I am watching Wimbledon while eating lovely sweet strawberries. The window is open so I can hear the birds singing outside; thankfully the temperature has dropped and it is feeling fresher now. It is a lovely summers day to reflect upon the things I saw last week. More flowers blooming along the roadside include Hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) Creeping thistles (Cirsium arvense), Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis), Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) and Rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium). Creeping thistle seeds are a great food source for birds that make their home on farmland, while Spear thistle seeds are good for Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) and the nectar enjoyed by the Small copper (Lycaena phlaeas) butterfly. Ragwort (considered harmful to horses and livestock) is great for bees and the Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillars. Even the Field Scabious is a useful food source for bees and butterflies.
Now that July has arrived, my butterfly and moth observations have increased. I have seen,
– A couple of Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) moths
– Broad-bordered yellow Underwing (Noctua fimbriata) moth
– Least Carpet (Idaea rusticata) moth
– Plain Wave (Idaea straminata) moth
– Two Large yellow underwing (Noctua pronuba) moths
– Along with several that were photo shy including a White Plume (Pterophorus pentadactyla) moth and a couple of Large white (Pieris brassicae) butterflies, three female and one male Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) butterflies, a Comma (Polygonia c-album) butterfly near a patch of nettles (which are great food for their caterpillars) as well as two Large tortoisehell (Nymphalis polychloros) butterflies. Other butterflies I saw were,
– A Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) butterfly
– Small tortoisehell (Aglais urticae) butterfly on Verbena bonariensis
– Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) butterfly on wall by Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris)
These weren’t the only insects I noticed throughout the past week as I also saw,
– Two immature male Large red damselflies (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)
– Two Azure damselflies (Coenagrion puella) on Water lily (Nymphaeaceae)
– One Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) on a Red valerian (Centranthus ruber) leaf.
– Honey bees (Apis mellifera) on an Eryngium bourgatii
-Lots of Honey bees and hoverflies (Syrphidae) on lavender (Lavandula) which is in full bloom.
I am keeping my eye on a large mature Butterfly bush Buddleja davidii ‘Black Knight’ that is starting to flower. A few years ago I took some cuttings from this Buddleja and successfully grew one of my own. My Buddleja is only about a foot tall but it will be flowering soon. I look forward to seeing visitors arrive on both shrubs.
Lastly I couldn’t resist adding a few photos of some Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) someone had planted in their vegetable patch. While I didn’t see any insects visiting it my attention was drawn to the cheery vivid blue flowers, they were so beautiful.
Bee in the Moment 