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| Tawny Owl, Strix aluco |
On Thursday I was advised by Neil
Hulme that the Marbled Whites at
Fairmile Bottom were worth a visit. While there Neil spotted a white form of
the Bee Orchid. One Marbled White had been captured by a Crab Spider. These
arachnids account for considerable butterfly predation. In one
location recently one spider captured several specimens of an endangered
butterfly which is in serious risk of extinction at the site. Marbled whites
are one of the hosts for the larvae of a
red parasitic mite, Trombidium breei, which do not harm the butterfly. Two interesting articles about this:
http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/ft/ext/lc/LC_Parasitism_2002.pdf
Afterwards I visited Houghton Forest, where I found a Fungus Weevil and a Peacock larva. As I was returning to the car park I heard a Turtle Dove at 4:30pm. I entered the woods in search of it and came to a glade. A large brown bird then flew off from a tree and perched in an adjacent one. I was able to get some shots of a beautiful Tawny Owl. When it flew it seemed much larger than it really is (15 inches tall).
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| Bee Orchid, Ophrys apifera |
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| Bee Orchid, white variety, Ophrys apifera |
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| Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale |
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| Garden Grass-veneer, Chrysoteuchia culmella |
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| Heath Bedstraw, Galium saxatile |
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| Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus |
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| female Marbled White, Melanargia galathea |
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| male Marbled White |
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| female Marbled White |
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Marbled White, Melanargia galathea with red mite larvae, Trombidium breei
captured by Crab Spider, Misumena vatia.
One leg has been cut off and can be seen near the top of the flower. |
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| Pyramidal Orchid, Anacamptis pyramidalis |
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| Satin Grass-veneer, Crambus perlella f. warringtonellus |
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| Short-winged Conehead, male, Conocephalus dorsalis |
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| Wild rose, Rosa species |
Houghton Forest:
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| bee |
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| Bird's-foot Trefoil, Lotus corniculatus |
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| Creeping Cinquefoil, Potentilla reptans |
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| Fungus weevil, Anthribus albinus |
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| Peacock larva, Inachis io |
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| Riband Wave, Idaea aversata ab. remutata |
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| Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus |
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possible Small Buckthorn Roller, Ancylis obtusana
too worn for positive id |
the Small Buckthorn Roller has been recorded in nearby Rewell Wood
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