Insect Week 2022
June 20th - 26th
Organised by the Royal Entomological Society, Insect Week is a celebration of all things insect out there in the world. This year I took a week out to visit local nature reserves and see what I could find. Seven days, seven places, 21 different species.
The common names listed here are what each species is known as in the UK, scientific names are included in brackets for those elsewhere in the world.
Day 1: Glapthorn Cow Pastures (Wildlife Trusts)
Left: Ringlet butterfly (aphantopus hyperantus)
Centre: Black hairstreak butterfly (satyrium pruni)
Right: Comma butterfly (polygonia c-album)
Day 2: Brampton Wood (Wildlife Trusts)
Left: Ruddy darter dragonfly (sympetrum sanguineum)
Centre: Large skipper butterfly (ochlodes sylvanus)
Right: Tortoise bug shieldbug (eurygaster testudinaria)
Day 3: Fen Drayton Lakes (RSPB)
Left: Scarce chaser dragonfly (libellula fulva)
Centre: Emperor dragonfly (anax imperator)
Right: Painted lady butterfly (vanessa cardui)
Day 4: Short Wood and Southwick Wood (Wildlife Trusts)
Left: Marbled white butterfly (melanargia galathea)
Centre: Small skipper butterfly (thymelicus sylvestris)
Right: Small heath butterfly (coenonympha pamphilus)
Day 5 - Titchmarsh (Wildlife Trusts)
Left: Furry dronefly hoverfly (eristalis intricarius)
Centre: Golden-bloomed grey longhorn beetle (agapanthia villosoviridescens)
Right: Banded demoiselle damselfly (calopteryx splendens)
Day 6: Felmersham Gravel Pits (Wildlife Trusts)
Left: Blue-tailed damselfly (ischnura elegans)
Centre: Meadow brown butterfly (maniola jurtina)
Right: Speckled bush-cricket (leptophyes punctatissima) [nymph]
Day 7: Summer Leys (Wildlife Trusts)
Left: Common blue damselfly (enallagma cyathigerum)
Centre: Meadow grasshopper (chorthippus parallelus)
Right: Broad-bodied chaser dragonfly (libellula depressa)
More Information: Royal Entomological Society / Insect Week
Nature Reserves: Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants / RSPB
