Rainy Morning at Sharpenhoe

We decided to continue with our RPS Nature Group outing to Sharpenhoe despite a pessimistic forecast. In fact, the light rain didn't prevent us finding and photographing insects etc and by the afternoon it had stopped. Here some Male and Female Chalkhill Blues found roosting among the vegetation, a very fine Wasp Spider with its Grasshopper prey and some of the mating Burnet moths. 

Life on Knapweed

I previously shared the variety and large numbers of insects etc feeding on a Hogweed flower.However, if I had to grow just one flower to encourage insects etc, it would be Knapweed. As well as visiting Butterflies, Bees, Flies, Beetles and Bugs feeding on the nectar, pollen and leaves/sap, there are at least 3 Gall fly species that lay their eggs in the Knapweed heads and their accompanying Ichneumon Wasps - around 50 species photographed yesterday all on the Knapweed plants (see ID sheets).

 

Grafton Centre Plans for Future

I had a couple of hours to kill in Cambridge yesterday so decided to document the present state of the Grafton Centre as it is 2 years since we last photographed the Grafton Centre. All the shops, restaurants and shops at the East Road end have now closed and a decision has been made as to how it is to be developed. Planners say the existing main entrance of the Grafton will be kept, with a corridor of shops leading to an outdoor courtyard that will take visitors to Burleigh Street, opposite the current Primark store. Two empty shops on Burleigh Street will be demolished to create another new entrance. A new life sciences building will replace Abbeygate House on East Road, with restaurants on the ground floor. The rear of the centre, where there are escalators and empty units, will become a "breakout area" for workers at the labs to use. There will also be a new Premier Inn hotel opposite the former Vue on East Road - see Artists Impression at end of Blog.

Last photoshoot 2023 - still some activity at the East Road End.

The plans for redevelopment

River Ouse at Brampton

The intention was to hunt for Fritillaries and White Admirals etc in Brampton Wood but it was closed for Management tasks so we diverted to the River Ouse banks and spent an enjoyable morning hunting sheltered spots for Dragonflies etc. Here some of the captures - interesting that we identified our last dragonfly of the morning as a Skimmer in the field but the photo (image 1) clearly shows the dark patches at the base of the wing and tips (compare image 2).

 

Butterfly Walk at Trumpington Meadows

Joined a butterfly walk at Trumpington Meadows, a Cambridgeshire  Wildlife Trust Reserve. We eventually found the three target species, the Small blue, Purple Hairstreak and White-Letter Hairstreak along with lots of other species. This Copper photo was my favourite along with the Small Blue. A small fly took my eye - Eliozeta pellucens - which looks to be quite rare in the area. Species iID list at the end.