Roofs & Rambles

The orange parcel on the stem wrapped the chrysalis of a burnet moth. I had already seen a that had opened at the corwn and the delicate heads of the adult moths were slowly appearing. When this one would crack the casing and start it’s journey to adult life, who was to know, but the garden in South West Essex was alive with life. Butterflies, Moths and Bees.

An early morning stroll around my good friend John Little’s garden was a delight of ‘bug’ life. In a large patch of scented chamomile the butterflies had congregate – like we had the evening before around the bands playing under the marquee – Whites, Peacocks and Gatekeepers danced above the fading flower heads seeking nectar.

The main wildflower garden was a sea of Lady’s Bedstraw, Knapweed and Wild marjoram. Many of the the other flowers were ont he turn. The giant teasels were losing their sepals but still the bees were extracting nectar and dusting themselves with pollen.

Amongst all this activity it was teh Six-spotted burnet moths they eventually drew the eye. Scarlet and black many of the imago adults were fresh from the adolescent casings. Hanging on knapweed or bedstraw they moved in the gentle breeze, suspended as the morning sun dried their wings.

Whilst most of our open land has been turned to factory farm or amenity grass, the rewards of species rich grassland, a pot-pourri of flowers and grasses can never be underestimated. And John and FI have create such wilderness besides the hum of the distant A13.