Wednesday 31 July 2013

Meadow butterflies and moths

female Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus
On Sunday and Monday I visited a small triangular meadow recently reclaimed from a patch of nettles which surrounds it on two sides. The stalks of some of the 14 Bee Orchids I spotted five weeks ago are still visible.  I saw the following 14 butterflies in the meadow: Brimstone, Chalkhill Blue, Comma, Common Blue (second brood), Gatekeeper, Green-veined White, Large Skipper, Large White, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Small Copper, Small White. In addition I spotted Silver Y moths and three micro-moths, two of which I cannot identify. Also a fledgling bird which may be a Warbler. On Sunday I visited Arundel WWT and saw a Bewick’s Swan cygnet.
Bewick's Swan & cygnet, Cygnus columbianus
micro-moth, Agriphila straminella
Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon
Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon
Cinnabar larva, Tyria jacobaeae
Cinnabar larvae, Tyria jacobaeae
Comma, Polygonia c-album
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus with Red Mites, Trombidium bree
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus with Red Mites, Trombidium bree
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus




Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus
female Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus
Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus
Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus
Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus
Green-veined White, Pieris napi
Green-veined White, Pieris napi
Green-veined White, Pieris napi
Green-veined White, Pieris napi
the meadow
This youngster sat on the stalk for some minutes and tweeted gently. It did not seem to mind me being five metres away.
juvenile Whitethroat, Sylvia communis
Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus
Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus
Large White, Pieris brassicae
Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina
Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria
Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria
Rush Veneer, Nomophila noctuella
micro-moth - id needed please!
Peacock, Inachis io


Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta
Red-shanked Carder Bee, Bombus ruderarius
Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus
Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus
Silver Y, Autographa gamma
Silver Y, Autographa gamma
Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas
Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas


Small White, Pieris rapae
Small White, Pieris rapae
Small White, Pieris rapae
Small White, Pieris rapae
Small White, Pieris rapae
White-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus lucorum