What a busy week or so its been, I'm struggling to keep up with all that's going on, but today there were heavy showers across most of South Wales and so I've taken the time spent indoors to catch up a bit
Last Sunday I had a 'Dragonfly Day' on the beautiful
River Wye, near Monmouth looking for Common Club-tail (their not common!) and White-legged Damselfly, on both counts I was successful and had healthy counts
but I'm always aware to all the other things that Mother Nature has to offer and she was in generous mood - offering a nice fresh
Red Admiral nectaring on bramble on the steep river bank, alas
as I put my foot forward to position myself for a better record shot of the insect it went into a hidden divot and I plunged forward towards the deep fast flowing river...phew!!! how I did'nt go headlong in I'll never know
and the Monmouth Ladies Rowing Club sailed past me giving wolf whistles (of derision
) the sad people
whatever, even in my flailing I got a couple of shots in...one of a butterfly and the other of the sky
- Increasingly more uncommon the lovely Red Admiral
Further along the bank I saw several larval webs belonging to
Peacock and also a probable final instar of
Small Tortoiseshell in the low bankside grasses and undeterred from my earlier near swim I manouvered to get a record photo...
- Small Tortoiseshell Larvae
- One of several Peacock larval webs along the river bank
On my bank side journey I had counted several teneral Common Club-tail but I almost trod on one that must have been hardening off it's wings low in the grasses and appeared to be struggling to find a way out of the grassy tangle prior to flight, I vey gently moved the grasses and allowed it to settle onto my hand and waited until it decided to embark on it's maiden flight high into the air above the river, it always thrills me to see these first flights, another one of the few fortunate survivors from the egg stage, lets hope it goes on to maturity and produces it's own generation of Common Club-tail
- Common Club-tail being pointed in the right direction!!!
Further along the bank I came upon a Sawfly that has to rate among the true jewels of the species
Tenthredo scrophulariae and this is one of many of it's tribe that produce larvae that can often confuse the new 'moth-er' that tries to identify it's discovered larvae
- Love them or loath them their stunning insects!
Back to the butterflies and I was pleased to discover
Comma larvae low in the upright grass stems, I can't remember when I last saw this species larvae and as I bent low over the bank crouched forward to get a decent shot I once again heard the Monmouth Ladies Rowing Club's wolf whistles as they rowed back down river...what a crew
- Nice bonus Comma larvae...captured with wolf whistles!!!
To end my day I headed for a lovely Gwent Wildlife Trust reserve called Dixton's Embankment which is sandwiched between the busy A40 (South Wales to Midlands) and the River Wye itself, people pass within metres of it and don't even know it's there...good thing or bad, I wonder
The reserve looked charming dressed in it's early summer clothes and many
Common Blue danced among the flowers. I cannot recall seeing more Burnet Companion day-flying moths, but this meadow has always been a favourite, as it is for Mother Shipton.
- Simply stunning Common Blue
And so ended another adventure, with the early June sunshine helping me enormously
Bill
"When in doubt...venture out"
Still onto more positive news, as well as the Marshies the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary have also been evident in reasonably good numbers, the Meadow Thistle being their equivalent of the local pub