as the continuing Red Soldier Beetle invasion, there was very little insect activity today. The grass of the common is already beginning to take strain under the baking heat, which is forecast to last for […]
Sunday, 5 Jul 2026
Two weeks between visits at this time of year makes a huge difference. The grass is almost twice as high. Much of the hogweed is now my height and going to seed already. The grassland has a profusion of yellow flowers – buttercups, St John’s Worts, Lady’s Bedstraw, Rock Rose, Horseshoe Vetch and various yellow […]
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 […]
Monday, 22 Jun 2026
Another scorcher, but a steady breeze just to take the edge off the heat. Not a cloud in the sky except for a criss-cross of aircraft contrails. I set off early to beat the ramping up of the heat and was home by 10:30. There were plenty of butterflies around, but not quite in the […]
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. […]
Monday, 15 Jun 2026
Back to the overcast breezy conditions again this morning. Only butterflies on the wing were Meadow Brown and Marbled White, still by far the most numerous, with dozens of each. The other butterflies seen were all disturbed from their resting places in the low vegetation as I walked past. These comprised Common Blue, Brown Argus, […]
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 […]
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 […]