Green-veined White

Alan Watts, our butterfly enthusiast, took these pics of green-veined white butterflies at Filnore Woods.  See how the green veins on the underside of the wings mimics the adjacent plant. 

You might think it was an ordinary white butterfly looked at from the topside, but if you can get close enough you can see that the tip of the veins at the edge of the wing thicken into dark triangles.  This one is feeding on dandelion nectar.

They have a rather fluttery flight compared to the small white and the large white, the scourge of cabbage growers.

Green-veined whites are doing well.  They are common all over Britain wherever there is lush, damp vegetation.

Speeding fine

This clump of sky-coloured speedwell flowers growing on a bank are the Germander Speedwell, which has larger flowers than most speedwells you find in your garden.   

Mullein Moth

This handsome caterpillar appeared in my garden eating our nice verbascum (or mullein) flowers.

Not strictly a Filnore Woods phenomenon but striking enough to earn a place on this blog.  It's one of the largest, most easily recognised caterpillars in Britain.  It doesn't hide or feed at night to avoid predators.  It boldly chomps away in broad daylight.

It wasn't alone.  There were about 30 of them on one plant and they stripped it of both leaves and flowers.  They will feed on Mullein (Verbascum) or Buddleia.  

Can you see four caterpillars in the photo below?

Three are easy to see but number four is peeping out from behind a narrow, vertical stem in the upper part of the picture.

When full size, up to 50mm long, the caterpillar drops to the ground and makes a pupa with a very hard shell.  It may wait three or up to five years before hatching out into the less conspicuous adult moth.

Photo: Rod Baker on 'naturespot'

Hogweed is back - and Hemlock

Now that the cow parsley has gone the Hogweed is the next umbellifer to come into flower.  It grows twice as tall.

Even taller is Hemlock, another umbellifer, but with much more delicate leaves and flowers.  (you won't confuse it with cow parsley or pignut, which are pretty well over by now)

The really clear distinguishing feature of Hemlock is the purple spotting on the stem.  

THIS PLANT IS POISONOUS and was famously used in the execution of Greek philosopher Socrates

Cockchafer beetle

The Cockchafer or May Bug is totally harmless to people despite its alarming appearance and size.  I found this one climbing up my leg as I knelt on the grass.  It was probably newly emerged from its three year life as a grub under ground.  As an adult it will only live about six weeks. 

Beneath those brown wing cases (elytra) there is a pair of powerful wings.  Adult cockchafers spend most of their time flying around tree tops, feeding on leaves and making love.

Although they are rather slow moving on the ground they are very good at climbing and hanging on as you can see below.  You can also see his cheery little face and the fringed antennae.  This helps cockchafers (and 'hen-chafers', I guess) find each  other by smell in the dark.

They are attracted to light, and if one flies in through your window it makes the most alarming noise - like a motor bike  - as it zooms round the room.  The white triangles on its side look like four exhaust pipes.

Marsh hoverfly - The Footballer

This colourful character is one of the marsh hoverflies.  It's scientific name is Helophilus which means marsh-lover.  It spends a lot of time sunbathing on foliage near water and so it is sometimes called the Sunfly. 

But in its colourful stripy jersey it is also known as The Footballer.  If you disturb it, it flies around with a loud buzz before settling back on another leaf.

Path clearing

In early April this path between posts 14 and 15 was not overgrown .. .. .. 

.. .. ..  but it was very muddy

By 22nd May it had dried out but the vegetation on either side was threatening to overwhelm it.

Along came our volunteers to cut back the encroaching plants

.. .. ..  and by the end of the morning we had a 5m wide path.

Here it is viewed in the opposite direction

The intention now is to construct a raised path in the middle of this broad highway so that next winter it is not so muddy.