After some substantial rain in the past few days there was a refreshing greenness to the Downs again this morning.

There were not many butterflies on the wing, with the count of Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), most looking faded and worn, Small Heath and Small Copper all reaching only 8 or 9. These, together with 5 Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), a single Small White and my 5^th Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) of the summer, took the species count to just 6.

Two large aphid colonies were spotted, Black Bean Aphid (Aphis fabae) and Fly Honeysuckle Aphid (Hyadaphis foeniculi). Both have already been seen this summer, but this is the first alates of the Black Bean Aphid that I have noticed.

A Hornet Mimic Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria), a hoverfly that has been about in large numbers this summer, was seen on a seed head of Curly Dock (Rumex crispus). Just three weeks ago I had a first of the year sighting of a Common Harvestman, today that honour went to a Red Harvestman (Opilio canestrinii) seen on a Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) leaf.

English Oaks hosted my next two sightings, a larval case of the Cloaked Case-bearer moth (Coleophora kuehnella) and an Oak Marble Gall. These galls form on the terminal buds of English Oak (Quercus robur) and contain in a single chamber a single larva of the Oak Marble Gall Wasp (Andricus kollari agamic). The larvae feed, mature and pupate inside the chamber. The newly emergent wasp, which has a maximum size of only 2mm, bores its way out through the hard case of the gall leaving behind an almost perfectly circular hole, which can be seen in my image.

Some leaves of a Common Beech (Fagus sylvatica) showed the abandoned mines of the Ilex Leaf-miner moth (Phyllonorycter messaniella). The moth larvae live and feed inside delicate, tentiform cocoons on the underside of the leaves, where they then pupate. The adult moths have already emerged from the pupae on the leaf in my image.

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