Buddleia butterflies 

I have several buddleias in the garden and the first to flower is now pulling in insects. Not high numbers as yet but there's been a good variety including commas, peacocks, small tortoiseshells, whites, and even a skipper briefly as well as bumblebees. Perhaps we'll get a hummingbird hawkmoth too? I saw one on my local patch the other day so there are some about. Elsewhere in the garden, a male brimstone tried its best with the flowers of everlasting peas and a first gatekeeper of the year flitted about near some mint which they favour. 

It's proving to be a very good year for most of our butterflies with numbers recorded on transects across the county up by well over 100% on last year. High numbers of many of the commoner species are being recorded on most transects with the highest total this week being 748 on a butterfly transect in Buxton. 500 of those were ringlets, a butterfly which was absent from the county 40 years ago. Meadow browns are also being seen in huge numbers, clearly enjoying the hot and dry weather. These two species depend on grasses on which their caterpillars feed. They are rather similar and when faded can be hard to separate.

Butterfly predators

I watched a spotted flycatcher at close quarters midweek. It was repeatedly swooping down on some buddleia bushes in the gardens at Kedleston. While I didn't spot any butterflies in its beak, I have seen them repeatedly take species such as tortoiseshells from buddleia flowers in previous years when both flycatchers and butterflies were more abundant. 

While watching the flycatcher, a hummingbird hawkmoth appeared and spent a lot of time probing its lengthy proboscis down into the individual flowers of the buddleia. There are quite a few about so keep an eye on buddleias and red valerian, their favourite flowers.

Fungal insects

Fungi form an important food source for many insects as foragers will know to their cost when they find specimens 'riddled with maggots' (I prefer to call them 'larvae'). One interesting species feeds on the hard black tissues of cramp balls (also called King Alfred's cakes since they look like small burned buns) is the the scarce fungus weevil, which depends entirely on a supply of cramp balls. I first came across this extraordinary looking insect some years ago hanging to washing on the line. I guess it had emerged from one of many cramp balls on ash logs on one of my garden log piles.

July is THE dragonfly month

Given some sunny days this month, you'd do well to visit a lake, gravel pit or pond and look at the dragonflies. More species are flying this month than in any other.July will see the emergence of our longest species, the gold ringed dragonfly. This black and gold species is restricted to a few upland, acid streams in the county but is well worth seeking out. Should you be heading for the Highlands of Scotland you'll find them much more widespread there.

July garden flowers and urban plants

The marginal plants round the back of the pond in my garden have grown tall and are now flowering. They include purple loosestrife, (yellow) tansy, (creamy) meadowsweet and the blues of giant bellflower and meadow cranesbill -all being enjoyed by various pollinators. 

Walking through Derby to collect my car from the garage on Tuesday, I was pleased to see a good range of wild flowers growing up either side of a temporary car park’s blue railings. It wasn’t so much the buddleias of which there were many that caught my eye, but rather the smaller plants growing at ground level. Oxford ragwort, mignonette and toadflax among others seemed to be flourishing. Resilient and adaptable, they’ll be around long after we humans have disappeared. 

On the other side of the road, I was delighted to see a rowan tree weighed down with a heavy crop of orange-red berries. Years ago I remember how flocks of starlings would descend on such trees as soon as the berries ripened and quickly strip them clean. No longer. The starlings have gone and now the fruit will be left for local blackbirds and perhaps a mistle thrush to gorge on, albeit at a more leisurely pace.

See you next month for August's Wild Update!