I had no large blues again today, suggesting their season is over and done with unfortunately; but their eggs are getting ready to hatch and caterpillars are munching away at the thyme preparing for next year when they’ll emerge and once more grace us with their presence!
It wasn’t a great day for butterflies in general, it was cloudy and cool for most of the day with the sun only making an appearance later in the afternoon. I did have a few finds today though, including a variety of as yet unidentified Nomada bees, which are cleptoparasites of other bee species and often mistaken for wasps. They lay their eggs in the nests of other bees, mostly Andrena species, and can often be seen hovering around their nests looking for an opportunity to get in and lay their eggs.
Nomada lathburiana © Steven Falk
I also found this great looking micro moth Captoptria pinella which is an interesting species to find as it is usually found in boggy and marshy areas, so it must be a bit lost up on the exceedingly dry Collard Hill! But it blends in well despite it’s bright and shiny colouring.
The National Trust's Large Blue Blog 