Two new insects

Yesterday, Jayne and I spent some time in and around Shalfleet, a small village on the north coast of the Isle of Wight. We went there to search for a new species of damselfly; Beautiful Demoiselle. This is a damselfly with a limited range in the UK, and, as far as I know, is absent from Derbyshire. Find out more about this species on the British Dragonfly Society's website here.

We managed to find 4 individuals (3 males and 1 female) flying around the churchyard, and I managed to get a photo of one of the males perched up.

Beautiful Demoiselle

The other new species of insect I've seen this week is a species of Bee Wolf, the European beewolf or Philanthus triangulum. This insect isn't a bee at all, but a species of solitary, mining wasp. It is mainly found in the south of England, but appears to be spreading north. The individual I saw was on the cliff sides at Compton Chine on Sunday. More information here.

European beewolf

Isle of Wight Butterflies - 31st July 2016

This morning Jayne and I spent a couple of hours at the National Trust's Afton Down reserve near Freshwater, on the Isle of Wight.

Afton Down

We went to see if we could catch up with some butterflies, including one that I've never seen before, Small Blue. As soon as we arrived, we spotted the first "blues" of the day, the Chalkhill Blue. There were dozens of these butterflies flying around, all over the hillside, including many mating pairs.

Chalkhill Blue (male)

Chalkhill Blue (female)

Chalkhill Blue (mating pair)

Along with these butterflies, we also spotted 1 Small Blue, a female that was egg laying on Kidney Vetch (thanks Jayne!), 3 Dark Green Fritillaries, 1 Marbled White, dozens of Meadow Browns, 10+ Gatekeepers, 2 Large Whites, 2 Red Admirals and a three species of day-flying moths; 6-spot Burnet,Yellow Shell and Silver Y.

Small Blue (egg laying)

Small Blue

We also walked down to Compton Chine, where we had another couple of 6-spot Burnets, dozens more "blues", and  a single Small Copper. All in all, a very good few hours!