It’s still quite humid and hot here in the South East, but we’ve had a good dose of rain (not enough, but some) and the land is looking somewhat replenished. The grass is making a tentative comeback, and everything can breathe a little more comfortably, including me! This means longer walks with the dogs and more time out and about, which is always good for the soul.
And the benefit of this increased time outside? Two first-evers for me: a Clouded Yellow butterfly, and a cluster of fifth-instar Parent Bugs on an alder leaf.
Clouded Yellow
I was strolling around my friend’s field when I spotted a bright, buttercup-yellow butterfly flitting over the fine grass, stopping occasionally on one of the few thistles still flowering. It would not let me get near it which was frustrating, but I have since learned (from my butterfly book) that this is a characteristic of the species, and they are very difficult to approach.
They are migratory, and head over here from Southern Europe, hence their accomplished flight and reluctance to stop for long. I often see the bright lemon-yellow Brimstones but I’ve never clocked one of these more burnished, buttery beauties. I – naturally – couldn’t get a photo, so painted one in the back of my Forest & Farmland Birds birdwatching logbook.
Parent Bugs
Regular readers will understand how excited I was to see this nursery of young Parent Bugs as I explored a track I’ve not been down before. It crossed over a stream and I spotted a weird leaf on an overhanging alder branch:
Shield bugs (Heteroptera) go through different moultings called instars before reaching adulthood, and they can look quite different from the parents. Speaking of parents, these are called Parent Bugs as the mother will stay and protect the young as they hatch, and continue to guard them as they develop. These shield bugs are almost at the adult stage, and after an albeit cursory glance over the nearby leaves, I didn’t see any others.
There are lots of hawthorn fruits and elderberries on the trees, and the brambles are already starting to go over. Hopefully there will be enough for the winter visitors once they start arriving. Who knows what the weather will bring over the next few months?
