Male Marbled Whites Have Emerged

There were numerous Marbled Whites on Royston Heath this afternoon - all males and keen to feed on the Thistles. Red Kites flew overhead while a pair of mating Robber flies clung on to swaying grasses. The other chalk flowers were Knapweed-Broomrape, Bee Orchids, Clustered Bell Flower, Dropwort and seeds of the Pasque Flower

Dragonflies, Damselflies and Orchids at Paxton

Every third Thursday in the month Paxton Pits runs a Nature Walk and I often act as back-up leader as today. The dominant wild life were the dragon and damselflies including Scarce Chasers, 4-spot Chasers, Keeled skimmer, Banded Demoiselle, Green Eyed Hawkers, Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies plusPyramidal Orchid (with Cone-head Grasshopper) and Bee Orchid

Insects in Hockley Wood

Some insects plus a slime mould from Hockley Wood on Monday. The Thorn-hopper, Centrotus cornutus,, was my favourite bug of the day 

Heath Fritillaries in Essex

A new species for me yesterday - the Heath Fritillary. It is restricted to a few key habitats:  coppiced woodland or sheltered heathland. It is confined to a small number of sites in Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Kent, and has also at reintroduction into sites in Essex. Although very local in its distribution, this butterfly can be seen in large numbers in good years and certainly there were probably 50 plus individuals in three different areas of the wood. The main foodplants are Common Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense), Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys), and occasionally other speedwells (Veronica spp.). Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is reported to be a secondary foodplant and my mating pair were taken on foxgloves. The best lighting conditions were just before a short rain spell.

Kingfisher Boxes at Paxton Pits

Yesterday, we installed the first 2 of 20 kingfisher boxes that are to be situated in strategic areas at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve. The aim is to provide more suitable nest sites especially in areas where banks created by quarrying have collapsed.