Pevensey Levels in Spring

     The weather during April was warm and sunny but the start of May was very changeable with blustery showers and occasional sunny spells. However, by the end of May we were experiencing a heat wave with temperatures touching 30 degrees centigrade and not a cloud to be seen anywhere.

Here are some images taken over the last two months on Pevensey Levels.

Large White (Pieris brassicae)

(freshly emerged male)

(mating pair)

Green-veined White (Pieris napi) (female)

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) (5th instar larva on nettle)

This one was found in the open on the nettle plant and probably looking to construct a new larval tent.

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

By the 17th. May, the spring brood was starting to emerge.

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) (male)

On the last day of May I saw my first Meadow Brown of the year and there was a significant landfall of Painted Ladies from the near continent, with dozens nectaring on bramble blossom. 

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) (male)

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) (male)

(mating pair)

Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) (male)

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male)

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (male)

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (male)

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (female)

Common Lizard (Lacerta vivipara) (juvenile/sub-adult)

To finish, I came across these predated Moorhen eggs scattered in the grass beside a reed ditch. The culprit is likely to be a crow. I placed them together for the photograph.

Large White Larvae during Winter

 The Large White (Pieris brassicae) is mainly a double brooded butterfly in Britain but in good years, it can produce a third brood, with larvae found late in the season. The latest example that I had previously found was on 12th November 2008, when I came across a colony of 5th instar larvae on Rye Levels.

On 19th December 2025 (as reported in an earlier post) I happened upon a colony of 4th and 5th instar brassicae larvae, numbering about 40 caterpillars, feeding on Rape (Brassica napus) on Pevensey Levels. I decided to observe their progress over the following weeks.

With a warming climate in south-east England, our winters are generally damp and mild and freezing overnight temperatures are less frequent than they used to be. During early January, I noted just three consecutive nights with sub-zero temperatures (down to minus 2 degrees) but this had little effect on the larvae, with only two dead caterpillars found limp in the foliage.

During my vigil, there was no evidence of parasitic attack and by 2nd February 2026 (my last visit) there were only eight fully mature larvae still feeding. I am confident that the vast majority of the larvae completed their development unmolested by predators and had wandered off to pupate.

The main predator of P. brassicae is the parasitic wasp Cotesia glomerata, the adults of which inject their eggs into the larval host. The development of the parasitic larvae within the living caterpillar is rapid and their emergence from the dying host is made obvious by the presence of their yellow cocoons around the dead caterpillar.

The life cycle of Cotesia glomerata is currently synchronised with the spring and summer broods of Pieris brassicae. Unless glomerata is able to extend its season by taking advantage of our warming climate, then it appears that any third brood larvae of P. brassicae have every chance of avoiding such parasitic attack. 

Larval skin-shedding stem (1st January 2026)

The following images are all of mature 5th instar larvae showing evidence of feeding.

(14th January)

(18th January)

(28th January)

Early Winter on Pevensey Levels

 The weather this December has been mostly wet and breezy but has been relatively mild for early winter, with the occasional sunny day. 

On Pevensey Levels, my attention has mainly been focused on the horizon, looking for winter raptors. However, there have also been some interesting butterfly encounters.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

On 30th November, a nice sunny day, this Red Admiral was active along a field edge. It stopped to bask on a clump of ivy and then flew down to a nettle patch. Looking at the photograph when I got home it looks like she may have been ovipositing.

I saw another Red Admiral flying along a hedgerow on 13th December but it didn't stop.

Large White (Pieris brassicae) (larvae on rape)

On 19th December, another sunny day, I came across a colony of Large White larvae feeding on a patch of Rape (Brassica napus), growing in a sheltered corner of a field.

The larvae were a mixture of 4th and 5th instar caterpillars and there is little doubt that they are the progeny of a third brood pairing from late-September or early October.

Jelly Ear (Auricularia auricular-judae)

Early November on Pevensey Levels

 During the last week of October it seemed that the butterfly season was coming to an end. I hadn't seen a Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) since August and there had been no signs of an Autumn brood appearing on Pevensey Levels. 

However, the first two weeks of November were very mild, with some lovely sunny days and a few Clouded Yellows started to appear.

Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) (female, form helice)

On 6th November, this was the only butterfly (of any species) that I saw, on a warm, sunny, still day.

On 8th November, on the same walk, I saw another five Clouded Yellows. These looked very fresh and consisted of  3 males and 2 females (including another helice). 

The weather is now about to turn much cooler and wet. I saw what will probably be my last Clouded Yellow of the year, a male, on 13th November.

The only butterfly that stopped for a photograph was a Red Admiral, basking about 15 feet up in an Oak tree.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) (female) (8th November)

There were still plenty of Common Darters about, including 3 mating pairs seen ovipositing and at rest.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (mating) (8th November) 

Here are some images of fungi seen in the last couple of weeks.

Petticoat Mottlegill (Panaeolus papilionaceus)

Brown Mottlegill (Panaeolina foenisecii)

Peziza vesiculosa  (a species of cup fungus)

Late Autumn on Pevensey Levels

 By the last week of October, the hoped-for autumn brood of Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) had failed to appear and the butterfly season on Pevensey Levels seems to have come to an abrupt end.

There are still a few dragonflies about, with several Common Darters (Sympetrum striolatum) and Migrant Hawkers (Aeshna mixta) on the wing, including mating pairs of each species.

My attention is now turning to watching for winter bird arrivals. Also, species of fungi are popping up everywhere to provide moments of head-scratching.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (male)

Common Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) (male)

I occasionally hear small flocks of Crossbills passing overhead in the Weald and on Ashdown Forest but I came across this male drinking at a puddle on Pevensey Levels.

Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum)

I was pleasantly surprised to find this honeysuckle in flower so late in the season.

When I happened upon this grey fungus which was staining the grass black with its spores, I briefly thought that it was a Magpie Inkcap but on checking my books at home, it didn't really match-up. A few days later I took the second image and the cracking-like markings on the cap in both images may indicate they might be an older and younger example of the same species?

(addendum)

 I am now certain that the species of fungus in the following images are; 

Petticoat Mottlegill (Panaeolus papilioaceus)

 

Some Moths during September

 The number of moths attracted to the light-trap dropped away considerably during September.  Night-time temperatures regularly dropped to single figures and blustery conditions prevailed, which limited suitable moth-trapping nights.

Even so, there were some interesting encounters to be had.

L-album Wainscot (Mythimna l-album) 

A regular migrant that has now become resident)

Brindled Green (Dryobotodes eremita)

Four-spotted Footman (Lithosia quadra)

This is a regular migrant and episodic breeder in Sussex. 

Most years, they appear in my garden, usually as fresh looking singletons, suggesting local emergence. This month, six males and two females, all rather worn, appeared in one night, suggesting to me that they were migrants.

(male)

(female)

Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes)

Reed Dagger (Simyra albovenosa)

This is a nationally scarce species restricted to coastal wetlands in southeast England. 

I came across this one roosting in the grass as I was walking on Pevensey Levels, where I know it breeds.

Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)

Lunar Underwing (Omphaloscelis lunosa)

The ground colour of this variable species ranges from dark brown to brick red and sandy yellow.

Black Rustic (Aporophyla nigra)

Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) (form perfumaria)

A grey variant of this normally brown moth.

Common Plume Moth (Emmelina monodactyla)

Stauropoctonus bombycivorus (Ichneumon sp.)

Other insects are often attracted to the light-trap. This scarce Ichneumon species is crepuscular/nocturnal and is a parasite of the Lobster Moth (Stauropus fagi)