BUTTERFLIES
 DRAGONFLIES
 HOVERFLIES
 BUMBLEBEES

Bumblebees
Hoverflies
Butterflies
Solitary Bees
Adur Bees, Wasps & Sawflies
Flies
Beetles
Ladybirds
Moths
Grasshoppers & Crickets

28 September 2006
ElevenTurnstones were foraging on the strandline by the Old Fort on Shoreham beach, dodging the waves as they came in.

26 September 2006
Under a cirrus blue sky there were still about 69 butterflies around Shoreham and the downs of eight species. Meadow Brown Butterflies (31+) led the way, followed by Red Admirals (18+). The unusual blue variety of the female Common Blue Butterfly was seen on the lower slopes of Mill Hill. 
Butterfly Report

23 September 2006
My basset dog found a Short-snouted Seahorse, Hippocampus hippocampus, just east of Splash Point on Worthing beach. Although it was dead, it looked like it hadn't been dead for very long. My dog Maurice regulary finds remains on the strandline and he usually eats what he discovers. The Seahorse was found at high tide. 

PS: Seahorses were also recorded alive in Brighton marina. 

BMLSS Seahorses
Sussex Marine Life

22 September 2006
I  discovered an Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar, Deilephila elpenor, on the footpath on the bank of the River Adur up near the South Downs way footbridge. It was damp with loads of big slugs out, but one of them wasn't a slug but this magnificent large caterpillar.

19 September 2006
Nine Common Darters (dragonflies) were all resting in a row on the wooden railing in the Butterfly Copse next to the Waterworks Road and a Southern Hawker flew rapidly by. Four of the Common Darters had red abdomens and the others were a greyish-blue to fawn colour. More Common Darters flew amongst the Ivy.

This is worth a mention because of the propensity of this dragonfly (and also butterflies and flies) for settling on flat wooden railings but not so much on fences.
Adur Dragonflies 2006

17 September 2006
A dozen or more Red Admiral Butterflies were attracted to a single bush of Ivy the Butterfly Copse next to the Waterworks Road, Some of them settled and basked on the wooden railing. 
 

On Mill Hill Meadow Brown Butterflies (45+) were still frequent as the butterflies were attracted to Devil's Bit Scabious. Eight butterfly species, including the Small Copper Butterfly illustrated above, were seen in an hour, but the total number of butterflies fell to under a hundred.
Butterfly Report

12 September 2006

The distinctive caterpillar of the Elephant Hawk-moth, Deilephila elpenor, was discovered in the middle of Nicolson Drive in residential Shoreham (an area with large gardens). As it was imminent danger of being squashed it was removed to my front garden. The caterpillar was not measured, but estimated to be about 70 mm in length. 
Adur Moths

11 September 2006
I was surprised to see a Guillemot swimming in the water just west of the Footbridge, off Coronation Green on the high spring tide about 2:00 pm. It drifted upstream, hassled by Black-headed Gulls, before diving down for a few minutes and popping up only a few metres in front of me. Thought it might be a grebe at first, but the size (same as Black-headed Gulls) and white belly gave it away. From the Collins bird guide it looks like adult northern.Europe variety (white throat and ear-coverts separated by a thin black band), or possibly 1st summer. 
It was definitely not a Cormorant or Razorbill. 

A Small Copper Butterfly that landed on a path in front of me through the long grass on the Mill Hill gentle slope west of the upper car park came as a surprise with the ordinary fare of twelve species of butterflies on a sunny early afternoon.
The butterflies are fading earlier this year and their numbers were reduced from other autumns.
Butterfly Report

10 September 2006

9 September 2006
The scarce hoverfly Rhingia rostrata was seen and photographed at Woods Mill.