Marsh Fritillary

We decided to go to Chambers Wood today and look for butterflies, particularly Marsh Fritillaries. There were a few around but not many. I overheard a couple of men with some very high tech camera equipment talking, and they were saying that they did not think it would be that great a year for the woodland wildlife - wise. They were saying things were about a month later than you'd expect as the weather had been so bad. So we should be glad to have seen and get shots of what we did! 

On the plant with the butterfly is some cuckoo spit. It's not really anything to do with cuckoos. It is caused by the nymph of insects which suck the sap of the plant, aerate it and then squeeze it out of their butt and use it as a disguise! How ingenious!

Before heading home we checked out the butterfly garden, which currently is still not being tended (This was where I did my eavesdropping!) There was a lovely dragonfly there, a male Broad Bodied Chaser. It kept settling for short spells on a twig in the pond and I managed to get a shot of it. It's in the extras, along with a lovely red, jewel bright beetle!