Tag Archives: Six-spot burnet

Fritillaries!

22 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by in insects, nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

I had never seen any Fritillary butterflies until today, so, on day 22 of #30DaysWild, I’ve had a very exciting afternoon seeing my very first High Browns, Dark Greens and Small Pearl-bordereds. These butterflies were very fast fliers and didn’t settle long so I didn’t get many shots, and didn’t manage any of the High Browns. Below are three different Dark Green Fritillaries and one Small Pearl-bordered … plus a few other butterflies we saw.

180622 fritillary (1)180622 fritillary (2)180622 fritillary (3)

180622 fritillary (4)

Small pearl-bordered fritillary

I did manage to get reasonable images of some of the many lovely little Small heath butterflies, the one Six-spot burnet moth we saw, and, my favourite, this cute Large skipper. ‘Twas a grand day!

180622 Small heath

Small heath butterfly

180622 6-spot burnet

Six-spot burnet moth

180622 Large skipper

Large skipper butterfly

Lively Lavernock

12 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by in insects, nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Day 12 of my #30DaysWild was spent wandering around the nature reserve at Lavernock. Though it’s not yet the riot of colour it will be in another month or so, many wildflowers are already blooming, including the Common spotted and Pyramidal orchids, and plenty of critters were feasting on nectar and pollen.

Today’s highlights included my first Six-spot burnet moth of the year, which was dazzling in the bright sunlight, and my second Small copper butterfly, a rather tatty looking specimen but still lovely to see. The Large skippers, Common blues and Speckled woods were abundant, and I also saw whites, a Brimstone and several Meadow brown butterflies.

180612 1 small copper

The pond was alive with dragon- and damselfly action, with both a female Emperor and a female Broad-bodied chaser ovipositing. There were three male Broad-bodied chasers constantly squabbling over territory and a Four-spotted chaser trying to avoid them all. Damselflies included Large reds, Common blues, Azures and Blue-tailed. ’Twas a very lively place today!

180612 Broad-bodied chaser male180612 Broad-bodied chaser emale

What’s on the scabious?

16 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Perhaps it would be easier to ask ‘What’s not on the scabious?’ because it seems that almost every type of fly, bee, butterfly and beetle loves this plant, though that may also be because the Devil’s-bit scabious flowers in late summer – early autumn, when most wildflowers have finished flowering, and so it provides a last delicious taste of summer’s sweetness.

What’s on the teasel, 2

30 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

The pretty lilac of teasel flower is beginning to fade now but the mini beasts have certainly been enjoying its nectar. In my local parks and reserves it’s a favourite with the 6-spot Burnet moths and with bees of all species. And not long after those pretty little flowers fade away, the seeds will begin to form and grow, and provide food for the birds, particular the dapper little goldfinch, during the winter months. I’ll try to catch photos of them on the teasels in a couple of months’ time.

Spots before my eyes

22 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by in insects, nature

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

170722 6-spot Burnet moth (1)

I have never before seen as many 6-spot Burnet moths (Zygaena filipendulae) as I saw last Monday in one of the fields at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. I stopped counting at one hundred and there were many many more. They are gorgeous little flying machines and glowed like wee red bumblebees as they flitted from the sunshine-yellow ragwort flowers to the more subtle but no less glorious lilac and purple blooms of knapweed, meadow thistle and teasel. They were wondrous to behold.

A 10 lepidoptera day!

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s Monday. I’ve had a meeting about a forthcoming fungi presentation, followed by a busy morning on the computer and feel I need a blast of fresh air so decide to do one of my local walk circuits, taking in one side of Cardiff Bay and Penarth Marina. And I’m so glad I do ’cause the air is alive with butterflies and moths. They are common enough species but I am amazed and delighted to see such a variety and so many in just a 2-hour walk.

There are Comma (Polygonia c-album), Common blue (Polyommatus icarus), Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus), Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina), Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus), Six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae), Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), Small white (Pieris rapae), and Speckled wood (Pararge aegeri). This is my idea of heaven!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.