27 May 19

Bottom Combe Quarry and Railway Cuttings

This morning I paid another visit to the railway cutting next Bottom Combe Quarry to see what butterflies I could find. Despite the cloud cover it appears that this location is pretty good for butterflies, whatever the weather.

Today I had 3 Speckled Woods, 2 Common Blue, 6 Small Blue, 1 Large White and 2 Dingy Skippers.

Also here were a few Brown-tail Moth caterpillars, hundreds of Swollen-thighed Beetles and the slightly smaller Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetles (Ischnomera cyanea)

Here are a few images from this morning

The old railway track leading into Easton.

On the banks plenty of flora for butterflies like this.........

............male Small Blue..........

............female Small Blue and...........

..........Dingy Skipper.

Meanwhile along the hedgerow were these Speckled Woods.

And another.

Brown-tail Moth caterpillar

Swollen-thighed Beetle

And another.

Top and bottom are Swollen-thighed Beetles (Oedemera nobilis). On the right is a Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)

This a Sicus ferrugineus and is a member of the Thick-headed Flies.

Certainly an odd looking fly which..........

...........feeds on nectar or pollen of various flowering plants.

Birds Recorded: Kestrel, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, 2 House Martin, Dunnock, Blackbird, 1 Blackcap, Great Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.

Butterflies Recorded: 3 Speckled Woods, 2 Common Blue, 6 Small Blue, 1 Large White and 2 Dingy Skippers.

Bees Recorded
: Buff-tailed Bumblebee and Honey Bee

Bugs and Beetles Recorded
: Swollen-thighed Beetles (Oedemera nobilis) and Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea)

Flies Recorded 1 Sicus ferrugineus

Caterpillars Recorded: Brown-tail Moth

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On this day..........
2018
Today's Sightings Here.