On one sunny day last month, a thistle patch on Barley Field was attracting a variety of butterflies. A meadow brown.
A tortoiseshell
Peacock
Tortoiseshell showing its underwings
Gatekeeper
Another tortoiseshell
A small white
Sideways view of the meadow brown
An older small white.
Thistles are among the dominant species in Compton Rough. Here they were almost ready to start releasing their seeds.
Closer view of one of the death caps featured in the earlier post. The areas where the interior of the cap are exposed show marks of gnawing by a small mammal, probably a woodland mouse species.
This death cap had come up more recently than the grouping in the previous post – probably only a few hours before the picture was taken.
Death caps are, fortunately, not a very common mushroom. But they are, as the name implies, very poisonous.
They are responsible for the majority of cases of fatal mushroom poisoning worldwide, mostly when they are collected by people who confuse them with other, edible species.
The grouping of death caps which feature in today’s posts are the first I ever knowingly saw.
Small white butterfly feeding on a ragwort flower in the Barley Field last month.