Linacre Insects - 13th July 2025

 After the ringing session on Sunday, I stayed on at Linacre to enjoy the sunshine and go looking for some insects. I wasn't disappointed, and managed some very good numbers of butterflies (17 species, including a new one!), 3 new moths, 1 new ladybird species, 4 species of odanata and lots of hoverflies and bees.

First the butterflies. Species seen were: Purple Hairstreak (2, maybe up to 4 seen on oaks below the bottom reservoir on 12th), Meadow Brown ( a minimum of 32), Gatekeeper (9), Peacock (2), Large White (13), Small White (3), Green-veined White (6 feeding/drinking on mud on the top reservoir, Comma (7), Painted Lady (1 in the ringing site), Small Copper (2), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Speckled Wood (2) Ringlet (1), Red Admiral (1), Holly Blue (1 - my first Linacre record of the year), a single Brimstone (my first Linacre sighting this year), and the brand new species, Essex Skipper (seen feeding with a 6-spot Burnet moth).

Essex Skipper (black antennae) and 6-spot Burnet

Brimstone

The new moths seen were a single Ghost Moth (found in the ringing site) and a Dingy Footman (seen in vegetation by the middle reservoir. 

Ghost Moth

Dingy Footman

A couple of 6-spot Burnet moths were also seen in the field by the top reservoir (second record for Linacre) and a single Cinnabar Moth caterpillar was also spotted.

Odanata (dragonflies and damselflies) were represented by the first Brown Hawkers of the year (3), another hawker species (Migrant or Southern), a single male Blue-tailed Damselfly and 20+ (minimum) Common Blue Damselflies, including several pairs "in cop" (mating).

Common Blue Damselflies

The new species of ladybird seen was a 14-spot, found on one of the ringer's hats!! A single Black and Yellow Longhorn Beetle was also found in the ringing site.

Last, but not least, a single Greylag Goose was seen on the top reservoir.

Greylag Goose

Linacre Butterflies - 18 species!!!

The weather forecast for this morning was dry and sunny (!!!), so I spent 5 hours (8.30am - 1.30pm) on site to see what I could see. As the title of today's blog shows, it was a very well spent few hours. The total of 18 species must be my best ever, and included four brilliant species: White-letter Hairstreak, Purple Hairstreak, Silver-washed Fritillary and Dark Green Fritillary. In addition, I recorded 2 new species for the site, an Emperor dragonfly and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth!

White-letter Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak

Silver-washed Fritillary (female)

Silver-washed Fritillary (male)

The list of species seen is: Peacock (2), Red Admiral (7), Meadow Brown (c.20), Gatekeeper (7), Ringlet (1 very tatty individual), Small Copper (1 on the dam wall of the top reservoir), Small Tortoiseshell (3), Large White (5), Green-veined White (2), Speckled Wood (1), Comma (6), Holly Blue (1), Common Blue (1 in the ringing site), White-letter Hairstreak (1, by the bridge on the top reservoir, at 10.30am), Purple Hairstreak (1, in oaks by the bottom reservoir, at 12.45pm), Silver-washed Fritillary (3; 1 male and 2 females), Dark Green Fritillary (1 in the ringing site) and Small Skipper (c.5, in the field beyond the top reservoir).

 3 species of day-flying moth were also seen: Shaded Broad Bar (2), 6-spot Burnet Moth (1) and Hummingbird Hawkmoth (1 in the ringing site - a site first). 

4 species of Dragon/Damselfly were present: Brown Hawker (1, including 1 ovipositing in the bottom reservoir), Emperor Dragonfly ( 1 on the middle reservoir, a first site record for me), Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Brown Hawker (female)

Hoverflies seen were: Marmalade, Volucella pellucens , Myathropa florae and Eristalis sp.

Two species of ladybird were seen: 7-spot and Harlequin.

I think there might have been some birds around too (!), but I didn't do a full count. Instead here are a few of the "best": Swallow (6), House Martin (2), Canada Goose (2 on the top reservoir), Buzzard (2 adults), Stock Dove (1 by the muck heap by the main entrance), Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 adult), Willow Warbler (1 very yellow juvenile bird by the top reservoir) and Chiffchaff (1 singing and lots of "wheeting").

White-letter and Purple Hairstreaks!!

It was 22 degrees again today, so Jayne ad I had a walk around Linacre this afternoon. The top reservoir was closed off as the boardwalk is being repaired, so we just walked around the bottom and the middle reservoirs.

