More Butterflies Less Bees

Taking advantage of the very first day of a predicted dry spell, I rode to The Spetchells last Monday, hoping to at last find some butterflies on the wing, in particular the common blue

I wasn't disappointed.  Within a few minutes of mounting the chalk steps, I'd found a couple of meandering meadow browns and, wandering further, two solitary male common blues within short succession of each other.

Common Blue

Meadow Brown

There were as expected no buffish mining bees to be found but plenty of its predator, Gooden's Nomad Bee, prowling around the holes the miners have made in the paths. 

Gooden's Nomad Bee

At one point I thought I saw a blood bee entering one of the holes but it never re-emerged. Apart from that I only saw a couple of bumble bees (one red-tailed.)

Even a couple of speckled wood appeared underneath the birch trees and on the way back I happened upon four very fresh-looking ringlets. It was the first time I've seen either species this year.

Speckled Wood

Ringlet

I duly reported all to Butterfly Conservation North East and immediately got an automated message saying the ringlets were the first to be reported this year, which really surprised me but tallies with the fresh appearance. The speckled wood looks in good nick as well.

In all of this, I couldn't help noticing that there was far less bird's foot trefoil at the Spetchells than on previous visits, perhaps explaining why there was no sign of the dingy skipper or any burnet moths.  I begin to wonder if I've struck a bit lucky with the blues.