Silver-spotted Skippers at Cissbury Ring

female Silver-spotted Skipper, Hesperia comma

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

Yesterday afternoon I visited Cissbury Ring again and saw seven Silver-spotted Skippers. Two pairs were in flight, another flew on its own and two were roosting. Neil Hulme had alerted me a few days ago that the small colony he found there last year had grown considerably. You can read his full story about the expansion of the Silver-spotted Skippers in West Sussex here.
I also saw a Clouded Yellow twice, once on the path from the car park and once on the Silver-spotted Skipper meadow.

female Silver-spotted Skipper, Hesperia comma

female Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon with Red Mite, Trombidium breei

view to the south

Marbled White, Melanargia galathea with Red Mite, Trombidium breei 

Pearl Veneer, Agriphila straminella

elderly female Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus 

Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas

Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas

Tachina fly

Tachina fly - species id needed!

Butterflies soar at Mill Hill

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

Yesterday morning I did my Mill Hill butterfly transect (28°C) and recorded the highest number this year - 351. Three species have more than doubled in numbers since last week: Meadow Brown, Chalkhill Blue and Common Blue. Results: Brimstone 1, Chalkhill Blue 64, Clouded Yellow 1, Common Blue 36, Dingy Skipper 1, Gatekeeper 46, Green-veined White 13, Marbled White 11, Meadow Brown 142, Peacock 3, Red Admiral 9, Small Heath 1, Small Skipper 2, Small Tortoiseshell, Wall 10, moths: Six-spot Burnet 1, Treble Bar 1. A black adder slithered into the undergrowth at the bottom of the hill.
The Clouded Yellow flew by at the top of the hill and again later at the bottom. Walls were all over the hill and flew up and attacked anything that came near them. A buddleia on the hill was covered in Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals.

Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages

Green-veined White, Pieris napi

Green-veined White, Pieris napi

looking south

looking north

Treble-bar, Aplocera plagiata

male Wall, Lasiommata megera

female Wall, Lasiommata megera

This fresh looking female Wall was resting on the ground and did not move, even when I touched it - very strange.

Chalkhills and moth larvae at Cissbury

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

On Monday I visited Cissbury Ring again and added Brimstone, Brown Argus and Small Copper to Sunday’s tally. Chalkhill blues were everywhere. I found two unidentified moth larvae and an adder slithered away when I disturbed it.

female Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni 

Brown Argus with Meadow Brown with a Red Mite attached

female Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon

female Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon

male Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon

Cinnabar larva, Tyria jacobaeae

Cinnabar larva on ragwort which has had all its leaves eaten by the larva

male Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus 

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja

Garden Snail, Helix aspersa

Gatekeeper, female, Pyronia tithonus

male Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus

ids needed for these moth larvae:

moth larva on Self-heal

moth larva on Self-heal

moth larva on Self-heal leaf

moth larva on thistle head

Roesel's Bush-cricket, Metrioptera roeseli

what is inside this six-spot Burnet pupa case?

Six-Spot Burnet, Zygaena filipendulae

Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris with Red Mites, Trombidium breei

Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae

Squinancywort, Asperula cynanchica

Tachina fly - id needed

Vervain, Verbena officinalis

male Wall, Lasiommata megera