Alners Gorse and a Few Local Bits

On Monday I decided to have a look around at Alners Gorse, the brilliant Butterfly Conservation reserve in Dorset. It was very hot and sunny which meant that most butterflies were turbo charged and photo opportunities were few and far between. I did manage to get a few though and there are plenty of nice plants too!

Essex Skipper - Thymelicus lineola

Small Skipper - Thymelicus sylvestris

Gatekeepers - Pyronia tithonus

Purple Hairstreaks were showing well coming low to nectar on Alder Buckthorn flowers.

Purple Hairstreak - Neozephyrus quercus

The White-letter Hairstreaks weren't so accommodating though and although there were lots of them they stayed put high up in the Elms.

White-letter Hairstreak - Satyrium w-album

Seen here taking honeydew from the surface of a leaf. The reason they seldom venture down onto low vegetation to feed.

Betony -  Stachys officinalis

 

 Dyer's Greenweed - Genista tinctoria

Sneezewort - Achillea ptarmica

Yesterday I went to Bystock to look for a new plant for me, namely Lesser Skullcap.

 

It's pretty tricky to find if you're not aware of just how small it is.

Lesser Skullcap -  Scutellaria minor

 Common Centaury - Centaurium erythraea

Six-spot Burnet Moths - Zygaena filipendulae

Also a few bits and pieces from the local patch.

 Enchanter's Nightshade - Circaea lutetiana

 Red Soldier Beetle - Rhagonycha fulva on

Fool's Watercress - Apium nodiflorum

 Marsh Ragwort - Senecio aquaticus

 

 An unusual pale lilac form of Selfheal - Prunella vulgaris

Golden-ringed Dragonfly - Cordulegaster boltonii

 

 Juvenile Common Buzzard

Juvenile Reed Warbler