Sunday 26th. May 2013

Wall to wall sunshine had me out early , stopping first at Spring Park Pond , hoping to find some emerging damsel/dragonflies , but on arrival all was very still . Lots of tadpoles still , but not much else . After much scanning of the vegetation , all I could find were two distant newly emerged

specimens , the first a very pink Large Red Damselfly , which , when mature will be a female of the

form melanotom , the second a male Azure Damselfly . I was hoping to find a few Broad-bodied Chasers , either in the pond or sunning themselves on the nearby vegetation , but it wasn't to be .

There were several of these long legged spiders around , and just before leaving found this Snipe Fly

/Rhagio scolopacea , also warming up in the sun .
From there I moved on to Hutchinson's Bank , just over the border in Surrey , hoping to find the Small Blue butterfly for which the site is well known . They have emerged in Sussex recently and I arrived full of hope . After about an hour on site , it looked like it was going to be High Elms again , as only Dingy Skipper and Large White were recorded , and no sign of a Small Blue . But my luck eventually changed , no Small Blue , but 3 firsts for the year . The first was a pristine Small Copper

that did not move very far from it's favoured patch of bare ground , and it was closely followed by

two Small Heaths , another species that likes those conditions . I added Orange Tip , Small and Green-veined White , Brimstone and Peacock to the day's list , before running into Martin , who was doing the site transect . We went to where I had the Sm. Copper as it would be a year first for the

transect and as we approached the area , the third first for the year was found , Common Blue which was also a first for the year transect . The Sm. Copper was refound shortly afterwards , and Speckled Wood was added too , but there the species list finished , without the Sm. Blue . I left Martin to finish the transect and started back to the car . Other interest found , Goatsbeard /Tragopogon pratensis , a

member of the Daisy family , fortunately found before midday , as it's common name is 'Jack goes to Bed at Noon' , as it's flowers are only open during sunny mornings . And finally a caterpillar , I

believe of a moth , 3/4 cms ,with distinctive dark spots on the back end . Any thoughts ? Think we are settled on Double Square-spot , thanks for your help Spock .