Marbled White, male

Marbled Whites fly between the middle of june and the middle of August, and are found  mainly in the central counties, South, South-east, South-west of England and a small part of Wales.

Male Marbled White on Foxglove.

A closer view...

And another closer view...

All photographs were taken at Oaken Wood, Surrey B.C. butterfly reserve.

Large Skipper male on Foxglove

Britain's largest member of the Skipper family is found throughout England and wales and is on the wing between the middle of May to late August.

Male Large Skipper feeding from the outside of the Foxglove.

And feeding from inside the Foxglove.

Phaonia Rufiventris

Phaonia Rufiventris is a common Fly found throughout most of Britain.

A closer view of this beautiful insect.

Meadow Brown, male

Meadow Browns can be seen flying between late May and September. This year [2016] they emerged  2-3 weeks later than normal, probably because of the unseasonal wet and colder weather for this time of year.

Open winged male Meadow Brown.

Meadow Brown male showing the undersides of it's wings.

Both photographs were taken at Oaken Wood, Surrey B.C. Butterfly reserve.

Early-mining Bee

The Early-mining Bee is found throughout Britain in a wide range of habitats with suitable soil for which they can excavate their nest holes. They can be seen between March and June. The females are 8-11mm in length, with the males being a lot smaller in size. The male's hairs are also lighter in colour, being grey and sometimes even white. All the photos below are females.

All photos were taken at Oaken Wood, Surrey B.C. butterfly reserve.

Common-spotted Orchid

The Common-spotted Orchid is found throughout Britain in damp meadows and woodland clearings between June and August. Photographed in Oaken Wood, B.C. Surrey reserve and conservation area.

White-tailed Bumblebee, i need to...

I really need to just sit down and relax.. White-tailed Bumblebee, Oaken Wood, B.C. Surrey butterfly reserve.

Tree Bumblebee

A fairly new addition to the Bees of Britain, having first been recorded in 2001. The Tree Bumblebee has since spread remarkably fast and, has established itself across most of England and Wales. It is found on woodland rides/clearings and in gardens. It's rapid rise in numbers and populating such a vast area in such a short period of time has been put down to the fact that the British love to put up nest boxes, a favourite nest site for the Tree Bumblebees.

This particular Tree Bumblebee has gone to ground, hiding down in the grass because of cold weather.

When the sun eventually came out again the Tree Bumblebee positioned itself to warm it's body quickly and efficiently before flying off.

Allowing a photograph detailing the three identifying colours of this Bee, chestnut brown thorax, black abdomen with a white tail.

Brimstone, a males attempt at courting a female.

The male Brimstone is not one to easily give up on the possibility of mating with a female whenever he comes across one. But the female has normally always been mated as copulation is a very private act with these butterflies and normally takes place within the confides of a bush and, is very rarely seen. The female will always show the male her rejection signal, but unlike most male butterflies, [who tend to take the hint rather quickly] the male Brimstones seem to ignore the female's signals of rejection and continue to try and mate. This can last for several minutes and more, i have witnessed this act of a failed courtship by a male for about 48 minutes.

The male Brimstones are quite relentless in their pursuit of females

Continually flying at and into the female..

Often standing on the female's wings so she can not fly off..

This is the best opportunity for the photographer to get an in flight picture.

Even thou it takes a lot of patience and failed attempts..but, if you keep at it, you will be rewarded.

And then there is always the unexpected....

And more....

And he still failed to successfully court and mate the female. But does this ritual ever end in copulation?

All photographs are the copyright of NickBroomer.

Small Tortoiseshell, pupated in leaf tent

A  Small Tortoiseshell final instar larva has very unusually made a tent out of a nettle leaf then pupated inside.

A tent made by a Small Tortoiseshell final instar larva
Where it has pupated, which is very unusual

I very carefully peeled back the Nettle to reveal a golden pupa, a beautiful variation of a Small Tortoiseshell pupa.

The beautiful golden pupa of the Small Tortoiseshell revealed
I folded the leaf back and, left it how i had found it.

Speckled Wood, ovipositing

A female Speckled Wood ovipositing, 4th June 2016. A shaded spot in the wood was chosen to lay the egg, but will receive a fair amount of sun during the day.

The freshly laid ovum seems to be a light green in colour, but the egg hasn't fully dried, and with the added combination of light hitting the freshly laid ovum is giving a false appearance to the colour of the ovum, [which is called light refraction] when the ovum is actually white.

The freshly laid ovum  photographed 5 minutes after if was laid

A further 5 minutes later the ovum having nearly dried
the light green colouring is far less apparent 

 And a fully dried Speckled Wood ovum.

Drab Looper Moth

The Drab Looper Moth is nationally scarce B [in The United Kingdom] and flies from late April to June, with an occasional partial brood in August.

They prefer open sunny woodland clearings/rides where there is an abundance of Wood Spurge for both the larva and adults to feed from. The adults are quite easy to find or easily disturbed on warm overcast and sunny days alike, from my own experiences and observations.

The small Moth is a light brown in colour [fawny] with an opened wingspan of about 18mm.

Drab Looper Moth on Wood Spurge

A Drab Looper Moth and a small Fly the size of a Common House fly
to indicate how small the Moth actually is.