It is certainly feeling that summer is on the wane already, and that Autumn is very nearly with us. The local downland now is coming into flower with Devil's-bit Scabious and Autumn Lady's-tresses and many of the wild flowers are getting their seed-heads, although most of the trees are still a little way off changing colour.
Autumn Lady's-tresses.
Some of the late summer insects are also increasing in number now, with several Hornet Robberflies being seen, as they hunt smaller insects. As in previous years, grasshoppers seem to be a favourite prey item for them!!
Hornet Robberfly with grasshopper prey.
Female Wasp Spiders and their amazing webs are also now a common sight. These also enjoy a tasty grasshopper for lunch. They even add additional strength to their webs to help stop the grasshopper from jumping away. They do also, of course, take other insects as food. I did see a female Wall Brown in a web recently, and other small butterflies and flies are also taken, and even the male Wasp Spider can be a snack for the much larger female if he isn't very careful.
Female Wasp Spider with small fly.
Female Wasp Spider hanging around..
A little later this year, which seems to be a trend, the Adonis Blue butterflies are now starting their 2nd brood. I saw my first 2nd brood last week on Wednesday, just a single one seen, but now already numbers have grown at the same site to around 50. Hopefully many more to come still. On a very breezy and dull afternoon, I found several going to roost. The breeze made it very difficult for photography, but eventually a slight lull in the breeze allowed a few attempts, however, only one effort was worth keeping.
Male Adonis Blue.
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