Friday 5th. July 2013

Made an early start to get to Lullingstone before it got too hot , when the Dark Green Fritillaries would be jet propelled . I arrived about 0830 , hoping that more males and hopefully a few females would have emerged , after just 2/3 specimens on my last visit . Well the timing was good , as I

seemed to catch the males at breakfast , nectaring on the Greater Knapweed and Field Scabious .

Although the winds were light , the bank that the DGFs like is always more windy , and so it was today . There were obviously more DGFs on the wing , but I had expected more , and after a couple of laps around the bank , I didn't see a single female . I did find a recently emerged male that gave an

opportunity to show the underwing , without vegetation in the way , and was even happy to pose on

my finger , as I moved him to a more sheltered position , away from the wind . Hard to estimate numbers , but I would say 25/35 specimens , spread over the bank and the area above , another relfection of a cold Winter and wet Spring . A single Marbled White , my first sighting of the

year , whistled past and out of sight along the bridleway , and two Small Tortoiseshells were also

found nectaring on the  Knapweed . Another first of the yearwere 4 Small Skippers , all males like the one pictured . There had to be a third first , and that came in the form of a freshly emerged 6 Spot

Burnet Moth . Although looking like a 5 Spot , the spots on the 6 Spot sometimes fuse together , like the top ones in the shot above . The 5 Spot is found in the South West and Wales , and prefers damp meadows , marshes and coastal areas , as opposed to the grasslands preferred by the 6 Spot .  Other species seen were Common Blue , Small Heath , Meadow Brown and Ringlet . After a couple of hours , and no mating pair opportunities , I made my way down to the river to cool off , looking for Odonata , only to find three dogs swimming and charging up and down the bank , and very few

Odonata . I did eventually get a male Banded Demoiselle into the viewfinder , but had to go into the

adjoining arable field to get a shot of a female . I did add Speckled Wood to the list on the way back

to the car park , along with Figwort in flower , a member of the square stemmed Labiate family . Along the road , the Green-flowered Helleborine haven't altered much , so topped up the 'Brownie points' with a bag of local Cherries for Carol , her favourite . A quick look at White Hill , managed specifically for Chalkhill Blues , didn't find any , just a couple of Brimstone , a single each of Common Blue and Brown Argus and a few Meadow Browns and Ringlets . The only flower interest

found was Yellow-wort / Blackstonia perfoliata , a member of the Gentian family , a plant that appears to grow through it's leaves . Last stop was up on the Downs , where , even with the high

temperature , 2 female and 2 male Adders were found , including this male with opaque eyes , about to slough . Another Marbled White , also a non-stopper was found , along with several Burnet Moth

cocoons , in  this one , the yellow and black caterpillar can be seen . And finally , under a piece of timber , I found a Sexton Beetle / Nicrophorus sp. (probably N.investigator) , who was in the process

of burying a dead Slow Worm . Apparently , they can smell a corpse at distance , then fly in and start their work . Once buried , the female lays her eggs in the corpse .