Hertford Heath & Balls Wood 11th and 17th July 2023

A couple of warmer, sunnier days meant a short trip for Butterflies and Dragonflies on the Heath and then into the woods. No sign yet of any of the more exciting Butterflies, but lots of commoner species including this Speckled Wood.

Gatekeeper.

Meadow Brown.

No sign of Cinnabar Moth but plenty of their caterpillars!

I found two Longhorn Beetle species including Black & Yellow and Large Black.

On the Hoverfly front, Great Pied and Marmalade.

Another good find was this Nursery Web Spider with its nest.

It was peak Dragonfly season with Ruddy Darters everywhere.

I managed to find one Emerald Damselfly. I just love those eyes!

The Brown Hawkers were fairly high up and did not perch, however I had more luck with the Emperors.

And finally, Southern Hawker.

When the sun finally shows again a return trip is needed for some of the more exciting and scarce Butterflies.