Tuesday, 20 May 2025
The Cuckoo was calling in the same area again today, but still no luck locating him. There were another 4 insects to add to the Downs list today – Common Tenthredopsis (Tenthredopsis nassata), a crane fly (Limonia phragmitidis), Hairy Shieldbug (Dolycoris baccarum) and the Tortoise Bug (Eurygaster testudinaria). Latest appearances among the […]
Thursday, 22 May 2025
The Cuckoo has gone silent (or maybe just gone). Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) was out in large numbers today and new insects were a jewel beetle, the Oak Borer (Agrilus angustulus) and having first seen it at Warnham Nature Reserve 9 days ago I have now recorded Scorpion Fly (Panorpa communis) on the Downs. […]
Friday, 23 May 2025
Garden Chafer (Phyllopertha horticola) beetles are out in large numbers and I have my first sighting this spring of Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) dragonfly. I have not seen this dragonfly too often over the past decade but there are two spots in particular where they are most likely to be seen. It looks like this […]
Saturday, 24 May 2025
Insects added today are the Marbled White Spot moth (Protodeltote pygarga), a hoverfly, the Sun Fly (Helophilus pendulus), the Patchwork Leafcutter Bee (Megachile centuncularis), the Common Tachinid fly (Tachina fera) and the sawfly Broad-striped Rhogogaster (Rhogogaster scalaris). A good morning for slugs too. However, if I thought insect ID was difficult then slug ID I can forget […]
Sunday, 25 May 2025
It has been very windy today with no butterflies and very few other insects on the wing, but I did manage to find a Common Red-legged Robberfly (Dioctria rufipes). […]
Monday, 26 May 2025
It was windy again, with a very gusty southwester blowing, so I stuck to the woodland paths and those along the eastern edges of woodland. The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterfly is still to be seen, as are Small Blue (Cupido minimus) and increasing numbers of Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus), but not a Brimstone (Gonepteryx […]
Wednesday, 28 May 2025
A second Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), one of the summer migrant birds, was noted this morning. It was very windy again today, but some good overnight rain meant that in the more sheltered areas there was still a lot of insect activity. Yet again there were lots of Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterflies on the […]
Thursday, 29 May 2025
Another of those very windy days that was good for exercise and not much else, though I did manage to get a photo of a Tortrix moth, possibly the Plum Tortrix (Hedya pruniana). […]
Friday, 30 May 2025
A much better day weatherwise today, and with that two new additions to the Down’s butterfly list for the season – Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) and Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina insularis). Other insects photographed were Mint Moth (Pyrausta aurata), Dimorphic Strider (Macrophya montana) sawfly, Violet Black-legged Robberfly (Dioctria atricapilla) and Large Spearhorn (Chrysotoxum cautum) hoverfly. […]
Saturday, 31 May 2025
Only had an hour this morning for a quick sortie onto the Downs, but had only just arrived when I got a photo of another new insect species, a rove beetle (Staphylinus dimidiaticornis?) that scuttled across the path ahead of me (which is why the photo is not totally in focus – it was moving […]
Thursday, 20 March 2025
During the past 3 weeks or so I have watched the spring flowers coming into bloom on my regular walks into Sutton town centre. First were the crocuses, followed by the daffodils. Then the first of the wildflowers, Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna) the earliest flowering member of the buttercup family, a day or two before […]
Saturday, 5 April 2025
Although another warm and bright cloudless day today there was a very strong wind keeping insect sightings to a bare minimum. I did notice the first hoverflies of the season but as they were not landing for any length of time was unable to identify them. One gorse bush in full bloom hosted a few […]
Tuesday, 8 April 2025
Despite that first flurry of butterflies two weeks ago there are still no great numbers of butterflies about, but large numbers of Sarcophaga sp. flesh flies have now appeared. Latest flower to appear is Cowslip (Primula veris) widely regarded as one of the heralds of spring. Indeed the ‘veris’ in its scientific name means ‘of […]
Friday, 11 April 2025
A few more butterfly species around today, with one sighting each of Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and Small White (Pieris rapae). Sighting of the day, however, after 11 years of walking on Banstead Downs was my first Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus malvae). It was seen in an area that I know supports […]
Saturday, 12 April 2025
Little to add to yesterday but I have seen the first European Peacock butterfly (Aglais io) of the year as well as the first Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombylius major). One of the gorse bushes that is almost in full bloom hosted a swarm of small moths that certainly belong to the genus Cydia, most likely the […]
Monday, 14 April 2025
I thought perhaps that after the rain showers yesterday afternoon and evening I might see a little more insect activity on the Downs today. The ground has been so dry for the time of year that all the rain was gratefully soaked up as if it had not rained at all. First sightings for the […]
Thursday, 17 April 2025
A few more rain showers in the past two days but still not enough to coax any new flowers into bloom. The ground is still looking very dry as if there had been no rain at all. I added another new butterfly species to my Downs list, the relatively common Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines brittanica). Another […]
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
What a difference 5 days makes. The trees on the Downs have all leafed and the visual impact of all that greenery is quite stunning. While the trees may be looking very different there is little to add on the wildflower front, with a just few Common Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) and […]
Friday, 25 April 2025
The first few Common Field Speedwell (Veronica persica), Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) and Bulbous Buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus) have made an appearance. A couple of Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris) trees are in full blossom. Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) are about in their hundreds today. This is probably the most common and numerous bee on the […]
Saturday, 26 April 2025
Only one new sighting today, a rove beetle scuttled across the path right in front of me. No photo as it disappeared quickly into the long grass on the verge and definitely no ID. […]