Swallowtails emerging

male False Oil Beetle, Oedemera nobilis, on Wild rose

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

I visited Rewell Wood on Wednesday but found nothing new. On Monday I checked out the Chichester wasteland again where Neil had photographed a Continental Swallowtail last Thursday. His find was significant as it was probably the first confirmed emergence from a wild site in Sussex. Neil’s story with photos is worth reading, a brilliant piece of detective work by our Inspector Papillon: http://bit.ly/1iOacT7 Another BC member, Susie, saw a Swallowtail flying north through her Horsham garden.

While I didn’t find anything as exciting as a Swallowtail, I was pleased to see another species of Stonefly, a Brown Argus, Red Admiral, Speckled Woods, Common Blues, Orange-tips and the very attractive Lackey moth caterpillar crawling along the path. There are many interesting flowering plants in this area, including Dark Mullein, Black Medick and Blue Water-speedwell.

Rewell Wood

Dance Fly, Bicellaria vana

fly - id needed please

Garden Snail, Helix aspersa

Hairy Shieldbug, Dolycoris baccarum

Leaf hopper nymph, Edwardsiana rosae

Leaf hopper, Edwardsiana rosae

id needed for this moth

Small Purple and Gold, Pyrausta aurata

Chichester site:

Black Medick, Medicago lupulina

Blue Water-speedwell, Veronica anagallis-aquatica

Blue Water-speedwell, Veronica anagallis-aquatica

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis

Dark Mullein, Verbascum nigrum

Dark Mullein, Verbascum nigrum

False Oil Beetle, Oedemera nobilis, female on Ox-eye Daisy, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum

Lackey larva, Malacosoma neustria

Nettle Groundbug, Heterogaster urticae

Ox-eye Daisies, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum

Red Ant workers collecting honeydew from Black aphids

Swallowtail territory

Swallowtail foodplant

White Campion, Silene latifolia

White-lipped snail, Cepaea hortensis