Great to see the sun out today and a noticeable difference on my walk this morning, with many more butterflies seen than yesterday.
Main highlights didn't go to the butterflies but to two moths, first a pristine Rosy-striped Knot-horn (Oncocera semirubella) which I suspect was newly emerged and the second a new species for me on Portland a Chalk Carpet (Scotopteryx bipunctaria)
Lots of images so no write up as such but instead a few captions alongside the images:
Church Ope Cove and the............
........steps leading away from the cove and up towards Rufus Castle.
Plenty of interest on my walk with this really small grey/black bee. One to ID
One of many Common Field Grasshoppers
There were a lot of lizards about with both Wall Lizards and this Common Lizard.
Potter Wasp, Ancistrocerus trifasciatus
And another view of it.
As I walked through Penns Copse I noticed this bramble with............
............a swollen stem. I suspect some type of gall wasp maybe!!
I'm hoping I've got this right, but I'm pretty sure this is a Chalk Hill Blue...........
A Meadow Brown.
And a Gatekeeper.
A Six-Spot Burnet Moth.
A moth balancing on a twig.......
.........ah that's better. A Rosy-striped Knot-horn.
I suspect this is a freshly emerged specimen.
Others I have recorded before have been really pale individuals.
A Chalk Carpet moth and another new species for my Portland Moth List.
A Common Carder Bee
And a side profile showing the bands on the abdomen.
A Common Red Soldier Beetle
A Marmalade Hoverfly
A Wayfaring-tree, Viburnum lantana just............
..........coming into fruit.
And more Hemp Agrimony now starting to appear. These in the grounds of St Andrew's Church
Birds Recorded: 2 Kestrel, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, 2 Swallow, Dunnock, Blackbird, Blackcap, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet and Goldfinch.
Reptiles Recorded: Common Lizard and Wall Lizard
Butterflies Recorded: Small Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Marbled White and Chalkhill Blue
Moths Recorded: 5 Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae), 1 Rosy-striped Knot-horn (Oncocera semirubella) and a Chalk Carpet (Scotopteryx bipunctaria)
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius), Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) and a bee sp.
Wasps Recorded: Potter Wasp (Ancistrocerus trifasciatus)
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta) and a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria)
Beetles and Bugs Recorded: Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva)
Slugs and Snails Recorded: White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis) and a Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)
Grasshoppers and Crickets Recorded: Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)