Lullingstone, June 2014

Larva of Peacock, Aglais io.  Orpington Field Club trip to Lullingstone Country Park, 14 June 2014.

A trip to Lullingstone Country Park, led by a botany expert from the Orpington Field Club.  But I always go for the invertebrates with my camera.   One of the group found a whole horde of these black caterpillars in a nettle bank.  They will eventually become Peacock butterflies.

Common Blue Damselfly, Enallagma cyathigerum.  In tandem.
Orpington Field Club trip to Lullingstone Country Park, 14 June 2014.

We saw these Common Blue Damselflies right in the car park at the start, and in this photo they are on the back of someone's coat.  They will eventually loop into a circle while mating, but they fly like this, "in tandem", for a while.

Meadow Foxtail, Alopecurus pratensis.  Orpington Field Club trip to Lullingstone Country Park, 14 June 2014.

There were many meadow plants to see.  Grasses included.  This Meadow Foxtail is a particularly pretty grass.

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina.  Orpington Field Club trip to Lullingstone Country Park, 14 June 2014.

There were butterflies, and moths too, but I have left out the moths this time.  This Meadow Brown always looks good on a yellow flower.

Field Madder, Sherardia arvensis.  Orpington Field Club trip to Lullingstone Country Park, 14 June 2014.

And this tiny plant, Field Madder, is always nice to see.  It was shortly after this that I broke my ring flash.  Aaargh!  They're expensive.  It was in my bag, and I slipped on a steep slope.  I fell back slightly and heard an unpleasant crunch.  I suppose I was lucky it wasn't me that made the sound .. the plastic casing was broken right through just near the attachment to the top of the camera.  Well, it only took a week to get a new one, and it's a later and better model, so I am not completely unhappy.  But it was annoying that just after the crunch, several interesting micromoths turned up in the undergrowth!