Wakeham
The number of Marbled Whites has definitely dropped off, with only 9 recorded, but the numbers of Meadow Browns seems to have increased, perhaps a second brood.
Gatekeepers and Ringlets are the most numerous of butterflies and today I also had both Common Blue and a Small Blue. Other butterflies recorded were a lone Peacock and 2 Green-veined Whites.
No Emperor Dragonflies today, but there was a female Common Darter chasing the butterflies especially the Gatekeepers that aren't that much smaller than the darter.
A few hoverflies about, mainly Marmalades, Long Hoverflies and a Common Drone Fly.
Still plenty of bees about, the main ones being Red-tailed Bumblebees, Honey Bees and Common Carder. I did see a Large Meadow Mining Bee again and this time at a different location, so I'm guessing there are at least three individuals at this location.
Here a few images from this morning:
The track heading west from Wakeham.
Along the track was this female Common Darter
Along the track a Common Blue with wings open and...........
.........closed.
A female Small Blue. The first I have seen along the track here.
Still a good number of Gatekeepers around.
And another Gatekeeper on a Blackberry
A Green-veined White
And a Speckled Wood at rest.
A Common Drone Fly. Not a fly at all, but a Hoverfly.
A Swollen-thighed Beetle and 2 Common Red Soldier Beetles on an umbellifer.
So many of these hoverflies about, the Marmalade Hoverfly.
The Meadow full of Knapweed.
One of many Red-tailed Bumblebees on Knapweed.
A Common Green Capsid and........
.........another. They do like these Knapweeds.
A Meadow Grasshopper.
Birds Recorded: Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Great Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Chaffinch.
Butterflies Recorded: Large Skipper, Large White, 2 Green-veined White, 1 Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Marbled White, Peacock, 1 Holly Blue and Common Blue.
Moths Recorded: Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella), Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) and possibly a Breckland Plume (Crombrugghia distans) or most likely a Scarce Light Plume (Crombrugghia laetus).
Bees Recorded: Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum), Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius), Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) and 1 Large Meadow Mining Bee (Andrena labialis)
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)
Hoverflies Recorded: Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), Long Hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta) and 1 Common Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax)
Bugs and Beetles Recorded: Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis), Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) and 2 Common Green Capsid (Lygocoris pabulinus)
Slugs and Snails Recorded: White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis) and a Garden Snail (Cornu aspersa)
Grasshoppers and Crickets Recorded: Meadow Grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus) and Common Field Grasshopper (Chorthippus brunneus)