Along the Woodland Edge during May and June

 Walking along the woodland edge looking for insects is always enjoyable. In one of my favourite woods, there are substantial mint beds along some of the shady and damp rides which can be particularly productive.

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) (male)

Vapourer Moth (Orgyia antiqua) (mid-instar larva basking)

Scabious Sawfly (Abia sericea) (male & female)

Tenthredo mesomela (Sawfly sp.)

Macrophya annulata (Sawfly sp.)

Carabus problematicus (Violet Ground Beetle sp.)

Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietis)

Denticollis linearis (Click Beetle sp.)

Green Tortoise Beetle (Cassida viridis)

(mating pair)

Gonioctena decemnotata ( Leaf Beetle sp.)

Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum)

Tortoise Shieldbug (Eurygaster testudinaria)

Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis)

(female with her legs wrapped around her egg sac)

Changing Seasons

 Summer extended it's influence into early October as the first couple of weeks were mild with prolonged sunny spells. As the month progressed, Autumn took more of a hold and the weather became more changeable and blustery. Now we are into November, slightly cooler temperatures accompany the wind and rain and meteorological Winter officially starts in three weeks time. 

There were certainly a few butterflies still on the wing as October began but as the month continued, insects in general dwindled in number and my focus has turned to looking for fungi.

Small White (Pieris rapae) (mating)

Red-legged Shieldbug (Pentatoma rufipes)

Sphaerophoria taeniata (Hoverfly sp.)

Glyphotaelius pellucidus (Caddisfly sp.)

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female)

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

False Death Cap (Amanita citrina)

Common Earthball (Scleroderma citrinum)

The following fungus has got me scratching my head. I think that it may be a member of the Cortinariaceae group. The images are of the same specimen taken eleven days apart.

Winter work has begun in the wood, starting with the burning of Rhododendron waste cut since last winter.

 

 

Late Summer along the Woodland Edge

 With the arrival of August and September, there is a hint in the weather that Autumn is not far away. In my local wealden woods, single brooded summer butterfly species have finished and have been replaced by those species that have two or three broods in a year.

However, nature provides an important nectar source for these late season insects. At this time of year a blueish haze borders many woodland rides as the flowers of Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis) burst into colour. 

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) 

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

Comma (Polygonia c-album)

Peacock (Aglais io)

Green-veined White (Pieris napi)

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)

Small Heath (C.pamphilus) (ab. antiparvipuncta)

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (female)

White Admiral (Limenitis camilla) 

In Britain, camilla is predominantly a single-brooded species, flying from late June to early August. In good years, a partial second brood can occur which has become more regular in recent years. I happened upon this second brood male on 15th September.

Volucella inanis (Hoverfly sp.) (male and female)

Volucella zonaria (Hornet Hoverfly) (female)

Speckled Bush-cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima) (female)

Southern Oak Bush-cricket (Meconema meridionale) (female)

Spiked Shieldbug (Picromerus bidens) (mating)

A Walk in the Garden

 Having undergone knee surgery in recent weeks, my ability to get out into the countryside, to look for emerging Spring butterflies, has been put on pause. 

My walking rehabilitation has been restricted to patrolling my garden for insects.

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) (male)

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) (female)

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male)

Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis) (male)

Yellow Dungfly (Scathophaga stercoraria)

Hoverfly sp. (Helophilus pendulus)

Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus) (mating)

Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum)

Weevil sp. (Liophloeus tessulatus)

Crab Spider sp. (Xysticus cristatus) (female)