Friday 14th. June 2013

Firstly , a catch up on a very quick visit in a slightly period up on the Common , yesterday afternoon .

Although it was still very windy , I found two Orange Footmen , I think , that must have been trapped low down because of that wind , as they are not a day flying species . I also found two specimens of the day flying Beautiful Yellow Underwing  moth , but both were being blown all over the place . Hopefully I'll get another opportunity with them . Also found , a newly emerged Black-tailed

Skimmer . Like the Broad-bodied Chaser , all newly emerged specimens look the same , later the males' abdomens will turn powder blue , with a black tip . The females will stay as they emerge . Last find was a black and yellow insect , with markings that I don't think I've seen before , and bright

orange legs . I have done some digging , but haven't managed to ID it yet , any help would be appreciated .
Today , I had hoped to get some time in butterflying , but it started grey and windy , regardless , I headed for the Downs , and hoped . The first interest I came across was the larvae of the Glow

Worm / Lampyris noctiluca , which reminder me to have an evening in July and try and get some shots of the adults .

 



Fragrant Orchids look as if they are going to have a great year . I didn't count all I saw , but my estimate must be 1000+ . I also found 22 Man Orchids , must be many more there .

I re-found the Early Gentian , well one of the plants , which is still in flower with it's last . I am still waiting to hear from the Kent Plant Recorder to see if my ID has been confirmed .

Just a single Adder , a female , was recorded , but 27 Slow Worms also went into the book .

Butterflies recorded were abysmal , I really fear for thsis and more even , next year . If it hadn't been for what looked like a morning hatch of Common Blues , male above , female below , numbering 16 , just before reaching the car , I would have recorded just 8 butterflies of 3 species , and it's almost mid-Summer . 2 Small Heath and a worn Grizzled Skipper made up the poor recording . One European migrant was seen , in the form of a Silver Y moth . I did chase down another moth , being

buffeted by the wind , which I think might be Lace Border , but don't bet on it . Three plants caught my eye on the way round ,

Meadow Vetchling / Lathyrus pratensis , a member of the Pea family ,

deep in the woods , Sanicle / Sanicula europaea , a member of the Carrot family ,

and Wimbledon can't be far away with the first Wild Strawberry / Fragaria vesca , a member of the Rose family , fruit being found . I was heading home for lunch , but on the way , the skies lightened somewhat and even a glimpse of the sun was seen , so I decided to do the full butterfly transect at High Elms LNR , which was long overdue due to the poor weather conditions . I'm glad I did the transect , but just 15 butterflies of 6 species was all that was recorded . Common Blue (7) and Brimstone (4) , meant Large White , Peacock , Dingy Skipper and Grizzled Skipper all registered a singleton . Day flying moths , Burnet Companion (3) , Mother Shipton (1) and Silver Y (2) were also recorded . The 4 Brimstones were all on Burnt Gorse  and shortly after spotting them , 2 of the 3 males attempted to mate with the female . They tried for ages , but she was having none of it . I got a

good number of shots of the topwing of both the males and the female , showing the orange spot on each wing , a sight that is not often seen as they always rest with wings closed . I felt sure that I was going to get a mating pair at long last , but the two males gave up in the end and the female flew off and hid in the vegetation . I checked the Orange Tip eggs on the Garlic Mustard in the coppice area ,

and they were no longer to be seen , having hatched into caterpillars , the next stage in their life . After feeding up , they will pupate , and spend the rest of this year and early next year as a chrysalis , to emerge as adults in late Spring . The Birdsnet Orchids have increased to 18 , but I'm sure some of

the originals have been eaten , and the White Helleborines in flowers must number 100+ at least . On the way back to the car , and dying for a cup of tea , I came across these two Red and Black

Leafhoppers in a Buttercup flower . Don't know what they were doing , but they looked very contented with their lot .