Hutchinsons Bank & Chapel Bank 14th June

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Two nature reserves near Croydon, Hutchinson's Bank is especially well known for butterflies. The weather was less than ideal on this visit, mostly cloudy with the occasional short sunny interval. Nevertheless butterfly sightings included good numbers of Small Blue and Marbled White at Hutchinsons Bank, especially the area in and around the 'Scrape' shown below. Other butterflies included Large Skipper, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell and the first Ringlets for the year. 







Chapel Bank is well known for Dark Green Fritillary, and did not disappoint in this respect. At least 10 individuals were seen, all quite fresh in appearance. However, try as I might I couldn't get an underwing shot. An odd id tip for upperwing views of DGF is that the black markings on the (inner) right forewing depict the numbers 1358 if you use your imagination. The very similar High Brown Fritillary lacks this, although the species does not occur in the east.







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