Thursday 21 June 2012

Tortoiseshells and Mulleins at Mill Hill

Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae
On Sunday I did my weekly butterfly transect at Mill Hill. There were no Adonis or Common Blues so I guess the recent storms had finished them off. The Adonis have had a very bad year compared to last year. I saw a Holly Blue, 2 Small Tortoiseshells, a Meadow Brown and 12 Small Heaths. Small Heaths have been showing in good numbers everywhere but Small Tortoiseshells are having a bad year nationally.It was good to see sizeable Mullein Moth caterpillars in large numbers on 3 Mullein plants.
Dropwort, Filipendula vulgaris
Mullein with moth larvae
Mullein moth larvae, Shargacucullia verbasci
Mullein moth larvae, Shargacucullia verbasci
Mullein moth larva, Shargacucullia verbasci
Privet, Ligustrum vulgare
Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae

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