As Will the Warden said when I told him this weeks' blog will be butterflies again, "It is butterfly season, after all!" I felt that was vindication enough to do them again with a smattering of Hoverflies thrown in.
Tuesday saw a huge influx of Silver-washed Fritillary, this handsome butterfly is the largest of the British fritillaries. After a long decline its range is increasing. An easy fritillary to ID due mainly to its' siize and rich golden brown wings.
Plenty of others are on the reserve at the moment including White-letter Hairstreak, the elm tree loving butterfly. the oak loving Purple Hairstreak and the Marbled White
But butterflies in the rides are not the only fliers vying for aerospace! hoverflies compete for bramble and yellow flower patches.
This Large Skipper dominated a briar patch maybe but was in serious competition with two hoverflies, Volucella pellucens and Volucella bombylans.
The Large Skipper that made such a lovely appearance and posed beautifully for my camera.
Caterpillars are around now if you look carefully at the vegetation, here is a Peacock caterpillar commonly found on nettles.
So my thanks to Rob Budgen, Frank Cackett and David Saunders for the images.
The North Kent Marshes are a very special area and worth preserving at all cost.