Evolutionary biologist J.B.S. Haldane once joked that if a god or divine being had created all living organisms on Earth, then that creator must have an “inordinate fondness for beetles.”! This is a wonderful time of year to discover some of this incredibly diverse group. Just outside the Learning Centre, a glossy black Bloody-nose Beetle waddles across the path – a female, distinguished both by her size (much larger than the male) and by the lack of ‘feathery’ feet, which ensure that the male doesn’t slip off her back when mating!
Stepping into South Field, brick red and black Soldier Beetles are making the white flower-heads of Corky-fruited Water Dropwort their marriage beds, with mating pairs on almost every flower. In a hedgerow along the drove, a beautiful metallic green Rose Chafer gleams from among a tangle of flowering Honeysuckle, with a similarly coloured Thick-kneed Flower Beetle seen nestled inside a flowering Meadow Buttercup.
An uncommon sighting (for Durlston) of a male Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly, perched among a Bramble patch (just starting to flower), giving me a great view of his ‘dusty’ blue bodied and transparent wings.
Incredible displays of wildflowers in the meadows, with dark pink Pyramidal Orchids galore (and more still coming into flower), along with Common Spotted Orchids and Bee Orchids. The tiny white star-shaped flowers of Fairy Flax tangle around grass stems, with it’s taller, blue-flowered relative, Pale Flax bobbing in the breeze.
Yellow Rattle is turning to shades of soft bronze, as purple Greater and Common Knapweed start to bloom, along with the lilac ‘button’ flowers of Field Scabious.
In sheltered corners of the meadows, Marbled White, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper butterflies are on the wing, with our first Dark Green Fritillary of the year seen yesterday.
Along the cliffs, Guillemots, Razorbills are spending their last week or so on the ledges, before returning to sea.