At first it was overcast, but then the sun came out, and we managed to record some insects, including the butterflies in the title! Both these species were seen at about 3pm on the pathway leading down from the toilet block to the bottom reservoir. There were at least two White-letter Hairstreaks - a lifer for me, and one Purple Hairstreak. 

White-letter Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak

Other insects seen were: Meadow Brown (6), Gatekeeper (6), Comma (5), Speckled Wood (3), Ringlet (3), Large White (1), Green-veined White (1), Common Blue Butterfly (1), Brown Hawker (3), Common Blue Damselfly (20+, including several pairs in tandem, Blue-tailed Damselfly (2 males), Cinnabar Moth (caterpillar), Mayfly sp (1), Great Pied Hoverfly - Volucella pellucens (2) and Yellow and Black Longhorn Beetle (3). 

It was quite quiet birdwise, but the highlight was the first Tufted Duck ducklings of the year. There were three broods of 2, 2 and 7. 

Tufted Duck

There were also 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls on the middle reservoir (13 adults, 1 juvenile - this year's bird, and 1 immature bird) and a juvenile Black-headed Gull.

The last sighting of note was a rodent - a Bank Vole I think, that was seen coming out of a hole under an oak tree by the main path - my first sighting here.

Bank Vole?

Butterfly and Dragonfly Update - July 2021

I've been out and about quite alot recently, and have managed to see some lovely butterflies. 

First up, is my annual trip to Lindrick Common. I went here on 1st July. The flowers weren't very far on, but I still managed to see Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White and Silver-studded Blue.

Dark Green Fritillary

Marbled White

Silver-studded Blue

On 10th July, Jayne and I visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where we had great views of Large Skipper and Black-tailed Skimmer. 

Last Saturday (17th) we travelled down to Cotgrave Forest in Nottinghamshire, where we had fantastic views of Purple Emperor butterflies. We also saw Small Skipper, Ringlets and a single Silver-washed Fritillary. 

Purple Emperor

Silver-washed Fritillary

On our last trip, to the Wellington Monument on 20th, we saw a male Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and a minimum of 4 Purple Hairstreaks!

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Purple Hairstreak

Linacre Ringing - 18th July 2021

Last Sunday I was down at Linacre for a mist netting session with Sorby Breck Ringing Group. It was our first session since May, and we managed to catch  a good number of birds, including our first juvenile warblers of the year.

Totals were (new/retraps): Blue Tit 0/1, Goldcrest 1/0, Great Tit 7/0 - all juveniles, Willow Warbler 2/0 - both juveniles, Chiffchaff 2/0 - both juveniles, Blackcap 6/0 - 5 juveniles, Blackbird 2/1 - 2 juveniles and an adult female, first ringed in 2019, Dunnock 1/0 - 1 juvenile and Wren 1/0 - juvenile.

Willow Warbler (juvenile)

Other birds seen whilst there were a Swift (the last record of 2021?), a Jay and a Sparrowhawk. 

The temperature was 20 degrees whilst we were there, so there were lots of insects about, including 2 Gatekeepers, 1 Brown Hawker, 2 Small Skippers, 2 Meadow Browns, 20+ Ringlets, 2 Great Pied Hoverflies and, nest of all, a single Purple Hairstreak!!!

Linacre Butterflies- 21st August 2018

The sun came out today, so I popped down to Linacre to see if there were any butterflies about.

The first butterfly I saw was a Painted Lady, my first Linacre record of 2018.

Painted Lady

Other species seen were: Purple Hairstreak (a female) Red Admiral (1), Small Tortoiseshell (6), Common Blue (1 female), Holly Blue (1), Speckled Wood (1), Meadow Brown (1), Peacock (1), Small White (2) and Small Copper (2).

Red Admiral

Small Copper

Linacre July WeBS and insects

This month's WeBS count didn't get done earlier in the month as everyone who normally helps out was busy doing other things. Today was the first opportunity I'd had to do it, so here are the results of a slightly belated count: Mallard (42, all "adults", non obviously young), Tufted Duck (20; 14 adults and 6 juveniles), Coot (8; 3 adults and 5 juveniles), Moorhen (7; 3 adults and 4 juveniles), Grey Heron (1), Great-crested Grebe (1 adult and 2 juveniles on the middle reservoir, no sign of adults or juveniles on the top reservoir), and Mandarin Duck (5). No sign of any Little Grebes again. They don't appear to have bred here this year- the first blank year since recording began in 2006!

The weather was great today (21 degrees and sunny), so as well as the birds, I also spent some time looking at the insects again. There were good numbers of butterflies, hoverflies, dragonflies, damselflies, moths and bees.

