New Forest ~ 30 June

A day spent in the New Forest with 2 primary targets: Bog Orchid & pumilio. The former was out in reasonable numbers at the usual site near Stoney Cross.

A trip to Mill Lawn Brook was unproductive with high water levels eliminating any chance of pumilio and just one mercuriale was found. Onto Latchmore Brook where pumilio were out in force with approximately 150 on the two usual flushes 1mile or so east of the main car park. These included ~8 aurantiaca. Just 6 mercuriale were found - it appears to have been a very poor year for this species.

Thursley Common & Hankley Common ~ 19 June, 20 June & 26 June

2 visits to new areas of Thursley Common away from the popular Moat Car Park. Effort was concentrated towards the southern end, where mosaic-style management seems to be a lot more prominent and consequently the area is a lot more biodiverse.

Dartford Warbler, Woodlark, Tree Pipit & Redstart are all in good numbers, the latter appearing to have had a particularly good year.

Silver-studded Blues are thinly distributed with the exception of one dense population on the western edge. A ~50m transect yielded 48. Numbers of Bombus lucorum across the site are very impressive along with smaller numbers of hypnorum & terrestris.

Bombus lucorum (M)

Silver-studded Blue

Ammophila wasps were abundant and consequently one lone Mottled Bee-fly (Thyridanthrax fenestratus) was found on my latter visit.

Mottled Bee-fly ~ Thyridanthrax fenestratus

A trip to Hankley Common Golf Course on the 20th June was notable for 1 Mottled Bee-fly but most impressively for Textrix denticulata, seemingly a first for Surrey and a very rare sighting in the SE of England.

Warren Heath/Garden ~ 17 June

First trip of the year was a success with a teneral metallica (my earliest ever) among extremely good numbers of patrolling Downy Emeralds (Cordulia aenea). Keeled Skimmer numbers are building but are some way off their peak. Small-red numbers were noticeably lower than at other sites - the site certainly seems to have deteriorated over the past few years.

A nice surprise upon return to the garden with a Hylaeus confufus nesting in some holes on a concrete fence post (photographed here with a nectar/pollen mix used to fill the nest).