It has been a great spring for insects in Kent with a spell of uninterrupted warm, dry weather through April and May. The holly blues Celastrina argiolus are all over the hedgerow dogwoods Cornus sanguinea laying eggs on the flower clusters. The small blues Cupido minimus at Fackenden Down are plentiful at the base of…
Tag: Holly blue
Spring butterflies in Kent
The local butterflies seem more abundant than last year and the recent, warm weather has only helped them along. The photos were all taken in Kent on trips to Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve, Shellness in the Swale National Nature Reserve, Mereworth Woods, and Fackenden Down Kent Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve.
August Insects
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…
July’s butterflies
In grassland fields near Theydon Bois in Essex, huge veteran oaks and long defunct hedgerows of blackthorn, bramble and elm play host to little owls, woodpeckers and flocks of young blue and great tits and the July butterflies are abundant. One of the old oaks has a single purple hairstreak looking old and worn but…