Saturday 19 July 2014

Butterfly days and a reunion

Marbled White, Melanargia galathea with Red Mites, Trombidium breei
On Tuesday I met Neil at Houghton Forest and we watched an Empress flying around a sallow plus a Red Admiral and a Comma laying single eggs on nettle. Later at Kithurst Meadow I found Gatekeepers mating, a Small Skipper laying on a grass stem and a Marbled White with red mites attached. 
  On Wednesday my Mill Hill transect was fruitful: Chalkhill Blue 29, Common Blue 1, Dark Green Fritillary 1 (passing through very fast!), Gatekeeper 56, Green-veined white 2, Marbled White 41, Meadow Brown 40, Peacock 3, Red Admiral 3, small Heath 1, Small Skipper 1, Small Tortoiseshell 1, Speckled Wood 1, Six-spot Burnet 17.
  On Thursday I drove up to Ealing for a reunion with friends from Saudi days when we all worked at SCECO 30 years ago. I have seen Mike and Eddie several times since then, but not Masoud. Greater London traffic was grid-locked according to radio reports - it took 3½ hours to get there, but only 1½ to drive back.
Houghton Forest:
Comma egg on nettle, Polygonia c-album
Dock Leaf, Rumex obtusifolius
Green Shieldbug, 3rd instar nymph, Palomena prasina
Green Shieldbug, 3rd instar nymph, Palomena prasina
Mirid bug, Plagiognathus arbustorum
Red Admiral early instar larva, Vanessa atalanta
Red Admiral egg on nettle, Vanessa atalanta
Red Admiral larva in leaf tent, Vanessa atalanta
Kithurst Meadow:

Small Skipper egg-laying on grass stem, Thymelicus sylvestris
Straw Dot, Rivula sericealis
Whitethroat with grasshopper, Sylvia communis
Marjoram, Origanum vulgare
Mill Hill:
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus
Gatekeepers mating, Pyronia tithonus
SCECO days:
Mike, Eddie, Colin, Masoud

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