It's that time of year when you're just as likely to find a crowd of visitors standing around outside the visitor centre as you are sitting in the hides, despite the amazing variety of wading birds that are passing through on migration. The reason? Insects. Mostly, but not exclusively, butterflies.
Among the butterflies, one of the most popular, and one of the largest, is the painted lady, and several of these beautiful butterflies are currently feeding on the abundant Buddleia flowers around the visitor centre. Painted ladies are large orange and black butterflies, with a few white spots on their forewings and intricately patterned underwings.
The underwing of a painted lady
There are three potential confusion species at Minsmere. The superficially similar small tortoiseshell is smaller with a row of blue spots along the trailing edge of the hindwing. The comma lacks any white on the upperwing and has ragged wing edges that appear to be almost torn. The other large orange and black butterfly that you might spot at Minsmere is the silver-washed fritillary, a recent arrival that has had a a particularly good year. They are larger, rounder winged, and lack any white in the upperwing.
Painted lady from above
Painted ladies are long distant migrants. Early in the year they are mostly found in Africa, with the first generation of adults migrating north into central and southern Europe during the spring. A few of these will overshoot and arrive in the in late April or early May, but we usually have to wait for the next generation of adults to emerge in late July and continue their northward migration across the North Sea. It's these adults that are now feeding on our Buddleia or in gardens across England. They will then eggs on a variety of plants, including thistles, nettles, mallows and viper's-bugloss - the various caterpillar foodplants.
Painted ladies cannot survive overwinter in the UK, so the final generation are faced with choice: take their chances here and almost certainly perish, or migrate back south to continue breeding, eventually reaching North Africa to start the cycle all over again. Their is increasing evidence, from radar data among other things, that large numbers of painted ladies (other migrant butterflies such as red admirals) do successfully make this southward migration every autumn.
Painted ladies are far from the only long-distance migrant insects to look for at Minsmere this month. Red admiral and large white butterflies are also migrants, as is the aptly named migrant hawker dragonfly. Even more excitingly, we've also been treated to the arrival of several hummingbird hawkmoths - perhaps one of the most spectacular insects you can see in the UK. They are superbly named as they really do look like tiny hummingbirds as they hover alongside flowers, sipping the nectar with a long tongue-like proboscis. I say tiny, but as moths go they are quite large, measuring about 3 cm in length. Numbers vary each year, and they are never common, but this looks like being a very good year so keep an eye open in your gardens or office green spaces this summer.
Hummingbird hawkmoth by Matt Parrott
Painted lady, red admiral and hummingbird hawkmoth are all among the 70 species that we've been asking you to look for at Minsmere for the last 15 months, so it's certainly worth spending time around the Buddleia bushes. You should find various other butterflies too, as well as silver Y moths (another migrant) and the impressive hornet hoverfly that looks very similar to a hornet but is harmless as it lacks a sting.
Just a short distance from the visitor centre, our pond dippers have been watching the water vole again today, as well as seeing a hobby catch a sand martin. Highlights in the pond have included water stick insect, newts and water beetle larvae - you can join in with pond dipping every Monday and Wednesday during August.
Another impressive insect to look for is the huge great green bush-cricket - one lucky family managed to find two on Saturday. For such a large insect they can be hard to spot, but you may hear the males stridulating (the technical term for making a sound by rubbing their hindlegs together) around the trails.
Great green bush-cricket by Jon Evans
Of course, it is also worth spending time in the hides as part of your visit. There are up to 20 species of wader visiting the Scrape as they rest to refuel on their long migration. You can read more in my last blog, but species to look out for include green, common, wood and curlew sandpipers, little stints, dunlins, knots, sanderlings, ruffs, snipe, black-tailed godwits, whimbrels, greenshanks, spotted redshanks, ringed, grey and little ringed plovers and turnstones. Not forgetting, of course, the 200+ avocets that are still feeding on the Scrape.
Also on the Scrape, you should find several little gulls and common terns, a few Sandwich terns, and possibly a little or black tern. The odd kittiwake and Mediterranean gull is still possible, and as the larger gulls arrive to roost in late afternoon you may find a yellow-legged or Caspain gull.
Migration is underway among the smaller birds too, with several whitethroats, lesser whitethroats, willow warblers, chiffchaffs and garden warblers spotted in the North Bushes - especially during the morning. Last week we were treated to several pied flycatchers - including one ringed during Thursday's bird ringing demonstration. Perhaps we'll find a spotted flycatcher or whinchat this week.
Lesser whitethroat by Jon Evans
The reedbed is quieter in late summer, but there are still regular sightings of bitterns, marsh harriers (especailly young ones), hobbies, reed warblers and bearded tits, almost daily reports of otters, and even the occasional sighting of a great white egret or kingfisher to make a visit to Island Mere or Bittern Hide and essential part of any visit.