It’s been a bit intermittent this week, regarding the butterflies and dragonflies, they start to build up on a warm day, only to be knocked back the next.
The Small Tortoiseshell were out in a few numbers on of the days, six on one flower head of Ragwort.
A large hawker was flying around the willows near the feeders, but soon disappeared with the cold wind and never managed to identify what type.
We had our first visit to the feeders of a Cold Tit, they appear here every winter but then move on during the breeding season.
Jim and Lew found a number of caterpillars on one of the willow trees which turned out to be from the Buff Tip moth. They will feed up on the willow often stripping it bare and then go under the soil to form the pupa and emerge as moth next May to July. We caught one of the moths during 2007 moth hunt, see pics.
Also came across a young Fox moth caterpillar on the path, they will double in size before overwintering and then pupate next spring. The moths are quite large and have not been caught in a trap yet, photo from Internet is attached.
Bob and Bri