At Lydden Down nature reserve I laid down beside a clump of marjoram, on a bed of lady's bedstraw and breathed in the scents of the herbs.
The clump was covered in butterflies, burnet moths, bees and hoverflies, and being Lydden in August the majority were
chalkhill blues.
No prizes for guessing the next most frequent species, but it was good to see a
small tortoiseshell,
while one clouded yellow was seen dashing across the down (I didn't chase) and the first of two
silver-spotted skippers came to nectar.
The second was content with a pile of dung.
The top track provided different plants and insects, including an almost white sprig of marjoram beside a dark red one.
Wall
Brown argi
Chalkhill blues male and female
On some of the north-facing hillsides were thousands of young stems of
devil's-bit scabious, which will be well worth a visit later in the season.
And speaking of later in the season, near the entrance to the reserve were a few early spikes of
autumn gentian.
At Lydden Down nature reserve I laid down beside a clump of marjoram, on a bed of lady's bedstraw and breathed in the scents of the herbs. 
The clump was covered in butterflies, burnet moths, bees and hoverflies, and being Lydden in August the majority were chalkhill blues.
No prizes for guessing the next most frequent species, but it was good to see a small tortoiseshell,
while one clouded yellow was seen dashing across the down (I didn't chase) and the first of two silver-spotted skippers came to nectar.
The second was content with a pile of dung.
The top track provided different plants and insects, including an almost white sprig of marjoram beside a dark red one.
Wall
Brown argi
Chalkhill blues male and female
On some of the north-facing hillsides were thousands of young stems of devil's-bit scabious, which will be well worth a visit later in the season.
And speaking of later in the season, near the entrance to the reserve were a few early spikes of autumn gentian.
4 comments:
I mentioned your blog to a couple of twitchers I know and they were scathing - 'Huh!' they said, "Things that don't move."
I almost refused the pint they offered.
Steve ,
Great set of shots from Lydden .
Been there a couple of times a few years ago .
Never seen the white Marjoram before .
Obviously not got the rabbit problem of White Hill with so many Devil's Bit Scabious plants .
Needed Henry to chase down the Clouded Yellow .
David, please ask your friends if they could twitch something that does not move, call or sing, and is tiny in a field, wood or hedgerow.
Thanks for the kind comments on your blog, but you've got me wondering about my use of 'laid' in the first paragraph of this posting.
Greenie - I'm seeing the devil everywhere now!
Great place you found! That Marjoram really seems to attract them all. You have dozens of different butterflies there and all on those beautiful flowers.
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