Today was all about the butterflies with well over 150 seen of 11 species. Incredibly I didn't see a single "Blue" butterfly.
Other highlights were 3 Swallows, a Common Whitethroat by the cuttings, two Blackcaps around the wildlife site and a Chiffchaff singing from the top of one of the trees along Old Quarry Lane.
Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
3 Swallow
Dunnock
Blackbird
1 Common Whitethroat
2 Blackcap
1 Chiffchaff
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
A Chiffchaff singing in Old Quarry Lane
Feral pigeon
Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded:
1 Dragonfly sp. (A large blue-coloured individual along Easton Railway Cuttings)
Butterflies Recorded:
4 Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris
20+ Large White Pieris brassicae
20+ Small White Pieris rapae
5 Green-veined White Pieris napi
5 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
10+ Ringlet Aphantopus hyperantus
20+ Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina
10+ Gatekeeper Pyronia tithonus
20+ Marbled White Melanargia galathea
2 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
2 Peacock Aglais io
A very worn Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina.
As the Meadow Browns begin to fade so the freshly emerged Gatekeepers Pyronia tithonus begin to show.
On the flower of this Bramble (Rubus fruticosusa) were a Marbled White (Melanargia galathea), Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum), a spider sp. and a bug sp.
Moths Recorded:
Vestal moth Rhodometra sacraria
Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella
Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella
A Garden Grass-veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella.
Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
Early Bumblebee Bombus pratorum
Honey Bee Apis mellifera
Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius
A Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius on Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra.
2 Ichneumon Wasp sp.
An Ichneumon Wasp sp. with a Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva photo-bombing my shot.
1 Hornet Plumehorn Volucella zonaria
1 Pellucid Hoverfly Volucella pellucens
My first Hornet Plumehorn Volucella zonaria of the year.
And another first for the year was this Pellucid Hoverfly Volucella pellucens. AKA Pied Plumehorn
Many unidentified flies
Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
2 Common Green Shieldbug Palomena prasina
30+ Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva
1 Harlequin Ladybird Harmonia axyridis - form succinea
30+ Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis
My first Common Red Soldier Beetle Rhagonycha fulva this year. And........
.............they were everywhere.
1 Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera
Common Field Grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus
Common Green Grasshopper Omocestus viridulus
Meadow Grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus
A Dark Bush-cricket Pholidoptera griseoaptera
Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea
A Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea
Slugs and Snails Recorded:
Garden Snail Cornu aspersa
White-lipped Banded Snail Cepaea hortensis
Large Red Slug Arion ater
Spiders Recorded:
1 Flower Spider Misumena vatia
Plants:
1 Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis
Ted:
Garden Snail Cornu aspersa
White-lipped Banded Snail Cepaea hortensis
Large Red Slug Arion ater
Spiders Recorded:
1 Flower Spider Misumena vatia
Plants:
1 Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis
It was good to see that...........
...............there was at least one Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis in flower.
Ted:
Ted taking it easy. At least there was shade, water and a treat when he caught up with me.