Duke of Burgundy and Dingy Skipper at Denge Wood

This was a brilliant British Butterfly Conservation Society Kent Branch trip, and it was particularly nice to see Peter and Margaret again.

I stopped at the pull-in in the Northern half of the woods first, and found a nice Nomad Bee, Nomada flava or panzeri, generally regarded as two common but indistinguishable species.

There was also a lovely Common Carder Bumblebee, Bombus pascuorum close by, nectaring on the Yellow Archangel.

This is a better photo of the Yellow Archangel, Lamium galeobdolon, just further along.

Sometimes early Hazel leaves show these purple markings, I think.

There was also a neat spider,

The group did see some Dingy Skippers, including a fresh mating pair, but I only caught a glimpse of this apparently very worn individual:

There were quite a few Green Tiger Beetles, Cicindela campestris, on the paths. Both of these appear to be males, as you can see at least the ivory-coloured left-hand mandibles quite clearly. The second male has fewer cream spots on the elytra.

There was a nice Rove Beetle on a bonfire site on Bonsai Bank, seemed to be way out of the damp habitat associated with this genus, particularly Paederus riparius, but it might still be Paederus littoralis I suppose, or maybe another species.

Throughout the day we saw Brimstone Butterflies, Gonopteryx rhamni, and I caught this battered male(?) trying to snack on a primrose flower.