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David

Which Y?

Which Y?

The small white marking on the wing is a certain indication that it’s a Y moth. But which one/ Is it a silver Y, or could it be a beautiful golden Y, much rarer?

Spotted resting on the lid of a recycling bin. I disturbed it when I took these pictures, so it flew off. Hopeflully it landed somewhere it would be harder to spot by hungry birds.

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David

Late-flowering poppy

Late-flowering poppy

Wild poppies seem to be carrying on flowering later than usual this year. This was one growing by the bank of the Severn in the wildflower meadow at Bridgnorth.

Late-flowering poppy

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David

Perennial sow thistle, still attracting insects

Perennial sow thistle, still attracting insects

Perennial sow thistle – well, there were still plenty of flowers on the plants remaining into autumn. So they were still attracting insects, with a hoverfly and a bee con testing access.

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David

Living in a stronghold

Living in a stronghold

Bees emerging from their nest, in a recess high in the leaning wall of Bridgnorth Castle.

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David

Smooth, knobbly

Smooth, knobbly

A contrast in textures: an acorn, perhaps just about full sized, but still green and unripe. Emerging from the roughened surface of the cup, the nut itself looks perfectly smoot.

Smooth, knobbly

Growing on the same oak tree, a gall, growing where a knopper gall wasp had laid an egg in new growth on one of the twigs. Some local oaks this year have had large numbers of these galls developing.

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David

Garden spider, after heavy rain

Garden spider, after heavy rain

Garden spiders, sometimes called cross spiders, become more noticeable at this time of year, often sitting in the centre of their orb webs. The females swell up as they get ready to lay eggs a little later in the autumn.

It had been raining heavily overnight, but the web was in a sheltered spot between the lower twigs of a hazel bush. The spider, indeed a female, was in the middle, undisturbed.