Wood White laying egg

Wood White with freshly laid egg on Meadow Vetchling

To  view  a  Slideshow,  click  here  then  choose  Fullscreen  (top  right)

Yesterday Mark Colvin showed me round Hog Wood by Oaken Wood near Botany Bay. The humidity was 37% and temperature 30°C. We didn’t see large numbers of butterflies but we did find 14 species: 1 Silver-washed Fritillary, 3 White Admirals, 2 Marbles Whites, Large Skippers, Speckled Woods,  Ringlets,Small Heaths, Meadow Browns,  6 Woods Whites, a Small Skipper, a male Brimstone and 2 Red Admirals, including one imbibing salts from poo! Mark also saw a Comma and Common Blue.  A young frog and a brown female adder also showed up. The highlight for me was witnessing a Wood White laying an egg on vetch by the Tugley Wood main path.

Wood White laying the egg on Meadow Vetchling

The egg

juvenile Common Frog, Rana temporaria

Common Frog, Rana temporaria

Heath Bedstraw, Galium saxatil

Honeysuckle, Lonicera caprifolium

Marbled White, Melanargia galathea

 I tried for a side shot, but he turned round to face me!

Mark photographing Red Admiral imbibing salts from poo!

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

Spotted Longhorn beetle, Rutpela maculata on Wild Rose