One of the most abundent flowers here at this time of the year is yellow-wort which thrives on the limestone soil. It has quite a long flowering period from middle June to middle of Oct. This plant can be confused with common centaury. However the stalk passes through the centre of the leaves as can be seen in the photo which seperates it from centaury.
The soldier beetle is common insect of limestone and chalk grassland. These appear to be particularly abundent this year. These two are mating on wild parsnip.
There are plenty of marbled white butterflies in this quarry. We are lucky in our area in being able to see them in a number of limestone grass areas. The largest number being present at Hills & Holes Barnack. They are mainly on the wing from July to Sept.
An attractive tawny butterfly here is the Wall Brown. They hide themselves away when it is cloudy and like a lot of butterflies most active in bright sunny weather. There are two generations. One in May & June & one in July & Aug.
Although common in many grassy areas i took this photo of meadow browns as it nicely shows the difference between the male and female. The male is the darker one with less orange on the wings.
A very pleasant spot for a stroll which i'm sure will provide interest at any time of the year.
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