We met at RSPB Sandy at 10am and spent the morning visiting the woodland rides and gardens. It was pleasantly cool after all the heat. Several Shieldbugs were found on the foliage, along with a Blue-tailed Damselfly, Spiders, and one or two resting butterflies like this delicate Essex Skipper with its ink-dipped antennae
When the sun broke through in the afternoon, the lavender revealed Large Skipper and Small Skipper along with Brown Argus but, best of all lots of Green-eyed Flower Bees both taking short naps and flying around.
On our afternoon walk around the reserve, we saw Gatekeepers and Large Whites in good numbers along with an obliging Purple Hairstreak on an Oak branch and two moths - a Mint Moth and a Scarlet Tiger. There were also lots of Emperor and other Large Dragonflies - too fast to capture in the lens.
One of the reasons to visit Sandy in July is for the various Bee and Wasp species. Bee-wolf wasps were seen but not with their prey. However, a Cercaria Wasp that catches and transports various varieties of Weevils to it nest burrows in the sand entertained us for some time along with an iridescent green and red Cuckoo Wasp waiting to lay eggs in one of the wasp nests.
Led by Ann Miles
Photographs Ann Miles, Penny Reeves, Emma Hall, Dave McKay, Martin Goddard, Andrew Cornwall
For more events to attend go to Nature (rps.org)