Hedgerows and banks are noticeably different; butterflies stop for the observer while feeding on the nectar of bramble flowers. Blackberries are ripening to provide food for birds and mammals, along with Sloes, Rosehips, and Hawthorn berries (‘haws’).
Sycamore and Field Maple display their winged seeds ready to be released in the autumn months.
On Chalk Downland we have seen Ladies Bedstraw, Devils-bit Scabious, Black Knapweed, Squinancywort, Common Centaury, Harebells, and Ragwort. This final plant is invasive, and if not pulled every year can take over an area of grassland. It is also poisonous to livestock when ingested on a large scale. Ragwort is the foodplant of the Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar, we have seen lots of Ragwort covered in these black and yellow striped creatures.
Chalkhill blue butterflies have been sighted on Bindon and Hambury Tout, along with Gatekeepers and Graylings. One member of our team was lucky to see a Clouded Yellow at Durdle Door hay meadow, which is where we see these beautiful migrant orange-yellow butterflies every July. They have come all the way from North Africa and the Middle East via Turkey.
Crickets and Grasshoppers ‘sing’ very loudly this time of year, and always jump out from underfoot while walking through the long grass. These are hard to identify, but the most likely suspects around West Lulworth are Great Green Bush Cricket
(its sound is likened to that of a sewing machine), Field Grasshopper, and Meadow Grasshopper.
We have chosen Harebells for this month, their delicate lilac bells drop from a slender stem and often ‘tremble’ in the wind.
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