Martin Down Burnt-tip Orchids & Insects

All of the images in this post are from my trip to Martin Down nature reserve last weekend, and as you might have guessed from the title of the post the photo’s are of the Burn-tip (Orchis ustulata) and insects.

This year they are a plenty Burn-tip orchids, both bunches and also solitary ones as shown in these photo’s.

Here, as you will see, I placed both pink and blue cards behind one of the solitary orchids.

However, the days weather was not a great one for the insects, windy and also colder than normal for this time year, and so there were few sightings on the exposed downs. Instead the best placed to find them was beside the paths that were sheltered out of the wind.

Martins Down is normally a good site for the skippers, though the only butterfly specie in any great number to be found this time was the Small Blue (Cupido minimus).

Here are the other insects photographed on the day.

Either a nomad bee or wasp.

Yellow-barred Longhorn moth (Nemophora degeerella)

A Rhogogaster viridis sawfly.

and finally a pair of mating dance flies with a snack to boot!

 

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