Saturday, June 14, 2008

Insect Season

So we're now into the fallow period of June and July where there's not a dickie bird to be seen anywhere. In Glamorgan at least! After a very quiet TTV this morning, I took advantage of some sun and warmth to track down a few insects at Clydach Vale. Damselflies were everywhere and many were mating.

Large Red Damselfly

This is also good spot for butterflies, especially two fritillary species. I tracked down five Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and a lone, strong-flying Dark Green Fritillary too. There'll probably be more of these around in a week or two.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Dark Green Fritillary
A few other common butterflies were on the wing, and a little later in the morning I got another Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Penrhiwfer. No Marsh Fritillaries though. A huge Golden-ringed Dragonfly wouldn't keep still for a photo and neither would a Burnet Companion moth.

2 comments:

Jeff said...

Smashing photos Wayne,that little Nikon really does have a great macro function.
I did promise myself that I'd get to grips with butterflies this year so if anyone fancies some butterfly "twitching" I'm up for it.

Wayne said...

Snaps were first real effort with new toy - dSLR with 150mm zoom. Okay, but I need lots of practice to master all the settings.

There may be a Butterfliers in Boxers trip to Bernwood or Bentley Wood in mid-July.

Will let you know.