Single logs from this month:
June was marked by mostly dry and windy weather conditions, with stark contrasts in terms of temperatures. While the first weeks were cooler and wetter than usual, the end o the month began to see two heat waves with brief, yet strong storms in-between.
Species that already were seen in May and returned:
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Species making their first appearances:
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Out of all species, S. pruni and B. dia have made the strongest gains within a year. No S. pruni were seen in 2024; I counted six individuals on 05 June, having fully recovered from the frosty April a year ago. B. dia, on the other hand, is a newcomer that was not appearing prior to 2024, where only one adult was registered. Seven individuals were counted in Zone I and more were likely active in areas I couldn't access. A. urticae also has fully recovered and is beginning to reclaim every zone, though still prefers areas closer to the village and Zone III in particular. P. c-album has become a common observation after years of being a rare, summer-exclusive species. P. bellargus overtook P. icarus in terms of individual adults, yet remains among the species with the sharpest drop in individuals after less than two weeks since its first appearance.
Moderate increases were noted in regards to C. argiades and V. cardui. M. galathea and P. rapae remain relatively stable occurrences. O. sylvanus has seen some shifts in terms of its preferred habitats, now avoiding Zone II in particular and instead making appearances in my yard. M. athalia spc., which is an updated classification due to athalia being indistinguishable from aurelia and britomartis – all three species theoretically could be inhabiting "Bog Hill" in particular – and technically could also mate with each other, appears to not have changed much, with any gains possibly being insignificant.
Slight decreases were seen among M. jurtina and clear cases of T. sylvestris, although the overall amount of both T. sylvestris and T. lineola appear to be smaller than in previous years, despite the sudden grass dominance in all zones. C. pamphilus, after a very strong 2024, also declined and tended to be significantly smaller, especially in Zone I and III – Zone II was almost completely avoided by this species. P. icarus, likely due to the once-mixed field in "Mixed Fields" slowly being converted to wheat monocultures, weren't encountered as often as usual.
I can't explain it but C. arcania was a nearly rare observation and this likely may be due to "Davids Fields", despite hosting some lacy phacelia, mostly being dominated by barley and potato plants. This composition also negatively affects P. argus, which is seeing its worst season since I began my observations in 2022, with just a single individual almost desperately feeding on my own sweat. Zone II, due to its current state, largely even fails to attract bees, indicating that the once-vastly preferred lacy phacelia now being found on a field next to its old one not producing the same amount of nutrients as before. Whether the new location alone may be responsible for this or happens to be correlated with the sudden wave of grasses in all areas is a matter of debate, though the overall soil quality in every zone and beyond seems to have been taken a hit towards the end of May.
In terms of damselflies, C. mercuriale remains stable, despite slight shifts in its preferred spots. Small declines were noted in Zone II but a strong increase as noted just right behind the old spot of C. splendens at the main street bridge in my village. Speaking of C. splendens, it continues to be relatively stable at the village street bridge but ongoing repairs may change this. Sadly, the stable population at the bike path bridge in Z II vanished, with those individuals not having killed during the destruction of its breeding spot having migrated to an entirely new spot in Zone III (the northern, swampy edges of the pond) all the way down to the population at the village street bridge. More females were counted than males, so C. splendens as a whole is set to recover from this.
Since only one C. virgo was seen last year and only one with some uncertainty this year, nothing can be said about this species, especially whether it will truly end up setting down or even mix with C. splendens. Both recorded individuals were male.
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A pretty busy July is coming up next and I don't know how much time I'll be spending on making observations. Now with most grassy areas either finally having being mowed and offering space for new nectar plants OR making space for new plants on their own, it's a crucial time especially for species with highly inconsistent appearances such as A. hyperantus and, to a lesser degree, A. paphila. It also is uncertain how well B. dia and I. lathonia will get along with each other, as I. lathonia so far has made sparse appearances in contrast to the significantly-increasing B. dia. Let's hope that working during the next heat wave will not take a toll on my health like how last year's field trips in mid to late-June gave me a kidney stone.