A largely overcast and quite breezy morning so not too many insects on the wing. Most of the butterflies I saw flew up from their resting places, stirred into action by my close proximity. Meadow Brown now seems to be the dominant species, with both Gatekeeper and Chalk Hill Blue numbers seemingly on the decrease. A handful each of Small Heath and Common Blue, a pair each of Small White and Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus), and single Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) and Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria), for a total of only 9 species. My Speckled Wood image illustrates well just how much in need of rain some areas of the Downs are right now.

Apart from large numbers still of honey bee, there was not too much to photograph. I mentioned in my last post that the scarce Striped Shieldbug (Graphosoma italicum) seems now to be well established on the Downs. I got further evidence of that today with 4 individuals close to each other on a Wild Parsnip.

The other insects stirred into action as you walk through the grass are grasshoppers. Even if you manage to follow their jump, finding their new resting place can be quite challenging. My image of a Common Green Grasshopper (Omocestus viridulus) shows just how good at camouflage they are.

A wildflower photographed for the first time this summer, mainly as it has probably been dismissed up to now as ‘just another yellow composite’ is Perennial Sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis).

Black Bryony (Dioscorea communis) vines, this one in a Spindle Tree, are forming their poisonous berries with just a few beginning to turn red.

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