Broad-leaved Helleborine - Wright's Lane. A dozen counted this morning. Any day now...
Small Skipper.
Small Heath.
Dot Moth.
Scarce Footman.
Four-spotted Footman (male).
White Satin.
July Highflyer.
orcombe point, mudbank and other stuff
Broad-leaved Helleborine - Wright's Lane. A dozen counted this morning. Any day now...
Small Skipper.
Small Heath.
Dot Moth.
Scarce Footman.
Four-spotted Footman (male).
White Satin.
July Highflyer.
Golden-ringed Dragonfly.
Loads of Marbled Whites at West Lodge, and masses of Meadow Browns.
Female Emperor, ovipositing.
Most Bee Orchids are a long way past their best, but those few remaining flowers still look the business.
A peculiar, densely-flowered Pyramidal Orchid.
Much more typical blooms. I love Pyramidal Orchids. These were at Exminster.
Scarce Chaser.
Ivy Broomrape - I saw stacks of this in Torquay today. The pale yellow 'banana' variety is a real favourite of mine, and a nice change from all the 'purples' in Exmouth.
Soon, the local Common Spotted Orchids will be past their best, so I visited a couple of the premier roadside sites (that I know of) to photograph them. They may be common but they're nonetheless lovely.
This Common Spotted Orchid was nearly three feet tall, reaching for light amongst quite dense vegetation.
A cursory count of the Wright's Lane Broad-leaved Helleborines revealed ten plants, but I'm sure there'll be more than that because they're not easy to spot. I can't wait to see them in flower! Unfortunately, this little-used lane has recently been re-surfaced, which has left some of the plants splattered with tar. Others have been nibbled at by slugs and/or snails, but the plants in the darkest spots seem to be doing better than last year. Fingers crossed.
This box-fresh Oak-tree Pug caught me a little by surprise. I'm used to seeing them a little earlier in the spring in this condition. Many moths and lots of variety in the trap last night, but the only immigrants were 3 Rusty Dot Pearls and a Bordered Straw.
Presumed Apple Ermine but can't be sure without dissection.
Scalloped Oak.
Lots of people have been reporting Bordered Straw of late. It's a moth I used to see more of when I started trapping, back in 2006. Today's individual looked pretty immaculate. I've trapped more Scarce Bordered Straws over the years but the ambition, of course, is to see Eastern Bordered Straw...