Saturday 12 July 2014

High Elms, June 10th

Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus.  Hesperiidae.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus.  Hesperiidae.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
I have been out to High Elms several times recently, always rewarded with good things to see.  This one is a female Large Skipper, one of the more moth-like of our butterflies.  It's small, and skips around the flowers at a low level.  There are two similar, but smaller species that I will probably get shots of later on.

Oedemera lurida.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
Oedemera lurida.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
This Oedemera lurida is a close relative of the shiny green flower beetle I showed recently.  It doesn't seem particularly lurid to me, certainly not compared to its iridescent green relative.

Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus.  Nymphalidae.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus.  Nymphalidae.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
Not a brilliant photo; I could not get a really good angle on this butterfly, but it was the first Ringlet I saw this year.  Since then I have seen lots. 

Common Froghopper, Philaneus spumarius.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
Common Froghopper, Philaneus spumarius.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
This weird-looking creature is a Common Froghopper, the creature than makes the foam we call Cuckoo-spit.  That's where they live as nymphs.  This is an adult.  That think that looks like a walrus' moustache is a mandible.

Yellow Shell, Camptogramma bilineata.  Geometridae.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
Yellow Shell, Camptogramma bilineata.  Geometridae.  High Elms Country Park, 10 June 2014.
Finally, a day-flying moth.  I had to chase this Yellow Shell for some while before it found a place it was happy to settle and stay put for my camera.  They are small, but nicely marked.  Their patterns vary and some of them are a lot darker than this.

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