The intrepid volunteers in the photo braved squally rain to work at our reserve on Sunday at Lankham Bottom. Continue reading
Cinnabar moth caterpillar. Photo: Jill Franks
Jill spotted this Cinnabar moth caterpillar while at Lankham Bottom on 25/07/23. Usually they are present in good numbers on one plant but this year in some areas singletons like this have been noted on their food plant Ragwort.
Wood Tiger. Photo: Rosina Robinson
Alabonia geoffrella. Photo: Rosina Robinson.
Rosina was please to see both this stunning Wood Tiger moth and a tiny micro moth Alabonia geoffrella when she visited Lankham Bottom on 4/06/23.
Wood Tigers fly from May-June and Alabonia geoffrella also May-June.
Marsh Fritillary. Photo: Sam Ellis
Sam sent in this photo telling us:
Just sharing this photo of one of eleven Marsh Fritillaries I saw today, 24/05/2023 at Lankham Bottom in a 15-min Count. I actually saw several more after I finished the count! So good numbers considering the season. All seemed fairly fresh. They were all recorded on the north-west facing slope in the gully at the southern end of the site. I didn’t see any on the south-facing slope at the northern end where you also usually see them.
If you saw the episode of David Attenborough’s Wild Isles on 26 March, you will have seen one of our Butterfly Reserves. Lankham Bottom is north of Dorchester and is grassland which has been protected from agricultural “improvement”. Continue reading
Small Tortoiseshell. Photo: Donald Simcock
Donald sent in this photo with the following comments:
Yesterday, 27/07/2022 at Lankham Bottom whilst helping clear away ragwort with Nigel’s group I saw 5 Small Tortoiseshells all feeding on Ragwort and one bumping another off the flower.
A good chance I thought to try and get a picture of one taking off. So with a high film speed and a high shutter speed I finally got one good photo with the other hundred or so in the recycle bin. This photo shows the proboscis still extended during flight.
Marsh Fritillary. Photo: Mike Lewis
Speckled Yellow Moth. Photo: Mike Lewis
Two photos from Mike who sent them in commenting as follows:
Marvellous walk at Lankham Bottom this morning, 19/05/2022. Literally hundreds of Wood Tiger moths, my first Brown Argus of the year, a Speckled Yellow moth, the usual collection of Common Blues, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers, one high speed fly-past by a Painted Lady and a couple of Marsh Fritillaries.
This Marsh Fritillary is not just another Marsh Fritillary though, it’s special because it’s my first ever!
The Dorset branch of Butterfly Conservation looks after a number of different wildlife sites, two of which are formally established Butterfly Reserves – Continue reading
Meadow Brown. Photo: Daniel Law
Dan sent in this photo saying:
We tend to look upon the Meadow Brown as a drab common-or-garden butterfly but just now and again one stands out as a rather special representative of the species. This individual graced the slopes of Lankham Bottom this afternoon, 03/09/2021.
Martin Warren, ex Chief Executive of Butterfly Conservation, recently led a training day on counting the webs in which Marsh Fritillary caterpillars grow. Continue reading