The weather turned changeable from the beginning of July, with a few very warm or hot days, but also some rain and an annoying westerly wind which, whilst just a gentle breeze at times, was still enough to make insect photography very difficult in all but the most sheltered places. July is also 'butterfly month', when as many as 28 species (all bar Orange-tip) can be seen on Therfield Heath. Following a week away, I soon added Ringlet and Essex Skipper (1st), Gatekeeper (3rd), Painted Lady (7th) and Silver-washed Fritillary (12th) to my year list. After the cold and wet start to spring, it was no surprise to find that Chalkhill Blues were a little late to emerge, but I found four on or near the Old Rifle Range when I visited on the 6th. On my next visit (10th), numbers had increased considerably with perhaps 40-50 males on the wing here. Amazingly, a very tatty male Adonis Blue was still flying - what an exciting life it must have led!
Male Chalkhill Blue, Therfield Heath, 10 July
Still Flying! First Generation Male Adonis Blue, Therfield Heath, 10 July
I was surprised and disappointed to find only a single male Chalkhill Blue west of the Therfield Road when I visited the Church Hill area on the 12th. Adonis Blues were scarce here as well this year - where have all the butterflies gone? There are several reasons why butterflies can fare badly in any given year, but what I fail to understand is why Adonis and Chalkhill Blues are faring much better a mile or so away on the Old Rifle Range area. There was some compensation in seeing three Silver-washed Fritillaries (two males and a female) here. There was quite a bit of (Ash?) tree felling in Jubilee Wood in the late winter and early spring: I had been a little worried that this might have affected this Fritillary species, which has been present in low density at the western end of the Heath for a few years now. However, the opening up of the woodland should, in the next few years, be of benefit to quite a few species including the Silver-washed Fritillary. My first 'fresh' Peacock butterfly of the year was also seen here on the 12th, and it was good to see three or four Small Tortoiseshells on the wing, too. White-letter Hairstreaks were flying around the tops of Elm trees, both along the Icknield Way and at the bottom of my road, on the 10th.
Female Silver-washed Fritillary, Therfield Heath, 12 July
Some of the other insects that I photographed in the first half of July are shown below. The Brassy Longhorn Moths are always found on or near Field Scabious plants, which they are completely reliant on. The Sicus Ferrugineus fly is possibly the first that I have encountered locally, whilst I am still trying to work out the identity of the (mason?) bee.
Brassy Longhorn Moth (1), Royston, 1 July
Brassy Longhorn Moth (2), Royston, 10 July
Fly, Sicus Ferrugineus, Therfield Heath, 3 July
(Mason?) Bee, Royston, 10 July
On a walk up to Hatchpen Farm on the 7th I decided to sneak a look at the farm pond, which is set off about 200 yards away from the public bridleway. As I approached, I thought that I saw a Mallard Duck with three ducklings swimming away from me. However, one of the 'ducklings' suddenly dived under the water and did not reappear - a Little Grebe! This is the first time that I have knowingly seen Little Grebe here, although I do wonder whether I have missed them in the past. I was really looking for dragonflies, and saw at least two Black-tailed Skimmers, a male Banded Demoiselle and mating pairs of Blue-tailed and Common Blue Damselflies: quite a haul for a small pond.
The weather deteriorated further throughout the month, with periods of rain (usually at weekends), showers and cool, gusty winds that continued to make insect photography difficult to impossible. Few dragonflies were seen locally and, with all the expected butterflies on the wing by the middle of the month, I focussed mainly on flies (particularly hoverflies), solitary bees, moths and Ichneumon wasps, of which there are over 2000 species in the UK, so identification down to a single species is impossible! A couple of Canops flies were photographed - these species, with narrow 'waists' between thorax and abdomen, are apparently quite rare, although this could simply be because they are easily overlooked? A few images of this miscellany of insects are shown below.
Small Hoverfly, Sphaerophoria Scripta, Royston, 21 July
Ichneumon Wasp, Royston, 21 July
Fly, possibly Canops Vesicularis, Royston, 18 July
White-letter Hairstreak butterflies were on the wing, when conditions allowed, for most of the month and were seen in several locations around Royston. One was found nectaring close to the ground in a field close to the town centre. I managed to grab a few images (one shown below) before it flew back up to the nearest Wych Elm tree. Second generation Brown Argus and Common Blue butterflies were on the wing by late July. One Brown Argus (photographed on Therfield Heath) although no doubt genetically pure, showed mainly white underwing spots, more typical of the English Northern Brown Argus - a feature that I've seen locally before in this species (image below). No sooner had the first generation of Holly Blues finished than the second generation was on the wing, again in big numbers. On the 21st I was surprised to see a male Silver-washed Fritillary flying close to Royston Hospital and only a few hundred yards from my house: hopefully a sign that this species will colonise (or has already colonised) woodland near my home.
White-letter Hairstreak, Royston, 19 July
Male Silver-washed Fritillary, Royston, 21 July
Brown Argus (Variant), Therfield Heath, 26 July
Visiting my local wild flower meadow on the 26th I was amazed by how many Six-spot Burnet Moths were on the wing, with some mating whilst most were nectaring, particularly on Field Scabious plants. In contrast, very few were seen on The Heath. Dusky Sallow, another day flying moth, was present as well. Both moth species were also seen on a walk that I did in Litlington, just over the border in Cambridgeshire, also on the 26th. Whilst my eyes were focussed mainly on the ground during July, I did note a few interesting birds. Perhaps the best record was of a family of Spotted Flycatchers near the 'Fox and Duck' pub in Therfield on the 24th. Raven sightings, both on The Heath and near Royston Hospital, became frequent towards the end of the month, with a pair seen on more than one occasion. Juvenile Robins, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Wrens were commonplace, with all but the last visiting the garden and its feeders.
Dusky Sallow Moth, Litlington, 26 July
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