The weather in SE England is warm and dry through July and August; the mid-summer flowers are now late summer seeds and fruits. Coming after a wet spring, it is a great year for blackberries. The ivy flower is taking over from the bramble and will be the chief source of pollen and nectar for the autumn insects. The most august of them all on this patch of the North Downs is brown hairstreak, which is still flying in the nearby ancient hedgerow along with other more common butterflies and a diverse array of bees, flies and hoverflies. The garden mint or spearmint (Mentha spicata), which now swamps the herb border, is proving a great pull for day-flying moths.