Yellow butterflies and other insects
spotted during August

Birds

There has been an increase in bird movement as autumn nears.

Two new species for the year were Reed Warbler on the 11th and a female Marsh Harrier on the 18th.

A Wheatear on the 2nd and a male Hen Harrier on the 25th were firsts for the autumn.

Turtle Dove, Hobby and Yellow Wagtail are still present as are the ever present Buzzards and Red Kites.

A Swift on the 15th may well be the last local sighting for the year. Swifts are one of the last birds to arrive and the first to leave.

A sighting which intrigued me was that of an adult Great Tit catching Large White butterflies stripping the wings with four deft moves then feeding the remains to its fledged chicks.

Yellow Butterflies and other insects

Butterflies continue to have a good year with large numbers of many species as well as two records of a scarce migrant the Clouded Yellow on the 4th and 13th , a species which occurs annually along the South and East coast.

Clouded Yellow feeding on Greater Willowherb

Moths are having a mixed season. Some species such as Large Yellow Underwing and Square Spot Rustic are occurring in good numbers but most species are in low numbers; the number of species appears to be reasonable.

Varied Coronet

The Varied Coronet is common in South and East England its larvae feed on the seeds of Sweet-william.

Gold Spot

The Gold Spot is a very attractive moth the gold spots have a metallic shimmer. Supposedly a common species, this is a new record for the parish, and for me.

Black Arches Moth

One of the many predators of insects, including moths and butterflies, are the Ichneumon Wasps.

These insects range in size from very small to large. The female has a sting, not as one would expect on an ordinary wasp, but a highly modified one which she uses to inject eggs into, or on to, its prey.

Some larvae are easy to find, such as caterpillars which are exposed, but others can be buried deep in trees so the female has to bore a hole with her modified sting, an ovipositor, to reach the prey.

Male Ichneumon Wasp

Female Ichneumon wasp showing long ovipositor

Dragonflies are very active in the warm weather and are frequently seen hunting for small insects and the occasional larger one such as small white butterfly. The Ruddy Darter is the most numerous small dragonfly recorded and the Southern Hawker the most numerous of the larger dragonflies.