Ian Bushell conducted a Butterfly Transect in the reserve at the weekend.
The transect route in the park samples its habitat types and management units. Butterflies are recorded in a band five metres wide along the transect. Transect walks are undertaken between 10.45am and 3.45pm and only when weather conditions are suitable for butterfly activity.
Here are the results.
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This strange object is a knopper gall on an oak tree, photographed in the reserve yesterday by Ian Bushell. At this time of year, our many oak trees are sporting a whole variety of galls.
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Unlike common wasps, honey bees (Apis mellifera) don’t die at the end of the summer. The hive stores enough food for the queen and the workers to survive through the winter.
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Debbie Cronnie has sent pictures of the young kestrel family that is learning to hunt in our fields at the reserve.
Thank you Debbie.
Header image by Clive Knight
The white-letter hairstreak, so named because the white lines on its underwing form a W, is the emblem of the Wiltshire Branch of Butterfly Conservation and is the focus of a project to return this butterfly to our countryside.
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An astonishing video of European hornets in flight.
Video by nature photographer, Lothar Lenz, published by Caters Clips.
Towards the end of July, a second brood holly blue butterfly (Celastrina argiolus) was spotted in the reserve and photographed by Clive Knight.
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A Devil’s coach horse (Ocypus olens) was found and identified in Kestrel Field yesterday by Sarah Gould. Ocypus olens is a swiftly-moving ground beetle species and this one was moving so swiftly that Sarah was unable to get anything more than a blurred, but perfectly identifiable, picture which we sent to Ian for confirmation. This is a new species for the reserve’s comprehensive lists
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A beautiful small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) feeding on ragwort, photographed yesterday in the reserve by Clive Knight.
There are six species of social wasp that are native to Britain and this is a good time of year to identify them.
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The past couple of weeks in the park have brought me some wonderful highs and unfortunately, some truly depressing lows. I will get the lows out of the way first, as I want to end on a positive note.
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Sarah found a nest, just above ground level, among the blackthorn, close to all the hazel that runs downhill alongside the hedge between Kestrel Field and Cornfield. Does anybody know what makes a nest like this?
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A newly hatched, pristine peacock butterfly photographed yesterday by Clive Knight.
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A purple hairstreak (Favonius quercus) seen on the edge of the reserve and photographed by Clive Knight.
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There are 63 species of ant in Britain, 17 of which are introduced.
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The life of an adult azure damselfly (Coenagrion puella) is actually quite short. The latest study suggests that few live little longer than a week but they spend that week having lots of sex.
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Bees buzz in two different ways.
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There is a well established rabbit warren in the hedge between Cornfield and Sleepers Field. But, despite their long-term place in our landscapes and myths, rabbits are not British natives; they are an introduced alien species.
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And a red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) from Ian Bushell.
Clive Knight has sent in beautiful photographs of two butterflies: a brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) and a large white (Pieris brassicae). Although both are members of the Pieridae family, they have significantly different life cycles.
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Almost exactly a year ago, the hedgehog was included in the Mammal Society’s Red List For British Mammals, listed as Vulnerable to Extinction.
Continue reading “Hedgehog Heroes”
A flower crab spider, Misumena vatia.
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Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 