Honey Buzzard, Skylark and Spotted Flycatcher - Southwell and Ferrybridge, 4th June 2015 © Pete Saunders
And thanks to Ken Dolbear for a couple of photographs from yesterday of mating 22-spot Ladybirds in the Obs garden:
...Ken remarks that these photos (which are of two different pairs) illustrate the interesting issue of the colour of the pronotum in males at Portland. Evidently both sexes usually have an entirely bright lemon yellow background colour, but in Portland males the pronotum - as in both these individuals - is often white; Ken's never recorded an 'off-island' male with anything other than a yellow pronotum. It would be interesting to take this further and establish whether in fact all Portland males show this apparent discrepancy from the norm.
And thanks to Ken Dolbear for a couple of photographs from yesterday of mating 22-spot Ladybirds in the Obs garden:
...Ken remarks that these photos (which are of two different pairs) illustrate the interesting issue of the colour of the pronotum in males at Portland. Evidently both sexes usually have an entirely bright lemon yellow background colour, but in Portland males the pronotum - as in both these individuals - is often white; Ken's never recorded an 'off-island' male with anything other than a yellow pronotum. It would be interesting to take this further and establish whether in fact all Portland males show this apparent discrepancy from the norm.