Bobby Dazzlers

Yet another after work outing though this time I went a little further afield in the company of Alan Shorrock. Alan had not seen a Dark Green Fritillary and so we set out for Robert's Field in Lincolnshire near Stamford. Not only did we manage to find some frits but they treated us to some good views too.

Dark Green Fritillaries.

Of course frits were not the only things in view and there were plenty of Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns. Smaller quantities of other species were present and these included Large White, Small and Essex Skipper, a Common Blue and Ringlets. A few Burnet moths were seen though I couldn't see which species. Also of note today was a good number of Pyramidal Orchids.

Common Blue and white Pyramidal Orchid.

Once Alan had had his fill of Dark Green Fritillaries we returned to the county for a look at the disused quarry near Spanhoe Airfield. I'd hoped that there might be some DG Frits here too but if there were we couldn't find any. Marbled Whites were common and so too were Meadow Browns and Small Heaths. At least two faded looking Painted Ladies were seen and so too was a Small Tortoiseshell. Skippers were well represented with Large, Small and Essex being noted while both Small and Large White were noted too.

Small Heath and Essex Skipper.

Three shallow ponds held a selection of dragons and damsels of which eight first for the year Common Emeralds were the highlight. Also noted were several Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies as well as a couple of male Banded Demoiselles. Three species of dragons were observed and these were Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser and Ruddy Darter. Not a great deal else to mention though there was a good sized group of Pyramidal Orchids here too.

Common Emeralds and aeroplanes at Spanhoe.