Friday, 1 May 2026
The month of May began with the hottest day of the year so far and the grass on the Downs starting to take a bit of strain from the lack of recent rain. The ‘May blossom’ on the Common Hawthorn is starting to add a splash of colour to the trees, albeit white. Still the […]
Saturday, 2 May 2026
Yet another warm sunny day and hardly a breath of wind. The Brimstone butterflies were out by the dozen, but only a handful of Holly Blue, a pair of Orange Tip, and single Red Admiral and Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages). It was a day for beetles. Most of the Garlic Mustard flowers and many […]
Monday, 4 May 2026
A warm but very overcast day. Not a single butterfly seen in almost 3 hours. In fact not too much flying around at all, so it was a day for scanning leaves for insects at rest. I found lots of familiar bugs that I have been seeing for the past few weeks, Brassica Shieldbug, Forest […]
Tuesday, 5 May 2026
A bit more sunshine today, so the butterflies are back, but not many. Just a handful of Brimstone, Speckled Wood, and Holly Blue, and one each of Green Hairstreak, Painted Lady, and Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages). Like yesterday, it was leaf searching that provided most of my photo opportunities from a variety of different plants. […]
Friday, 8 May 2026
A rather cloudy afternoon and a much-shortened timeframe for my walk today. I stuck to a route that kept me off the main grassland area, so not unsurprisingly I recorded just 3 butterflies, single Brimstone, Holly Blue and Dingy Skipper. I managed to find the rather uncommon Yellow Weevil (Lixus iridis) at a second site, […]
Tuesday, 12 May 2026
Despite it being a warm, sunny day with only light winds there were still not many butterflies to be seen. For the first time Brimstone was not the most numerous, that honour went to Holly Blue. Apart from these two I saw just one each of Speckled Wood, Green Hairstreak and Small Heath. One day-flying […]
Friday, 15 May 2026
A largely overcast, cool day with a fresh breeze, not boding too well for insects on the wing. Nor did I see a single butterfly on the wing yet oddly found two at rest on a patch of Cow Parsley, each the first of its species that I have noted this season. They were Common […]
Saturday, 16 May 2026
With weather conditions the same as yesterday I was again expecting to see very few insects on the wing. Unsurprisingly most were seen at rest on leaves. The total number of butterflies did not exceed 10, but 6 species were seen, 4 Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), 2 Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), and one each of […]
Monday, 18 May 2026
Rain was forecast for lunchtime, so I headed for the Downs early. Perhaps too early. Another cool morning, largely cloudy and yet again some gusty wind. Total butterfly count was 4, with 3 Common Blue and a single Brimstone, all disturbed from their place of rest. The rest of the insects were also mainly at […]
Thursday, 21 May 2026
A much hotter day today, increasingly sunny through the morning, but still very windy. While still not present in large numbers there was a noticeable increase in butterflies on the wing. Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Brown Argus, Holly Blue and Common Blue made up today’s sightings. It was a good day for new sightings of other […]
Friday, 22 May 2026
A much hotter day today, which even as I started my walk was already close to being the hottest day of the year. Much more sun than yesterday too, but still very windy. Butterfly sightings were few with the same species seen as yesterday, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Brown Argus, Holly Blue and Common Blue. Like […]
Saturday, 23 May 2026
With the temperature already hitting 20°C by 09:00, I returned from my walk today around the time I’d normally be starting out. Sunny again, but only a gentle breeze today, so much better conditions for insects on the wing. There were definitely more butterflies about, with Brimstone and Holly Blue still dominant, but an additional […]
Wednesday, 1 Apr 2026
Warmer weather this morning, and only a light breeze, but annoyingly overcast, which would yet again restrict the insects on the wing. Several first sightings of the season today, including Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum) on Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens), Curled Rose Sawfly (Allantus cinctus) on Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) and Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) […]
Thursday, 2 Apr 2026
Cooler again and a gusty wind. Largely overcast like yesterday, but what I missed in insects on the wing I made up in what I found on leaves. I began with an unidentified tiny (3.5mm) ‘looper’ or ‘inchworm’ caterpillar of the first larval stage, probably of a Geometer moth (family Geometridae), found on a newly […]
Saturday, 4 Apr 2026
The first day for quite a while that I have not been able to find anything new to report. So, I will have to be satisfied with posting images of species already recorded on the Downs, hopefully better than the first time. I got the day off to a start with a male Tawny Mining […]
Tuesday, 7 Apr 2026
A beautiful, cloudless sunny day with only a light breeze. Heading for over 20°C and the hottest day of the year so far, and the first day that I have ventured out in short sleeves without a jacket or sweater. These conditions have brought out the butterflies again after 12 days absence, not that there […]
Wednesday, 8 Apr 2026
Another beautiful, cloudless sunny day with only a light breeze. Likely to be hotter than yesterday. Surprisingly though, fewer butterflies around. Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) still the most numerous, but Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) has reappeared in reasonable numbers. Like yesterday a few Peacock (Aglais io) and Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) about too. A Common Buzzard […]
Thursday, 9 Apr 2026
Brimstone numbers down today, almost matched by Speckled Wood, these two by far the most dominant of the butterfly species. A bit more variety today, with 5 Peacock, 2 Orange Tip, 1 Comma, and first sightings of the season of just one each of Red Admiral and Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). Still large numbers of […]
Friday, 10 Apr 2026
A drop in temperature of 10°C overnight, and even though it was yet another bright day with very light winds the butterflies have disappeared again. My total for this morning was just 2, a single Speckled Wood and surprisingly my first Green-veined White (Pieris napi) of the season. I have noted a few aphids starting to […]
Monday, 13 Apr 2026
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 […]