Totternhoe Knolls and Quarry and Knocking Hoe 21.5.14

Another fine spring day and a trip down to Bedfordshire for a variety of rare Butterflies and Orchids. First was Totternhoe, which has a good population of Small Blue Butterflies and also Duke of Burgundy in the old quarry, as well as lots of Orchids and is really one of the best grassland habitats in the area. Next was Knocking Hoe, a new site for me which has some lovely views, as well as a fine colony of Burnt Orchids and White Helleborine. 

Small Blues Cupido minimus

Common Twayblade Neottia ovate and Beetle

Mother Shipton Moth Callistege mi

Duke of Burgundy Hamearis lucina

A fairly well marked Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus Malvae

A nice pale Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii

White Helleborine Cephalanthera damasonium

Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis

 Brown Argus Aricia agestis

Burnt Orchids Neotinea ustulata

Common Blue m Polyommatus icarus

Oxfordshire - Wiltshire Trip 11-12.5.14

A trip I have long wanted to make, the principle target being the Marsh Fritillary butterfly which being mainly on the west and southern part of England and into Wales I hadn't yet seen. It's such a beautiful butterfly I didn't want to let another year pass without seeing it, so planned a trip with many potential sites to visit and hoped for good weather and timing. On the way down to Wiltshire I couldn't miss the chance to see the Monkey Orchids at Hartslock in Oxfordshire, as the timing for flowering matched perfectly. It is a really stunning location, on a bank above the slender curving River Thames, and very carefully looked after and monitored by dedicated volunteers, being one of only two sites in England open to the public for the Monkey Orchid. I took some photos, taking great care with each step as the site is precious and the orchids very fragile, and wondered at the rich colour and intricate forms of these incredibly rare plants. There are hybrids here, and its fascinating to see the pure Monkeys, pure Lady and hybrids between them. 

Then I drove up to Seven Barrows near Wantage as being a potential site for Marsh Frits, but it was either cold or too early for this site. So then I went over to Bentley Wood as a couple had been spotted that week, didn't see any, but Pearl-bordered Fritillaries were a good consolation. 

The next day I was up early, and optimistically checking the weather over breakfast, I could see a sunny window of opportunity, so went over to Cotley Hill near Warminster. Driving along the A303 past Stonehenge and beautiful countryside was a treat, and I arrived in sunny conditions so raced to the top of the hill to see what I could find. I found some nice Green Hairstreak on Hawthorn but realised I was probably in the wrong place, so came around the hill and found what looked to be better habitat. The grass was thick and rain soaked, and I found some Grizzled Skippers perching waiting for warmth to send them on their way. And through some grass caught sight of something orange and knew it wasn't a Small Heath, I had found my quarry nestling deep in some grass and eagerly took photos. The feeling of discovering something long wished for is a great one and I greedily checked my photos to see how they had come out. They weren't all that good but I didn't really care, I had seen them and the trip was justified. From that view point, and with a strong wind in my face, I could see the threatening dark clouds zooming along toward me from the West and soon it was hammering it down, so retreated down the precipitous slopes to my car. After changing shoes and spotting a break in the clouds, I went back and got some better photos. It was just the most fun as there were around 20 in very good condition, and getting close to them was amazing to see how beautiful they are. With wet the conditions (not called Marsh Fritillary for nothing!) apparently an earlier name for them was the Greasy Fritillary, which belies their ability to withstand wet conditions by having a coating to their wings which the water beads off. I had about 10-15 minutes of beautiful sun and then the heavy rain came again, and I felt exhilarated to have seen so many in such a short space of time. I had been the only person there, and had a special experience watching these gorgeous butterflies go about their business. 

With the forecast for the rest of the day being very mixed I thought finding Orchids might prove more successful  so went to Pewsey Down (which also has Marsh Fritillary) to find Burnt Orchids. I searched over a wide area, through pouring rain, but really wasn't getting anywhere until I met a helpful chap and after some more searching, he found them. I had no idea how small they were, being tight in bud, and felt very fortunate to have seen them.

All in all a brilliant trip to a beautiful part of the Country, will love to go again for longer. 

View of the Thames from Hartslock

Monkey-Lady Orchid Hybrids

Lady Orchid Orchis purpurea

Monkey Orchid Orchis simia

View from Cotley Hill looking North. Here comes some rain...

Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus malvae 

Marsh Fritillary m Euphydryas aurinia

Pewsey Down

Burnt Orchid Neotinea ustulata

Fleam Dyke 7.5.14

A trip to Fleam Dyke this morning, which was windy and cloudy with sunny spells and fairly chilly. Saw lots of Holly Blue perching as well as a wide variety of insects visiting the spring flowers. 

Species seen - 

Holly Blue 10
Green Hairstreak 5
Speckled Wood 2
Orange-tip 6
Brimstone m 4 f 3
Small Whites
Small Tortoiseshell 1

Black and Red Frog Hopper
Beetle Pterostichus niger
Psyllid possibly Cacopsylla melanoneura
Nettle-tap Moth
Moth Incurvaria masculella 
Moth Psychoides filicivora
Bee Andrena minutula
Sawfly Tenthredo mesomela 
Sawfly Tenthredo temula
Cuckoo Bee Nomada
Fly Polietes lardarius
Fungus Gnat Macrocera phalerata

Holly Blue

Holly Blue

Brimstone female and Psyllid (poss. Cacopsylla melanoneura) top middle.

Moth Incurvaria masculella

Sawfly Tenthredo temula

Beetle Pterostichus niger

Fleam Dyke looking north west

Devils Dyke 30.4.14

A beautiful afternoon and early evening at Devils Dyke, and saw just every species of Butterfly that should be there at this time of year which was great. Its a superb site for all sorts of insects and hopefully will be for years to come. Of note I saw 2 Brown Argus, which were possibly the first sightings for Cambridgeshire this year (at least recorded on the Butterfly Conservation Website), as well as a few Small Heath which may have also been the first sightings recorded. What was also really good to see was Dingy Skippers, Brimstone and Peacocks pairing, there was something in the air!

Also interesting to spot was a Parasitic Wasp probing a Knapweed seed head with its Ovipositor, with a Dingy Skipper roosting just above. I made a short film - link.

Species seen - 

Dingy Skipper
Green Hairstreak
Brown Argus
Small Heath
Orange-tip
Peacock
Brimstone
Small Tortoiseshell
Small White
Red Twin-spot Carpet Moth
Lattice Heath Moth
Common Heath Moth

Green Tiger Beetle
Dock Bug
Sloe Bug
Cuckoo Bee Nomada Flava
Sawfly Tenthredo temula 
Crane Fly Nephrotoma flavipalpis
Parasitic Wasp (unknown species)
Beetle Silpha atrata
Soldier Beetle Cantharis Rustica

Green Hairstreak

Dingy Skipper

Crane Fly Nephrotoma flavipalpis

Parasitic Wasp (species ??) probing with Ovipositor

Tenthredo temula Sawfly

Dock Bug

Devils Dyke looking north west

Devil's Dyke (July Course) 11/07/13

An early start (arrived at 7:30am) provided a great chance to see roosting Chalkhill Blues, and see the orchids in good light. I got some nice shots of the Lizard Orchids, which has just peaked but still found some in OK condition. It was also lovely to see the Marbled Whites roosting and slowly waking up and stretching out their wings as the day warmed. And I had a stroke of luck when a sleepy Chalkhill found it great fun to sit on my finger and probe for salts, he was there for ages and it was lovely experience to see him up so close :-) He also had a bit of grass stuck to his proboscis which was funny.

Pyramidal Orchid

Lizard Orchid and Tiger Crane Fly

Lizard Orchid

Marbled White

Marbled White

Chalkhill Blue (male)

Chalkhill Blue (male)

Totternhoe Knolls and Quarry 27.5.13

 Duke of Burgundy

 Totternhoe Knolls and Quarry

Hoverfly in flight

27.5.13

Another beautiful sunny day, a little windy but still hot. So I took the chance to see the Duke of Burgundy, one of our rarest butterflies, and was rewarded for the long journey - hurrah! A lovely little butterfly, the males are very territorial, chasing off anything that comes near, many times a Brimstone was seen off. They are quite happy to sit on their perch until disturbed, so getting close and some good photos wasn't too difficult. 

I also saw while I was there - Dingy Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Orange-tip, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Large and Small White, either Holly or Common Blue (saw two - quite early for Common but couldn't be sure). Plants - lots of Cowslips - important for the DoBs, Bird's Foot Trefoil, Common Twayblade, Clustered Bellflower (fed on by a Dingy Skipper). 

Over at the cliff edge I only saw two Small Blues, it was quite windy and wasn't set to change, so gave up. Also saw two Peacock there.

Very pleased to finally meet his grace :-)