Back to my old walk again today in overcast conditions and a hint of rain. No butterflies seen, but I did mange a V-Pug Moth in Penns Wood. Another surprise was my second only Soldier Beetle, Malthinus flaveolus on Portland. That's 2 in two days now.
Unsurprisingly there were lots of Red and Black Slugs in the damp undergrowth, where I also came across a few Pyramid Orchids just coming into flower.
Here are a few images from this afternoon:
From the cove up to Penns Weare and......
...........along the track a Burnet Moth caterpillar. Most likely a Six-Spot Burnet.
A Miridae I think, but as to which one I will check
A Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil in the same location as the one I found last month in Penns Copse.
This is a worn V-Pug which was also in Penns Copse.
A Marmalade Hoverfly
Lambs Lettuce, Valerianella locusta. (Also known as Corn Salad)
This is Viper's Bugloss, Echium vulgare the cousin of the Giant Vipers Bugloss which can be found in Penns Wood.
A Pyramid Orchid.
My first for the year and looking around Penns Weare there were quite a few just starting to open up.
Birds Recorded: Shag, Kestrel, 1 Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Goldfinch.
Moths Recorded: The V-Pug (Chloroclystis v-ata)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees, Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) and Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)
Hoverflies Recorded: 5 Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Lesser Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Ischnomera cyanea), Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil (Polydrusus formosus), a Soldier Beetle (Malthinus flaveolus) and a Miridae sp.
Slugs and Snails Recorded: White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis), Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa) and 5 Black Slugs (Arion ater)
Caterpillars Recorded: 2 Five or Six-Spot Burnet
Ships Today
Note:
I received some sad news today about Steve Covey, a good friend of mine from Swindon, who sadly passed away yesterday evening.
My last meeting with Steve was back in Sep 17 Here, when he and his wife Terri paid me a surprise visit here in Wakeham and we had a great time walking around my local patch. Unfortunately I didn't get to see Steve again, but he was always on hand to help me with my ID's, especially Dragonflies and Damselflies of which he was a real expert.
You will be sadly missed Steve, not just for your expertise in the field, but for being a real nice guy. My condolences go out out to Terri and all the family. 😢