A very cloudy but muggy morning.
Not to many butterflies about, but I did record Common Blue, Small Blue, several Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods.
Also a few moths and a couple of new ones for me on Portland, highlighted in red. A Hook-streak Grass-veneer (Crambus lathoniellus), several Silver Y's (Autographa gamma), a Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis) and another new one a Burnet Companion (Euclidia glyphica). Also dozens of 5 or 6 Spot Burnet moth caterpillars.
Also seen were lots of bees, Common Carder, White-tailed, Honey Bee and Red-tailed Cuckoo-bees.
Along Broadcroft Quarry lane a few Common Drone Flies, whilst on the Reserve dozens of Marmalade Hoverflies and a hoverfly Xanthogramma pedissequum.
I came across a Dagger Fly with what looked like a dragonfly head. Really odd. Also several Black-horned Gems (Microchrysa polita) which I last saw in Swindon before I moved here in May 2017. I also came across a few slightly smaller and similar looking flies, the Semaphore fly (Poecilobothrus nobilitatus)
And finally everywhere I looked there were Swollen-thighed Beetles (Oedemera nobilis). Very numerous.
Here are a few images and videos from this morning including two species of Orchid.
A very vocal Wren.
A Wren lets everyone know that this is his patch
A distant shot of one of 2 pairs of Common Whitethroat on the reserve
Lots of Speckled Woods about and also............
..........several Meadow Browns.
A Common Blue, topside........
........and underwing.
I'm hoping I've got this one right. A Hook-streak Grass-veneer (Crambus lathoniellus)
Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis)
This is a Burnet Companion, Euclidia glyphica
The caterpillar of either a 5 or 6 Spot Burnet Moth
Russian Comfrey agg. (Symphytum x uplandicum).............
........which was very popular with the bees. Especially Common Carder and.......
.........and Red-tailed Cuckoo-bees (Bombus rupestris)
I even got a head on pose.
Some busy bees, mainly Common Carder and Red-tailed Cuckoo-bees.
A White-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum)
A Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax).......
.....and another.
So many Marmalade Hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus) about.
A Dagger Fly with........
.........what looks like the head of a Dragonfly!!
A Hoverfly, Xanthogramma pedissequum
This looks like a fly I use to come across in and around Swindon a Black-horned Gem, Microchrysa polita.
A male Swollen-thighed Beetle, Oedemera nobilis
A Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera. My first on Portland and I managed to find 7 of these beautiful plants.
Pyramidal orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis. In the next few weeks there will be dozens of these out in flower.
This is Eyebright, Euphrasia........
....a semi-parasitic which steals nutrients from other plants by attaching itself to their roots.
This is Hedge Woundwort, Stachys sylvatica
Almost like a Snapdragon.
A white flowered Iris, Iris croatica
This was by Broadcroft pools, so fairly damp soil.
I keep coming across new flowers on the island, this....
I'm pretty sure this a campanula .......
............but as to which one, I have no idea.