Red Admiral 'posing' on High Street garage

Jennifer saw this Red Admiral 'posing' on her garage wall on July 22 and reckons it looks
'newly painted!'

Lesser Stag Beetle in Cambridge Road

Derek took this photo of a Lesser Stag Beetle in their garden on 23 July. It was ca 25mm long.

Derek checked the identification with Stuart Elsom after discussing Stag Beetles, and their presence in Cambridgeshire, on the recent visit to Paxton Pits. Stuart has asked to be told about any Stag Beetles we hear of locally, so please let Jennifer know!

News from the river

On Monday 18th July, Jennifer reported seeing hundreds of little fish in the shallow water near the shoal. They are likely to have been minnows.

On Tuesday, Derek saw a few small fish - but not in a big group as he saw and photographed last year. He took 3 pictures, but not of the fish - 2 of (green) female Banded Demoiselles and 1 (blue) male. The females are not easy to see at basic view but appear as the image is enlarged,

And on Wednesday, Jennifer took another photo of a banded demoiselle near the footbridge:

Marbled white butterfly on the Roman Road.

Jennifer saw this Marbled White butterfly on the morning of 4th July on the Roman Road.

These are very uncommon in our area. Last reported sightings were one in 2014 and two in 2011, all on the Roman Road in our parish.

June was a very poor month for butterflies this year. But now the sun is shining and the buddleia is coming into flower, look out for small tortoiseshells. Very few Meadow browns, Ringlets and Gatekeepers have been reported - let's hope they will appear in July.