Following on from my Alner's Gorse meander at the weekend, the weather was again dry and warm, with relatively little breeze so it was another butterfly trip that caught my fancy, this time to the renowned chalk slopes of north Dorset.
The view from the top.... If you squint a bit you can probably make out my house waaaaaaayy off in the distance!!
Not sure why, and despite their name... I find Yellow Dung Beetles stunning!
First butterfly of the day, Red Admiral
Now, possibly a Nursery Web Spider (and I'm not even sure it's alive!)
A Speckled Wood, the patrolled frequently
Got to be honest, this may be the same spider from a different angle, in which case it IS alive because it's legs have moved.... Or it's a different one!
Another Dung Fly
A Flesh Fly
Probably one of the Cardinal Beetles
Dingy Skipper
One of the Mint Moths (the others I have seen have been a beautiful purple and cream colour)
Crane Fly
Garden Chafer
Small Blue
Five Spot Burnet Moth
Common Blue
This one migrated from Australia, so it prefers to be upside down *
Adonis Blue... there were half a dozen people there, and no one could remember seeing so many Adonis out, both male and female which bodes well
Small Heath
Grizzled Skipper
Adonis preparing a future generation
Three's a crowd
No, seriously, THREE IS A CROWD!
Brown Argus? Or female Common Blue? unfortunately I didn't see the underwing
Highlight of the day was half a dozen or more Glanville Fritillaries
More Glanville loveliness
First Green Hairstreak of the year
Brimstone
Probably a Small White, but may be Green Veined.... again, I didn't see the underside
This year's first Comma
Red Admiral
And a female Holly Blue to finish with
I hope you enjoyed my trip down about 75 yards of a track, coz that's all the ground I had to cover to get all those species!!
* Please note, no butterflies flew from Australia for the making of this post
Stay Safe All
Cin J
Some absolutely lovely pictures there. Nicely done.
Ed