Sunday 28 July dawned sunny with a light breeze - a perfect morning for seeing butterflies and dragonflies and we were not disappointed.  9 of us (Chris, Kay, Janet, Kate A, Lynda, Brian, Kate T, Barnaby and Linda) spent an enjoyable 2+ hours around Stockers Lake both on the River Colne and canal side plus Meadow1, which the cattle had not been in and so plenty of tall grass and wildflowers to attract insects.

Thanks to Chris Bessant, our identifier, with so much knowledge on the life cycle and habits of these beautiful creatures.

We also saw a long horned wasp beetle and on Stocker’s Lake, a good number of water boatmen and a pair of ruddy common darter mating on the wing, the female dipping her tail in the water again and again as she dropped single eggs into the Lake.
Linda Ascroft
FoSL Events Coordinator
The list and a count of the butterflies and dragonflies seen on the walk.