Cinnabar Moth larvae

I leave some Ragwort to flower to accommodate Cinnabar moth larvae but I haven't seen any of the distinctive caterpillars for a few years although I did spot an adult in flight last July. Whilst at a friend's house in the next village I was shown scores of the caterpillars so I was able to take four and restock our site. They are now happily feeding away from the crowded Ragworts where they came from.

Another Bolete - Scarletina Bolete

This proved a little difficult to nail down although I have seen it before locally. Similar to the previous bolete so I had to list the candidates and then check against that list. There have been name changes and Kibby also says it is a poorly defined species and doesn't include it but basically it is the Scaletina Bolete (Neoboletus luridiformis) which has some distinctive colour changes when bruised and cut.

My favourite butterfly appears

I didn't record the Marbled White last year and hadn't seen it this year until this week. I was concerned about their viability as theyt do keep local. In faqct I still am until I see some more individuals. Also seen today was a Comma and in fact we are already at 12 species in 2025 versus 9 species last year. Still nowhere near the 18 or so species I recorded a few years ago but there is time yet. Old photo of Marbled White.

New pond construction - attempt #3

The second pond in the North Field was designed to make up for the first pond losing most of its water due to the lining being torn - those badgers have sharp claws! To avoid using a liner I went for a clay based lining bvut the initial build didn't hold water sufficiently so a second attempt involved lots and lots of clay. This also didn't do the trick with the suspicion that it was leaking slowly out of the uphill bank of the pond. So attampt number 3 is to dig out most of the clay, lay a pond underlay (double thickness), then a puncture resistant liner, then clay on that. Also I now have a feed from the roof of the woodshed to provide enough water in the summer. So far its working although there is still some tidying up to do. It will hopefully provode a suitable habitat for tadpoles next year and also of course newts and dragonflies.

Orchid update

I think the orchid season here is coming to a close - I haven't spotted any new ones today or yesterday. The total is 723 orchids which is a huge increase of 132% on last year's meagre 312. However it is fewer than the totals in 2021,2022 and our best year 2023 when we had 945 orchids. One good aspect is that @othyer' orchids (ie those that are not Common Spotted) increased from just 8 last year to 21 this year. Again this is fewer that the Other Orchid totals for 2019 onwards. The big change is in the number of Broad-leaved Helleborines over those years - we had 42 of that species alone in 2021. The good news in this category is the 5 Bee Orchids, the 4 Heath-spotted Orchids and the reappearance of a single Butterfly Orchid and a single Twayblade. Six species of Orchid is brilliant.

Dry Stone Wall rebuild

The pesky deer gradually destroyed a section of the dry stone wall in the West Field but help is now at hand and it is being rebuilt. This time I will leave a large gap so the deer no longer have to jump the wall and simply block the gap with a gate leant agqainst the wall when any sheep are in there.

Another perfect Heath Spotted Orchid

I've never recorded more than two Heath Spotted Orchids before this year but we are up to four specimen s this year. It can be slightly subjective because of hybridisation so I only count those that match the criteria fully. Here's another one at the very top of the West Field. Notice the prominence of the side lobes and the relatively minor central lobe, the blowsy overlapping broad flower lips, the spotting and dotting rather than strong loops marking of the flowers and the overall shap of the flowerhead which appears fuller and less torpedo shaped than the Common Spotted Orchid. The leaves are much less strongly spotted as well.