Tower path

Walking from the start of the access trail in the village, it is possible to turn West behind Hadlow Castle and the Tower, along a shady path that comes out on the grassy path area between Meadows North, the Fisheries pond and the ha-ha of the Castle Grounds. Here the grass is allowed to grow longer and in consequence it is a small haven for insects.

After a couple of Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina) I saw a small skipper flying too fast and orange to be a Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus). I was pretty sure they would be Small Skippers (Thymelicus sylvestris) as it is fairly early in the season, and the Small Skipper is usually a fortnight ahead of its congener species, the Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola), but after I saw the close-ups of the photos I became very unsure. The antennae looked black-tipped from most angles I was able to get at, and IF at least some of the insects were males, then the scent glands were short, thin and parallel to the wing edge.

The two photos below are the same insect at different magnifications, and show what I think is a male Essex Skipper, with a short thin scent gland parallel to the edge of the wing. It is really difficult to be sure of the antennae tips.

This is the same male, demonstrating I think at least on the right antenna the deep black on the antenna tip, which does seem to extend to the underside.

This photo is of a different butterfly but it also looks very like a male Essex Skipper. I must admit I was surprised, as I hadn't thought that we had colonies in the Parish, and it looks as though this is one just under our noses.

This is another individual, but again clearly showing the black-tipped antennae

The behaviors involved in mate location, courtship, and mating are described for Thymelicus lineola . Males emerge first and patrol in search of mates, spending >50% of their time in flight. Mate location appears to be primarily visual although males do not readily discriminate between sexes, approaching conspecific males as frequently as females. Both males and females have a typical refusal display, but males are persistent in their approaches, which could explain the occasional aggregation of males around a mating pair and the recovery of two male pairs “in copula.” Male behaviour is discussed in the context of maximizing mating success, given that T. lineola females generally mate only once and sex ratios are often strongly biased in favour of males.

There were very good numbers of male Common Blue Damselflies (Enallagma cyathigerum) in the long grass area, and this one was hanging on to a Cats Ear (Hypochaeris radicata) head. It slowly bent its abdomen up in a stretching movement, for unknown reasons!

There are also a lot of Cinnabar moths, Tyria jacobaeae, and their caterpillars around. Here is a caterpillar on the flower head of Ragwort, Senecio jacobaea.

and here are two more, on top of another inflorescence cluster.

There are also starting to be increasing numbers of the common soldier beetles, Rhagonycha fulva.