14 Wednesday Apr 2021
Tags
British butterflies, Green-veined white, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Orange-tip butterfly, Orange-tip male, spring butterflies
With the help of a little warm sunshine, Lavernock Nature Reserve came up trumps for me yesterday, as I found my first Orange-tip and Green-veined white butterflies for 2021, two of each. So beautiful, so lucky!
30 Wednesday Sep 2020
Tags
Aricia agestis, British butterflies, Brown argus, butterfly, butterflying, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Lavernock Nature Reserve, second brood Brown argus
This year I saw my first Brown argus butterfly (Aricia agestis) on 11 July and thought I’d seen my last on 26 August, a short but very sweet season of sightings. Then, to my astonishment and absolute delight, I discovered two more on the same day, 16 September, one at Lavernock Nature Reserve and the other at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.
These had to be the product of the first brood of butterflies breeding and so were a second brood, not something I’d seen before with this butterfly. As the local populations of Dingy skippers have also produced a second brood and the Small coppers a third brood this year and nothing has changed in their environments, I can only assume this has been caused by the warmer climate.
I haven’t managed to find the Lavernock Brown argus again but the Cosmeston butterfly was still in the same spot last week. A late summer-early Autumn treat!
11 Friday Sep 2020
Posted in insects
Tags
British moths, Knot grass larva, Knot grass moth, Lavernock Nature Reserve, moth caterpillar, moth larvae
When I spotted this caterpillar yesterday, I didn’t think I’d seen one like it before but, when one of my Twitter pals later identified it for me, I realised I had seen one previously, though a younger model.
These are the larvae of the Knot grass moth (Acronicta rumicis), a moth I’ve never seen (you can see what the adult moth looks like and read more about it on the UK Moths website). I think the larva above, found munching on Dyer’s greenweed at Cosmeston on 4 June, is an early instar, whereas the larva below, found feeding on Common ragwort at Lavernock Nature Reserve on 10 September and a real stunner, is almost ready to pupate for the winter.
21 Friday Aug 2020
Tags
British moths, Euplagia quadripunctaria, Jersey tiger, Lavernock Nature Reserve, moth, tiger moths
As many local events in Nature’s calendar have been tracking a couple of weeks earlier than usual this year, I first started this year’s tiger hunting ten days ago but it took three visits to Lavernock Nature Reserve and much staring at the flowers of Hemp-agrimony before I finally found a tiger.
I am not, of course, talking about the big cats – I am vehemently opposed to all hunting! My hunt was for the gorgeous moth that is the Jersey tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria).
Having spread northwards in southern England, from Devon in to Somerset, these moths tackled the watery expanse of the Bristol Channel in stages, recorded on the island of Flat Holm in 2008 but not making the final flight across to the south Wales coast until 2012.
Though they have avoided big city Cardiff – the single Cardiff record thus far was in 2017, the Jersey tiger now appears to be well established along a section of the Vale of Glamorgan coastline, from Penarth to Barry, and presumably it will spread further as climate and environmental conditions allow.
Last Monday, 17 August, I spotted these two, feeding quite close together, at Lavernock (the first two photos here are one moth; the other three show the second tiger). Though they have been recorded on various flowers, I’ve only ever seen them on Hemp-agrimony, which is one of the food plants used by their larvae. I live in hope of finding one of their funky-looking caterpillars but I was over the moon to see my first tigers of the year.
28 Thursday May 2020
The highlight of yesterday’s walk to Lavernock Nature Reserve was seeing this little beauty, my first Small copper of the year.
They’re tiny butterflies but they punch well above their weight, fearlessly challenging any other butterflies that stray too close to their territory, as this one did today with a male Common blue.
This Small copper was in pristine condition so, presumably, had very recently emerged. The vibrancy and intensity of its copper colour was simply stunning.
07 Thursday May 2020
Not only did I see my first dragonflies of the year yesterday at Lavernock Nature Reserve but I also spotted my first Dingy skippers (Erynnis tages).
At least four of these inconspicuous little butterflies were feeding on their favourite food plant, Common bird’s-foot trefoil, or basking on the compacted earth of the tracks through the reserve, as is their wont.
Their preferences for bird’s-foot trefoil and patches of bare ground are why these butterflies are often found on chalk and limestone grasslands, on brownfield sites and in disused quarries, amongst sand dunes and along open pathways adjacent to woodland.
Sun, shelter and good food – it’s not much to ask for. But, sadly, the Dingy skipper is one of many declining species of butterfly in Britain, probably due to the way land is managed and to the intensification of agriculture. So, I feel very privileged to be able to observe and enjoy these lovely little skippers so close to home.
06 Wednesday May 2020
I was delighted to see my first dragonflies of the year at Lavernock Nature Reserve during this morning’s walk: two female (with the golden abdomen) and two male (blue abdomen) Broad-bodied chasers.
21 Saturday Sep 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, insects, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterfly, Common blue, Common blue butterfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve
It was looking faded, jaded and more than a little tatty but this Common blue butterfly has certainly got staying power. Most of its species have died off now in my local area so it was a delight to see this little one today at Lavernock.
08 Sunday Sep 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, Bog hoverfly, British hoverflies, Devil's-bit scabious, hoverfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve, pink scabious, Sericomyia silentis
It looks a bit like a wasp but this black-and-yellow-striped minibeastie is a hoverfly with the rather tongue-twisting name Sericomyia silentis. Perhaps Bog hoverfly would be easier but, in my opinion, its common name doesn’t do this little beauty justice.
I spent a couple of hours today at Lavernock Nature Reserve, where the Devil’s-bit scabious is looking simply stunning and is attracting myriads of insects. I took lots of butterfly photos but thought to post one of the other little critters today. The Devil’s-bit is usually a lilac colour but some at Lavernock are this subtle shade of pink instead. Its nectar obviously tastes just as good!
12 Monday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, birds, nature
Tags
autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Spotted flycatcher
Willow warblers are peeping from every bush, Blackcaps are chacking, Swallows and martins are swooping low over the fields at Cosmeston for last minute snacks before they cross their first stretch of water on their way south and, today, at Lavernock, I saw my first Spotted flycatcher of the year. Autumn migration is well and truly underway!
