
Meadow Brown © Harry Mole 2017
I spent the weekend camping at Chiddingly in East Sussex. It was beautiful with blue skies at temperatures well into the 30s. There were Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina) everywhere.
Meadow Brown © Harry Mole 2017
I spent the weekend camping at Chiddingly in East Sussex. It was beautiful with blue skies at temperatures well into the 30s. There were Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina) everywhere.
Silver studded blue © Harry Mole 2017
I was really keen to see and photograph Silver-studded blues (Plebejus argus) – they’re a rare butterfly in UK with just a few colonies on some specific heathland and coastal sites, mostly in Southern England.
Backswimmer © Harry Mole 2017
I thought this was a water boatman until I looked it up. It’s actually a backswimmer (Notonecta glauca). It’s a predator which can dive, and surrounds itself with a film of air for respiration. It can also fly between ponds (!).
Wall © Harry Mole 2017
This wall was at Castle Hill National Nature Reserve today. It’s an beautiful place. We saw a Silver Y, loads of beetles, a Painted Lady, Small Copper and a Common Blue. This Wall (Lasiommata megera) was a bit tricky to identify because some of the hind wing is missing making it look a bit odd. According to The Butterflies of Sussex, they are “notoriously difficult to photograph” – this is the first time I’ve tried.