I recorded 9 species of butterfly (Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Green-veined and Large White, Small Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell, Small Copper, Peacock and PURPLE HAIRSTREAK). The last species was the best, simply because it was my first Linacre record of 2014, and also because I managed to get a photo as it fed on a Thistle.

Purple Hairstreak

 

The two moth species I saw and identified today were both new for me at Linacre. Both were moths that are easily disturbed from the ground, namely Brown China-mark and Shaded Broad-bar.

Brown China-mark

 

Brown China-mark is a common species throughout the UK, but is quite unusual in that its larvae are entirely aquatic! See here for more details.

Shaded Broad-bar

 

Shaded Broad-bar is also a very common species. Details from UK Moths here.

 

Hoverflies were also present in good numbers, and included another new species for me at Linacre, Volucella inanis.

Volucella inanis

Also present today were Brown Hawker dragonflies (5+), Common Blue Damselflies (10+) and 3 species of bumblebee (Red-tailed, White-tailed and Common Carder)

Suffolk Butterflies and Moths

As well as looking at the birds in Suffolk last week, I also managed to spot a few butterflies and moths. Most of the species seen were at the RSPB Minsmere reserve. Over the course of the week I managed to spot 19 species of butterfly and 3 moths.

The butterflies included many of the commoner species, namely Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Gatekeeper, Common Blue, Small Copper, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Green-veined White, Small Heath, Small, Large and Essex Skipper (a new species for me) and Comma as well as a few more unfamiliar ones such as Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Grayling, Purple Hairstreak, (2 basking in the sunshine from Bittern Hide), White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary. More information about all these species can be found on the Butterfly Conservation's website here. Here are a few pictures.

Essex Skipper

White Admiral

I didn't take my moth trap with me, so the moths I saw were three day-flying varieties; 6-spot Burnet, Rosy Tabby (Endotricha flammealis, seen at Dunwich Heath) and a mint moth called  Pyrausta aurata or Small Purple and Gold. More information about these species can be found on the UK Moths website here.

6-spot Burnet

Small Purple and Gold

Rosy Tabby

Beyond Limits

On Sunday the weather topped 21 degrees here in Derbyshire, so we popped out to Chatsworth House to look at the sculptures that are currently on display in the gardens as part of the Beyond Limits exhibition.

As well as looking at all the sculptures, being in the gardens also gave me the chance to look at the local wildlife. Birds were far and few between, but I did spot this attractive looking Mallard.

Mallard

There were a few butterflies flying around as well; 1 Red Admiral, 2 Small Tortoiseshells, 1 Comma and 1 Purple Hairstreak.

Purple Hairstreak (female)

 

Like my last Purple Hairstreak (see here), this individual was quite worn, as this is quite late for them to be flying. Its a female, because of the purple patch on the forewing. Males are much brighter and have purple on the hindwings too (see here for more a picture and more information).

Three new species for Linacre

One of the best things about looking at the insects at Linacre is the fact that I keep discovering new species on just about every visit. When I say new species, obviously I mean species that are new to me, not science! As far as I'm aware no one else is recording these species, so hopefully all these new records are adding something to our knowledge of this site.

Yesterday I blogged about 2 species of butterfly that I'd seen for the first time and mentioned that there was another species that I still had to identify. I put a picture of it on Ispot with a suggested name and sure enough someone else agreed, so I can now say that the species in question was a Purple Hairstreak.

Purple Hairstreak

 

Purple Hairstreak is a species that is associated with oak woodlands, so it's no real surprise that I found one at Linacre. Unfortunately though, they spend most of their lives high in the canopy and rarely come down to the ground, so I was very lucky to spot this tatty looking individual on the floor by the middle reservoir. It's not the best photo, as I had to be very quick, before it was scared away by a marauding dog that was running towards me at the time!

The next "new" species that I found this week was this moth. It's either a Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidea) or a Svensson's Copper Underwing (Amphipyra berbera svenssoni). Unfortunately, the only way to tell the two species apart is to look at the amount of orange on the underside of the hindwing, something I didn't know, until later. Interestingly, this individual was found in the toilet block(!), but I also recorded several specimens in the bird boxes this year, so it appears to be quite a common species, whatever it is.

Copper or Svensson's Copper Underwing

Last up is this species of hoverfly that I found whilst looking for the butterflies. It doesn't have an English name, but goes by the latin name of Myathropa florea, and is the only member of this family of hoverfly in Britain. It is classed as "widespread and common" in my superb Hoverfly Identification guide. and the best way to identify it is to look at the pattern on its thorax, which is said to resemble the "Batman" logo. What do you think?

Myathropa florea