Wildlife Photography Exhibition and Silver-studded Blues

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On Friday 28th June we visited the Natural History Museum to see the annual Wildlife Photography Exhibition. Very interesting photos as usual and we had plenty of comments about the judging, as always!

detail from Natural History Museum

detail from Natural History Museum

On 29th June ten enthusiasts joined me for my annual tour of Iping and Stedham Commons where we saw male and female Silver-studded Blues. The hot, cloudless conditions meant that the butterflies didn't settle for long. Red Admirals, tree creepers and a frog were also seen. Afterwards we  visited the Sundews and it was only after studying the photos later that I realised that the fly we had seen on one sundew was a damselfly and another was caught below it. The sundews were flowering. Later I found some moths on the shaded bracken and a tree trunk - Brown Silver-lines, a case-bearing Coleophora species, Ground-moss Grey (Eudonia truncicolella) and a Riband Wave.

Silver-studded Blue, Plebejus argus

case-bearing moth, Coleophora species

Common Frog, Rana temporaria

Ground-moss Grey, Eudonia truncicolella

Lacehopper, Cixius nervosus

Oblong-leaved Sundew with damselflies, Drosera intermedia

Oblong-leaved Sundew, Drosera intermedia

Riband Wave, Idaea aversata

Silver-studded Blue, Plebejus argus