A Walk on Pevensey Levels in May

 I enjoy walking across the meadows and beside the water ditches of Pevensey Levels at this time of year.

 A few weeks of warm spring weather has accelerated foliage growth around the field margins and the water meadows are covered in buttercups and lady's smock.

There has been plenty of insect activity. 

The resident butterfly species are having a healthy emergence and the arrival of Painted Ladies from the continent has been notable.

Some moth larvae that have hibernated over winter, have resumed feeding.

Wall (Lasiommata megera) (female)

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) (female)

Green-veined White (Pieris napi) (mating)

Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) (male)

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (male)

Garden Tiger (Arctia caja) 

(mid-instar larva feeding on blackthorn)

Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis)

(mid-instar larva basking on ivy)

A Spring Walk on Pevensey Levels

 Spring seemed to be a long time arriving on Pevensey Levels. April was frustratingly cool, wet and blustery but it was good to get a couple of walks in during the warmer days of early May and see some butterflies and damselflies on the wing.

Wall (Lasiommata megera) (mating)

This species doesn't appear on the levels until at least a week after they are first seen on the downs and these were my first of the year. I had already walked past them before my wife spotted them deep in the grass.

The female of this pair has suffered a pigment deformity on her left forewing. This has occurred during her development in the pupa and has resulted in faded markings on the outer edge and almost the complete loss of the fringe.

Green-veined White (Pieris napi) (male)

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (females)

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male)

Long-horned Nomad Bee (Nomada hirtipes) (female)

This rare species has a very restricted distribution in England.

Exploring Coastal Ditches

 I find coastal flats and ditches fascinating places to explore. They are full of insect activity and in south-east England, there is always a chance of seeing rare migrants that have arrived from across the channel. No such sightings for me this year but by way of a catch-up, here are a few images taken during July and August.

In East Sussex, the Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) is pretty much restricted to coastal flats but it can be fairly abundant in some ditches.

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (mating pair)

I came across a mating pair of Red-tailed Bumblebees (Bombus lapidarius) in the same reed bed as the Variable Damselflies and it was interesting to see how different the male and female are from each other. You can also see just what a weapon the female stinger is!

Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) (mating pair)

The following photographs are of mating pairs of  Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) and Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum). Such images help to show the subtle differences between these closely related species.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (mating pair)

 

Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum) (mating pair)

Hairy Dragonfly

The Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) is usually the first species of dragonfly to be seen on the wing each Spring and they are now approaching their population peak on Pevensey Levels.

Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense)

Freshly emerged female

A basking female

Freshly emerged male on the point of taking its first flight

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (mating)

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) (female ab.supracaerulea)

This all-blue aberration of the female icarus was once a rare find but in recent years it has become much more regular in its occurrence. In my youth back in the 1960's, the most common form of the female icarus was brown with variable amounts of blue pigment only in the basal area of the wings, a form that is much more noteworthy nowadays. I presume the cause of such a change is environmental, perhaps due to a warming and drying climate? 

  

More Life in the Margins

Pevensey Levels abound with life in the water margins but just as important are the field margins and hedgerows which are a precious oasis for wildlife amongst the fields of monoculture and livestock pasture.

Green-veined White (Pieris napi) (male)

Wall (Lasiommata megera) (male)

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) (female)

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (male)

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male)

Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius) (males)

(female)

Life in the Water Channels

I don't normally see the Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius) on Pevensey Levels before the end of May but I saw my first one of the year nearly two weeks ago. That individual was too far away to photograph but yesterday I came across a handsome female resting amongst the ditch-side foliage and looking like she had recently undergone a skin-shed.

 

 

Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius) (female)

 

 

 

The Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) has been on the wing for the last two weeks and numbers are steadily increasing but yesterday I saw my first Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) of the year, with half a dozen seen on the wing.

 

 

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (teneral female)

 

 

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (female)

 

 

Drinker Moth (Euthrix potatoria) (mid-instar larva feeding on grass sp.)

Dragons and Damsels Emerge

This week has seen the emergence of several species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) on Pevensey Levels. My first Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) of the year was a newly emerged female in the process of expanding her wings. Although the Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) has been on the wing for two weeks on the levels, Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella), Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) and Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) have all started to emerge this week.

 

 

Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) (female expanding her wings)

 

 

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (teneral male)

 

 

Earlier this week, I met up with Bob for our regular Wednesday walkabout. We headed for the downs in search of orchids. I also saw my first Small Copper (Lycaena phleaes) of the year which just happened to be an aberration, sporting yellow pigment in the middle of the forewings. The specimen was also of form caeruleopunctata which gave this phleaes a rather attractive livery.

 

 

Small Copper (Lycaena phleaes) (female, form caeruleopunctata) (aberration)

 

 

Early Spider Orchids (Ophrys sphegodes)

 

 

The light trap in my wealden garden this week has started to attract species of one of my favourite moth groups, the Prominents (Notodontidae).They are so named because of the body and wing tufts that show when the moths are at rest. The first three species are Prominents and the last species is from the Noctuidae family.

 

 

Iron Prominent (Notodonta dromedarius)

 

 

Lesser Swallow Prominent (Pheosia gnoma)

 

 

Lunar Marbled Brown (Drymonia ruficornis)

 

 

Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta) (female)

Pevensey Levels Come Alive

I have been out on Pevensey Levels a couple of times in the last few days and the waterways and reed beds are alive with dragonflies and damselflies. Red-eyed, Variable and Blue-tailed Damselflies were everywhere and several patrolling Four-spotted Chasers have appeared since my last visit. The Small China-mark moth is a waterside specialist and has also emerged in large numbers.

 

 

Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) (male)

 

Small China-mark (Cataclysta lemnata) (female)

 

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (mating)

 

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (female; form rufescens)

The breeding season is now underway for the Fen Raft Spider. Two mature females were seen amongst the water weeds but were well out of my camera range. One was swollen with eggs but the other had her egg sac under close attendance. 

 

 

Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius) (sub-adult female)

 

 

Fen Raft Spider (D.plantarius) (adult male)