Wednesday, 23 Sep 2026

The butterflies are easy to count now. Today’s total was 3, but all different, Small White, Small Copper and surprisingly the first Brimstone recorded since 31st July, almost 8 weeks ago.

However, my primary focus today was to try and get a good photo of an Ivy Bee (Colletes hederae) collecting pollen from ivy flowers. First requirement was a patch of ivy in full sun, to give good light for the photos. The second part of the equation was patience. I zeroed in on a likely spot and waited for a bee (or bees) to settle there. I think the wait was worth it.

Another bee spotted was a female Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) nectaring from a late bloom on a butterfly bush.

Despite the dearth of insect activity, as in my last post, I was able to add 2 new insects to my Downs list. First of these was one of the few ichneumon wasps that poses no ID problems. The only issue, which remains unresolved, was whether it was a male or female Achaius oratorius.

The second was only discovered when I was already ay home sitting in front of the PC processing the bee photos. I felt something crawling on my forehead and had to coax it off onto some tissue paper to get a photo. It turned out to be a small (5mm) Deer Ked (Lipoptena cervi), a louse fly of the family Hippoboscidae. This fly feeds on the blood of its hosts, which in the UK are Red Deer, Fallow Deer and Roe Deer. It is an indication that there are deer in the area, in the case of the Downs this is the Roe Deer.

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