Violet Cosmet and Pyrausta micro moths

Comma, Polygonia c-album

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On Saturday and Monday I visited Pulborough Brooks again, but no sign of the Scarce Tortoiseshell, the Little Ringed Plover or the Nightingales. I checked out Kithurst Meadow on Saturday afternoon and saw  Cowslips and Wood Violets flowering.

  On Tuesday I went to Mill Hill and saw my first Grizzled Skipper of the year laying an egg. I also spotted 4 micro moths: Straw-barred Pearl (Pyrausta despicata), Wavy-barred Sable (P. nigrata), Common Purple & Gold (P. purpuralis) and a new one, a Violet Cosmet (Pancalia leuwenhoekella). The latter was less than 1cm long. There was also a Sphecodes species of Cleptoparasite bee. These lay their eggs inside other bee nests, their larvae feeding on pollen provided by the host.

  On Wednesday in Rewell Wood I found a Comma in exactly the same place that I see one every year, plus fighting Peacocks and a Dark Bush Cricket nymph.

Pulborough Brooks:

Blue Tit with pollen face, Cyanistes caeruleus in Blackthorn

Dunnock singing, Prunella modularis

Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis

Linnet, Carduelis cannabina

Peacock, Inachis io

Pied Wagtail, Motacilla alba

Reed Warbler with fly, Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Reed Warbler

Reed Warbler

Starling, Sturnus vulgaris

Kithurst Meadow:

Cowslip, Primula veris

Wood Violet, Viola riviniana

Pulborough Brooks:

Blackthorn by zigzag, Prunus spinosa

Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos major

Grey Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis

Jay, Garrulus glandarius

Peacock, Inachis io

Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae

Mill Hill:

Common Purple and Gold, Pyrausta purpuralis

Grizzled Skipper laying egg, Pyrgus malvae

Parasitic wasp ovipositing into Carline Thistle

Sphecodes species of Cleptoparasite bee

Straw-barred Pearl, Pyrausta despicata

Violet Cosmet, Pancalia leuwenhoekella

Wavy-barred Sable, Pyrausta nigrata

Rewell Wood:

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Dark Bush Cricket nymph, Pholidoptera griseoaptera