Lindrick Dale - 2nd July 2023

 On Sunday, I went across to Lindrick Dale to see if there were any butterflies. It was 18 degrees, overcast and quite windy, but I did still mange to see a few of the regulars.

The first butterflies seen were Marbled Whites, with c.20 in total. Dark Green Fritillaries were also about, but only 4 were flying. Other species seen were: Small Heath (1), Ringlets (4), 6-spot Burnet (1) and Meadow Browns (c.10). Unfortunately, no Silver-studded Blues were seen.

Marbled White

Dark Green Fritillary

Two species of orchid were also seen: Pyramidal and Common Spotted.

Lindrick Common - 20th June 2020

This spring has seen a lot of warm, dry weather and above average temperatures. As a result, butterflies seem to have been emerging earlier than usual, so I decided to go to Lindrick Common a couple of weeks earlier myself.

When I arrived, it was obvious that they vegetation hadn't kept pace with the butterflies and there were only a few flowering plants. The butterflies, however, were all present in good numbers, with 10+ Marbled Whites, 15+ Dark Green Fritillaries and at least 15 Silver-studded Blues (all but one being male). The temperature was around 20 degrees, so the Whites and Fritillaries were all pretty active. The blues, on the other hand, were the most confiding I've ever known, and posed, beautifully, with open wings.

Marbled White

Dark Green Fritillary (underwing)

Dark Green Fritillary 

Silver-studded Blue

Other species seen whilst there included my first Ringlets of the year, along with several Meadow Browns, 1 Large Skipper, and, best of all, a day-flying moth called a Burnet Companion, which was a lifer!

Burnet Companion

Three species of orchid were out, namely Bee (1), Pyramidal (c.15) and Common Spotted (c.10).

Summer Butterflies - 29th June 2019

We haven't yet had a great deal of decent sunny weather this summer, so, with the sun out, and a very decent temperature of 25 degrees today, I thought it was time to head over to Lindrick Dale near Worksop, to have a look at  the butterflies there.

I arrived at about 10am and straight away saw good numbers of Marbled White (15+), Dark Green Fritillary (c.20) and Silver-studded Blue (10+ males, no females).

Marbled White

Dark Green Fritillary

Dark Green Fritillary (underwing)

Silver-studded Blue (male upperwing)

Silver-studded Blue (male underwing)

Other butterflies seen were: Small Heath (2), Ringlet (10+), Meadow Brown (c.10), Large Skipper (1 male), Painted Lady (1 - my first record here) and a day flying moth, the Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet moth.

Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Moth

Flowers seen were: Bladder Campion and 3 types of orchid: Bee (3), Common Spotted and Pyramidal.

Lindrick Butterflies

For the last two years, I've visited a lovely site called Lindrick Dale, near Worksop, to see two special butterfly species; Dark Green Fritillary and Marbled White. Yesterday I was back there for my first visit of 2016. Both butterflies were present in decent numbers, along with a few other species.

The fritillaries, about 15 in total, put on a great show, flying around and landing on the thistles. I've taken many photos before, so yesterday, I decided to try a few different ones, including these "head on" shots.

Dark Green Fritillary

The same was true with Marbled Whites (15+)  and the Ringlets (20+). Here's a shot of these species sharing a thistle.

Marbled White and Ringlet

As well as these butterflies, I also had singles of Small Skipper, Common Blue (a female), and about 15 Meadow Browns.

Meadow Brown and White-tailed Bumblebee

Flowers seen today were: Pyramidal Orchid, Common Spotted Orchid and Bladder Campion.

Bladder Campion

Return to Lindrick Dale

Last year I discovered a really great butterfly site that held 3 species that are very uncommon in this area, namely Dark Green Fritillary, Marbled White and Silver-studded Blue. I visited a couple of times and managed to catch up with all three species (click on the label Lindrick Dale below to see these posts). Last weekend (28th June) I had another visit and managed to see the first two species.

Last year I managed to get some really nice shots of the upperwing of the Dark Green Fritillary, so this year I was really keen to try and get some photos of the green underwing. Here are my efforts.

Dark Green Fritillary

The other species, Marbled White, was also present, but in quite small numbers, (fewer than 6 were seen). I got a nice photo of a pristine male.

Marbled White

As well as the key species, there were also a couple of Large Skippers, one Small Heath and dozens of Ringlets present. 

Ringlet

Finally, there were some nice flowers present too. Here are pictures of Pyramidal, Common Spotted and Bee Orchid.

Pyramidal Orchid

Common Spotted Orchid (I think)

Bee Orchid

Now I need to get back to try and find the Silver-studded Blues!