A visit to a new location - an interesting blend of heath, bog and lake - yielded a decent set of images for today.
We're right in the peak of the Orange Tip butterfly season, and there were hundreds of them chasing, nectaring and egg-laying on their host plant: Cardamine pratensis. This is a male, and if you look closely, you can see a single orange egg just to the right of centre:
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| Male Orange Tip and egg |
This is the first female I saw this year, although there were plenty at the location:
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| Female Orange Tip butterfly |
Every plant had one or two specimens of either sex jostling for position:
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| Orange Tip males |
Bog Violet is easily distinguished by its pale, rounded flowers and very round leaves. It's always found in boggier areas:
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| Bog Violet |
This Flame Carpet moth was flying around in broad daylight, although I usually only see it late at night:
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| Flame Carpet moth |
Staying with moths, this Drinker Moth caterpillar was basking on a large rock. I associate these with dry grasses and reeds.
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| Drinker Moth larva |
The leaves on the Willow bushes are only just opening and already the Willow Leaf Beetle -
Lochmaea caprea - has made an appearance. The black larvae will eat the upper surface of many leaves over the next few weeks.
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| Willow Leaf beetle - Lochmaea caprea |
The black fly at the top of the picture is a male of one of the Bibio St. Marks Flies.
