Wednesday 11 July 2012

Gatekeeper and White-letter Hairstreak

Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus
This morning I took advantage of a brief period of some blue sky to look for White-letter Hairstreaks in Hollingbury Park, Brighton. By the time I arrived cloud cover was complete. After an hour a brief sunburst enabled me to see a  White-letter Hairstreak fly across an elm in front of me. That was it apart from a Meadow Brown. Thunder sent me back to the car just in time to avoid a downpour. On the A27 by Shoreham the third worst hailstorm I have ever experienced descended and traffic slowed to 20mph due to fog-like visibility.
Later in the afternoon blue skies tempted me to Rewell Wood again where I found the Red Admiral lording it over his Buddleia. In the meadow I spotted my first Gatekeeper of the year plus Marbled Whites, Large and Small Skippers, Meadow Browns, Ringlets and my first Drab Looper moth.
Common Garden Slug, Arion distinctus
Drab Looper Minoa murinata
Hairy Shieldbugs, Dolycoris baccarum
Marbled White, Melanargia galathea


Marbled White, Melanargia galathea

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta
Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus
Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus showing malformed hind wing
Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus showing malformed hind wing
Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris
Tutsan, Hypericum androsaemum
Tutsan, Hypericum androsaemum
Tutsan, Hypericum androsaemum
male Large Skipper, Ochlodes faunus

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