Chalkhill Blues

We went for a walk at Pulpit Hill today. It's a lovely place, where Beech woods open out onto chalk grassland.

We were lucky enough to see lots of Chalkhill Blue butterflies and even saw a couple pairing.

Pairing Chalkhill Blues - The male is bright silvery blue and the
female is dark brown

There were lots of other butterflies around. We saw three large Fritillaries (probably Silver Washed), but they hurtled past without stopping, so I didn't get any photos. We also saw one Brimstone (the first one I've seen since the Spring), lots of Small Skippers, Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and several Tortoiseshells.

There was a massive variety of wild flowers there, including Teasels, Gentian and Knapweed. There were also a few Pyramidal Orchids still flowering.

Teasels starting to flower

Common Knapweed

Gentian

The Pyramidal Orchids are still flowering

In the woods we saw an enormous black slug, with a big hole in the side of it. Apparently this is the pneumostome, which they use to breath (just had to look that up!)