Downe, August 2012

Hoverfly, Melanostoma scalare, on Field Bindweed, Convolvuus arvensis.  Downe, 25 August 2012.

I do still go out on general field trips.  These are a few close-up photos taken in the fields near Downe, quite close to Biggin Hill airport where we occasionally heard small jets taking off.   This first one is a favourite subject of mine; a hoverfly on a flower.  There was some occasional drizzle, hence the small drops on the petals.

Autumn Hawkbit, Leontodon autumnalis.  Downe, 25 August 2012.

I was pleased to find some Autumn Hawkbits to add to my collection of photos of flowers that are rather like Dandelions but are not them.   These are not easy to tell from other Hawkbits just from the flowers; the leaves are very helpful, but sometimes hard to find in the grass.  But the red-backed outer petals, and the way the flower head tapers into the stem, and that it's only slightly hairy, are all indicators. 

Lesser Trefoil, Trifolium dubium.  Downe, 25 August 2012.

Tiny yellow flowers in the grass, looking rather like clovers, can be several things.  Often it is Black Medick, but that has a minute leaf-point inset at the end of its leaves.  No such points here, and this is a Lesser Trefoil.

Finally ...

Unidentified caterpillar on the stem of Hawkweed Oxtongue, Picris hieracioides. Downe, 25 August 2012.

As is often the case, I haven't been able to identify this caterpillar, but we saw several specimens of the plant it seems to be eating.  Unfortunately it's not listed as one of the larvae that eat this plant.  Clearly the list is incomplete!  It is definitely a butterfly or moth larva, not a sawfly which can sometimes look very much like them.  Because of its looping habit, I suspect it is a Geometrid moth, but that's just a guess.