July 2016 - part 2
12th July 2016 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
A 1-hour, late afternoon visit to the SQ, in blistering conditions .... about 36 degs. Not too many butterfly species around, but that could be partly due to the fact that many of the flowering plants are starting to suffer in the drought conditions. Some Purple Loosestrife is flowering well in some places, while other specimens are not achieving their full potential. Butterfly species missed by the camera were: Red Admiral, and a lively White which I think was an Eastern Bath White. The Orthopteran species are getting into full swing, which is not too good when one is stalking butterflies for photos, as they jump everywhere, disturbing the target species ! I photographed one grasshopper today, thinking it had red wings, but as you'll see in the resulting photos, it was actually covered in red, parasitic mites.
16th July 2016 - (Saturday, Szombat)
Overnight on 13th-14th July (after several days of temperatures around 38 degs), Hungary was subjected to extreme thunderstorms, very heavy rain, and hurricane-force winds. The worst of this was in the west of the country, but most parts, I believe, experienced similar problems. Both Teréz and I were away for a few days, and so, no photo record exists of what events were like at the SQ, but I visited this afternoon, soon after returning home. As I approached, I could see that there was no surge of water coming down the hill towards me, but further investigation showed that quite a lot of water had gone into the site while we were away. The Coffee Pool had re-formed, and Rock Baths 1 and 2 had an impressive level of water. Even RB3 had a small amount. In The Bowl, water could be seen amongst the vegetation, and the channel next to the reedbed was, once again, back in action. All this is too late for the amphibians, but it could still give them a wet place to visit, and will, perhaps, bring more dragonfly species to the site. It will also 'water' the flowering plants and give them a new lease of life, which will benefit the butterflies and moths.
17th July 2016 - (Sunday, Vasárnap)
We'd had a lot of quite heavy rain overnight, so I went to investigate the water situation. As I drove up the airfield road, I saw lots of water running down, so I was confident that the SQ would have more water inside. As can be seen by the photos below, much water had entered the site, via our irrigation channels. Whereas, only the Coffee Pool had formed yesterday, today water covered about 50% of The Bowl, and even in the central area, the depth was about 30 cm. Even one Fire-bellied Toad had taken up residence near the Coffee Pool, and was calling for a mate! As I walked through the water, I noticed lots of Orthopteran species clinging to the flowerheads, hoping to escape from the unexpected fllod water. I photographed some of them in situ, before transferring them, one-by-one, to a neighbouring patch away from the floodwater. Most were happy to pose on my hand for the camera, in exchange for being rescued! I think they were being lazy, as the majority of Orthopterans are rather good swimmers!
18th July 2016 - (Monday, Hétfő)
Teréz took Robika to the SQ for a study visit, following yesterday's rainfall.
19th July 2016 - (Tuesday, Kedd)
My afternoon visit was rather special. The weather was a mixture: blue sky and sunshine, but the sun was regularly obscured by clouds of various sizes. When the sun broke through, it was very hot. The visit was made special by the fact that we had water in The Bowl again. Suddenly the place felt 'alive' once more. There were several dragonfly and damselfly species, plus watery favourites such as the Large Pond Skater, and some medium-sized diving beetles. Best of all, about 20 Fire-bellied Toads were 'piping' in the reedbed and near the Coffee Pool, and I even heard a couple of Common Spadefoot Toads 'clucking' underwater. But, how do these amphibians know that we have water again? It has recently been so hot and dry at the SQ, so I'm sure that these toads have not been sheltering within the site. So, can these creatures detect that water is, once again, back at the site? If so, they are more gifted than many realise. Missed by the camera today: Great Banded Grayling and Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow. However, I was able to photograph: Short-tailed Blue (male and female), Silver-studded Blue, Reverdin's Blue, Common Blue, Small Skipper, Lesser Spotted Fritillary, Knapweed Fritillary, Wood White, Large White, and Brown Argus, and also captured the welcome return of Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper.
Teréz brought Robika to the SQ, and these are her pix from the same day (19th July):
20th July 2016 - (Wednesday, Szerda)
Another very good afternoon visit, which was notable for several reasons: the Fire-bellied Toads and Common Spadefoot Toads were still calling in the watery Bowl, a new species of Tortoise Beetle was discovered ... and ..... I gave a 'test flight' to my new waders ! The new beetle is the Gold-striped Tortoise Beetle - Cassida nobilis, and was found, deep in the reedbed, thanks to my new waders ! A good selection of dragonflies and damsels, and also butterflies. There were also five or six Wasp Spiders, complete with webs, at various parts of the reedbed. Some of the Long-winged Coneheads (bush-crickets) are almost at the mature stage, and a Great Green Bush-cricket female was seen.
Here are Teréz's photos from the same day (20th July):