Snout

I found a moth in the house which was easily identified as a Snout (Hypena proboscidalis). I have seen this once before, in 2014, again in the house. It is a common moth that uses Nettle as the larval foodplant - plenty of habitat here!

Orchid Summary

It looks like it for the orchids this year although I will continue looking to see if I have missed any. The total orchid is 136 spikes which is an increase of just over 10% on last year. That sounds OK but of course last year we had an increase of 95% over the year before that. However whilst the numbers may not have continued on their stellar upward trajectory, in other respects it has been a brilliant year. There has been a continuation of the spread of Common Spotted Orchids into new areas of the fields with a couple of outliers away from the main orchid area in the West Field and continued spread in the other fields. There has been increases in numbers in the East, South and North Fields which more than compensated for a small drop in total numbers of Common Spotteds in the West Field. But most importantly there has been two new Orchid species this year, doubling the species count from two to four. The Heath Spotted Orchid was a surprise but the Bee Orchid was jaw-droppingly surprising. I just can't fathom how it could have lain dormant for so long (we have been here six years and the area in question was clearly kept mown for years before we moved in) or alternatively where the seed could have come from as I know of no Bee Orchids in the area. Anyway - a very good year for Orchids again.

Skullcap

This is a flower of wet or boggy areas so I don't have it here on site but it is to be found in some meadows in the next village close by some clumps of Dyers Greenweed.

Butterfly update

It doesn't look like a good year for butterflies yet again. I saw my first Small Skippers, Red Admirals and the rather splendid Comma shown above in the last week but these are relatively isolated individuals. The Meadow Browns are ubiquitous as usual but Ringlets and Speckled Woods are not frequent this year and the species total stands at twelve so far.

NEW SPECIES - BEE ORCHID!!!

Just two weeks after increasing the orchid species here to three from two we have added another one so that's four and counting. And this one is the absolutely stunning Bee Orchid.

New Species - Heath Spotted Orchid

I have been busy counting Common Spotted Orchids and protecting them from rabbits and I noticed that one looked different. It turns out to be a species I had not recorded before - a Heath Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata). That makes three species Common Spotted, Heath Spotted and Broad-leaved Helleborine. I am up to a total of 102 Orchids versus 123 last year but there is a good chance that I will reach last year's total over the next couple of weeks.