Two Tunnels Butterfly Count

Butterfly Species: Speckled Wood (8) Orange Tip (5) Holly Blue (1) Brimstone (3) Comma (1) Brimstone - Male (Gonepteryx rhamni) A week on from my last visit and three new species to add to the 2018 list. Speckled Wood, Orange Tip and Holly Blue are all on the wing. Speckled Wood topped the list with a minimum of eight spotted during the walk. Speckled Wood (Parage aegeria) Both male and female Orange Tip were flying in good numbers with the latter beginning egg laying on the small patches of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata). Orange-Tip - Female (Anthocharis cardamines) Recently laid (white) Orange-tip egg Cycle path near Midford Station

Butterfly Species: Brimstone (5) Peacock (2) Small Tortoiseshell (2) Comma (1) Small White (1) Scarlet Tiger Moth Larva (Callimorpha dominula) Two weeks on from my first trip and the temperature has risen to between 14-17c. More butterflies are present including my years first Small White. It was noticeable how much greener the route looked compared to my first trip. Many more flowers had appeared including the first Bluebells. Both male and female Brimstone butterflies were on the wing and were the most commonly met with of the five species seen. The other notable sighting was a single Scarlet Tiger Moth larva. This was spotted feeding on a Common Comprey plant near the Wellow end of the path. This species has extended its range considerably during the latter half of the 20thC. Heading back towards the tunnels, as I passed and area cleared by volunteers in March, I noticed a small Grass Snake disappearing down one of the many holes that perforated this section o...

Butterfly Species: Brimstone (1) One of the first warm sunny days of the year and the first of my weekly trips through the tunnels to Midford. With the temperature settling between 12-15c I was hopeful of seeing some of the first butterflies of my butterfly year. Wood Anemone - Anemone nemorosa (Near Midford Railway Station) Many of the common spring flowers are out including Primrose and Wood Anemone. Despite the warm and sunny weather only one butterfly was spotted on this trip, a single male Brimstone close to the abandoned Midford Railway Station. Further out towards Wellow the verges widen and I was struck by the abundance of Primroses. These have colonised the maintained embankments with spectacular effect. Further on as I neared Wellow, an impressive display of what I guess are the spikes of Great  Horsetail pushing through. Primroses - Primula vulgaris Primroses - Primula vulgaris