Butterflies

A week ago I went for another bike ride, part of which was along the Nutbrook trail. There were loads of butterflies, which I later identified as Ringlets. It was hard to get close to them.

A few days ago I went to deadhead the nasturtiums in my garden and apart from millions of blackfly I also spotted loads of caterpillars. As they were very familiar I guessed they were Large Whites. I read that gardeners will plant nasturtiums near cabbages because the butterfly prefers them.

Ironically I had cabbages growing trying to attract the same. So Thursday morning I rehoused about a dozen, and in the evening it was obvious they liked their new home.

So that evening and Friday as well I rehoused the rest. Today I counted 31. I can find 27 in this photo.

While I was out this morning I spotted another butterfly I didn't know. It was hanging about the hops plant but the best photos I got were when it landed on my shirt. I couldn't tell exactly what the camera was pointing at so was quite pleased with the result. It's a Comma and I've read that they like to lay their eggs on hops.

Moths

On my bike ride mentioned above I also saw quite a few of these moths. I thought I knew what they were because Lynmiranda (see blog link in my Birdwatching blog) had photos of similar moths. But I noticed they weren't the same. This is actually a Narrow Bordered Five Spot Burnet.

I spotted this moth on the (dirty) window today. Three hours later it's still there. I managed to identify it quite easily as a Small Magpie Moth.

The moth is outside - the fence, hedge, house and sky are reflections.

Damselflies

On the same bike trip I stopped off at Manor Floods and saw these damselflies.

A Common Blue.

I assume a female but I have no idea what.