Orchid Update

It feels like there is a shortage of orchids this year but the facts don't lie. Comparing the figures for Common Spotted Orchids with last year I find that there are in fact 11% more at this stage and increases in three of the four fields. Last year ended up at 138 Orchids (mostly but not exclusively Common Spotteds) which was an increase of 12% on 2016. A similar increase would see us above 150 Orchids this year. I'd settle for that.

Butterfly porn

After the Green Dock Beetle attempted mating of a few posts ago I have photos of Common Blue butterflies mating. They were posed very nicely on a Yellow Rattle plant that had just flowered. This is actually my first confirmed Common Blue sighting this year although I had seen a few distant butterflies that I was fairly sure were Common Blues.

Even more odonata

The third species around in the sunshine a few days ago was the Large Red Damselfly. I was pleased to get a photo of a pair ovipositing.

More odonata

Also seen on the pond in the sunshine was an Azure Damselfly. These can be difficult to tell apart from the Common Blue Damselfly and indeed some other less common blue Damselflies. One key difference is the shape of the black markings on section 2 of the abdomen so I try and get that in the photo is possible. The 'U' shaped markings confirm that this is an Azure Damselfly.

Odonata on the pond

The sunny weather has brought out the odonata despite the shrivelled nature of the pond. A male Broad-bodied chaser was guarding the pond by just flying round it from time to time until he suddenly soared up high. I wondered what had happened until I spotted the female chaser. Here he is on guard duty.

Green Dock Beetle porn

I was about to remove some docks when I spotted a lot of dock beetle eggs so I went off to get my camera. Turning over one leaf I found a pregnant female with a male apparently trying to mate with her. I know so little about the life cycle of beetles that I am not sure whether he was interrupting the egg laying process or a vital part of it.

Burnet larva

I came across this caterpillar yesterday which is a Six-spot Burnet larva. The only other Burnet seen on this site is the Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet but I've checked and that caterpillar has long hairs while this example has short hairs. Ipso facto - it is a Six-spot.

Swallows sighted

My first sighting of swallows over the fields. They were swooping around noisily and for all the world looked like they were glad to be back in the area and filling their bellies. It would be great if they would nest in one of the barns after two years when they have been missing.