Feeling a bit guilty about not providing Cin with any Marbled Whites from Alner's Gorse last week, Saturday I went up to the footpath at Compton Down where I've seen them last year, and saw all the Adonis's and Glanville Frits earlier this year. I reasoned that as the weather was cooler, and cloudy, hopefully some may actually settle.
A hovering fly to start!
I know nothing about snails, so don't know if different shell patterns means different species, but I don't remember seeing (or at least noticing) so many different ones
First butterfly, Meadow Brown
More slime makers
There were flies galore... not all as leggy as this one
Certainly more like this one
And more of the stripy variety
And several of the man made type
Gastropods r us!
My hunch was right, with Marbled Whites galore along the same bit of bank where the blues and frits were
Another first of the year, Small Skipper
There were plenty of both male and female Marbled's about (but only 2 Skippers I saw)
The Hoverers were still about
Possible Longhorn Beetle, of some sort?
I watched this Marbled White climb the stem, and being harrassed by 2 other Marbleds... so the Scream mask was donned lol
Just one 6 Spot Burnet today
I saw a lot of Ladybirds too, more than I've seen since I was a kid crawling through the local fields
I spotted a Dark Bush Cricket, and as I looked closer there were 4 or 5 more in about 2 square feet
And a caterpillar was squiggling across the path
And just a foot away, a Grasshopper
Small Skipper again
Another annual first, inconvenient Small Heath!
Marbled loveliness
Another annoyingly inconvenient one... Gatekeeper this time
Tachinua Grossa or something similar.... maybe!
Shiny green one
Shiny bronzey one
Flesh Fly I think
Watching you, watching me
Red Tailed Bumble Bee?
Brace yaself, I'm coming in
Fly-y waspy thing
Not sure on this, but as you can see it's properly diddy
And on the opposite side of the path, there appeared to be another, that was quite happily tug on spiderweb silk!
I'd got back to the car, and still had about an hour spare until Mrs PB was home from having her nails done, so I thought I'd have a meander on the way home, and see if the Barn Owls were about...
Along the track, White Legged Damselfly
Several Banded Demoiselle were loitering with intent to be photographed
Swollen Thigh Beetle?
Unfortunately no sign of Barnie, but another Small Skipper on the way back to the car finished the morning off quite nicely
Hope you enjoyed my couple of hours out, and thanks in advance for any ID's/corrections that I can almost instantly forget again
Stay Safe All
That's a lot of critters PB
You don't need to know much about snails other than they eat your garden plants lol. What a huge array of bugs and insects...marbled whites are sooo beautiful Thanks for sharing PB ;-)
(Pardon the Scottish Accent)