Wonderful wildlife

Self-taught amateur entomologist Sabina George has been snapping super pictures of the creatures you may or may not have noticed in residence on your plots. A keen insect photographer who spends winter recording finds on iRecord (a database for UK Flora & Fauna), Sabina is always looking for new sites to explore and KATA was only too willing to take up her offer of having a looksie at what goes on around us on a sometimes very small scale…

latest sightings

On July 6th a walk around Odibourne Allotments in warm sunshine brought out the butterflies, a Small Copper, Painted Lady and many Gatekeepers. The Large White butterflies heading for the brassicas, not such a welcome sight. Several Mint moths seen and one rested on a leaf. Disturbing a dry, grassy area a Field Grasshopper remained well camouflaged. Red-tailed bumblebees seriously declined in 2024 so good to see a worker feeding at calendula. Numerous Marmalade hoverflies are around. Their behavior, nervously darting in and out many times before settling tells you who they are. We used to get several species of migrant hoverflies, in their millions, from the middle east via Europe but severe heatwaves have greatly reduced numbers. A Migrant Hoverfly seen on calendula along with the Long Hoverfly. Look out for the tiny Dock Bug nymphs and adults on leaves in shady areas. Sabina George

All words courtesy of Sabina George. Thank you for regularly visiting our sites, Sabina, and keeping us up to date on your findings about this vital group of organisms.