We had 2 hours of rain yesterday morning but still need a lot more.

On the butterfly front there were good numbers of Common Blue, Small Copper, Green-veined White, Marbled White, Brown Argus and Speckled Wood.

Coup of the day was locating two Striped Shieldbug (Graphosoma italicum) in a patch of Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium). Searching the internet to get information about this species I discovered that it was not recorded as breeding on the British mainland until 2020, when two populations were found at sites in the London area associated with Common Hogweed and Hemlock. It seems this strikingly coloured and very photogenic bug may well have established itself on the Downs, so I will be scouring this area next year too to see if I can find it again.

Latest wildflowers to bloom are Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) and Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense). Common Hazel (Corylus avellana) is starting to show development of the hazelnuts (or cob nuts).

                                                                                              <<<< Previous page | Next Page >>>>