Please refer to the Introduction Page to understand the context behind the monthly photographs.
Animals
Birds
Butterflies
The Ringlet Butterflies are once again appearing in much greater numbers this year than any of the others however the Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly is very scarce locally.
Moths
The Burnet Moth is one of the day time flying moths while the Yellow Shell Moth is active from dusk time.
Note there are around 2,500 UK Moths compared to only 59 UK Butterflies. Most of the non-daytime moths require a night time moth trap.
Dragonflies
Most Dragonflies live on average two to three weeks with six at the most.
Damselflies
Damselflies have an average life of one to two weeks with a maximum of eight.
Insects - Beetles
Insects - Ladybirds
Fungi
A relatively rare fungus and so far only recorded 11 times in the VC38 Warwickshire section of the NBN Fungi Species Atlas.
These Maple leaf black tar spots usually start developing around mid June. At that stage the dots are tiny and light green. So, you probably didn’t notice them. Around August, those tiny spots become significantly wider and thicker and look like spots of tar stuck to the leaves. However even although caused by a fungus of the genus Rhytisma - Maple leaf tar spot is mostly a cosmetic issue.
Slime Moulds
Lime Tree Leaf Gall
The Galls on the leaf surface are conical above and hemispherical below. In midsummer an inner gall sticks out from the top of the cone cone, later falling out and leaving a hole in the outer gall. The inner Gall falls to ground level and the single larve pupates in springtime. The empty outer gall then looses the red surrounding.
Oak Marble Gall
The multiple small exit holes show that this gall which normally has one larger exit hole has been subject to a parasite species which have feed on the original occupier.
Willow Tree Leaf Gall
Lichen
Lichen are only recorded at each new OS Grid location (hover for Grid Ref). They are then entered on the British Lichen Society spreadsheet and submitted for their Warwickshire VC38 Lichen database and Lichen mapping.
Ones that escaped the camera lens this month
a) Magpie Moth.
a) Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly.