September ends with peculiar 20 degree days and 20 degree nights, which frankly is rather superior to the insane summer we had but is still totally unseasonable.
Most wildflowers have given up the ghost for the year and the beautiful June scenes in the library nature reserves, but there's still plenty of colour to be had in Sconce Park, and my buddleia gets regular dawn and dusk visits from that most fabulous of flutterers, the hummingbird hawk moth.
I've also had many visits from the mighty beast that is the hornet mimic hoverfly, and where ivy is in bloom there is the gleaming yellow and orange ivy cellophane bees. Not many butterflies around, and frankly apart from red admirals, painted ladies and small whites, that has been the story of the summer.
Small tortoiseshells? Not round here mate.
So, as I type with a hot swollen hand from a mosquito bite, let me show you what I've seen these lasr few days.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 01.10.26
The weather is odd too, here in East Sussex. No butterflies at all this past week , still seeing Hummingbird Hawk moths, and saw a Bombylus Major the other day . It has a very loud buzz and I wasn't sure what it was but looked up on line and I am pretty sure that is what it was. Great photos as always. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a hornet mimic hoverfly! Few butterflies now, though butterfly surveys continue for another couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The hornet mimics are a recent arrival in the UK, still making their way North
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