Little Hills invertebrates

Marsh Fritillary on Heath Spotted-orchid
1 of about 20 seen

Emperor Moth larvae feeding on Devil's-bit Scabious
This foodplant is not listed on the BNHM's website

Gall on Sneezewort caused by the
gall midge Rhopalomyia ptarmicae 

Little Hills sedges 2

Other frequent sedges noted included Tawny Sedge (Carex hostiana) and the hybrid between Tawny Sedge and Common Yellow Sedge C. virudula ssp. oedocarpa ( = C. x fulva):

Carex x fulva left and C. hostiana right

Carex x fulva

Little Hills sedges 1

The fields of Little Hills Farm support a rich mosaic of unimproved marshy grasslands with a fabulous diversity of plant species. One of the key plants present at the site is Soft-leaved Sedge (Carex montana), which is detectable by the fresh green colour of the leaves in the sward. The infloresence, although rather uninspiring, is quite characteristic, as are the distribution of hairs on the leaves.

older inflorescences of Carex montana (27th May):

fresher material from Carmarthenshire photographed 11th Apr:

Thanks to Julian Woodman and Dan Guest of CCW for inviting us to join them on one of their monitoring visits.

Burnt-tip Orchid (Neotinea ustulata)