Perhaps I headed to the Downs a bit too early this morning. A very cold night again and a heavy dew, so not too many insects on the wing as they need to warm up before becoming active. Not too surprising that I only saw two butterflies, both Speckled Wood.

Sycamore leaves were the chosen resting place for two insect species that I have not seen before. These were a female Pallid Buttercup Sawfly (Monophadnus pallescens) and a female Broad-banded Nomad Bee (Nomada signata).

I continue to find early instar caterpillars that I am unable to identify, whether on leaves or dangling from silk threads. Of course, those dangling caterpillars make walking along paths with overhanging trees a bit of an obstacle course now, if you don’t want to bring the caterpillars home on your clothes.

A tiny (about 1 cm) Girdled Snail (Hygromia cinctella) was seen on the upper surface of a Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) leaf.

Having long since flowered, the Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera) is now showing the early stages of its fruit. Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) and/or Orchard Apple (Malus domestica) or even a hybrid of the two, are now starting to blossom. It is difficult to tell these apart at this stage, although I believe may images do show M. sylvestris.

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