Sandgate Park

Hare's-foot Clover - New for Site

Cinnibar Caterpillars

A visit to Sandgate Park with the aim of counting the Dragonflies and Butterflies went very well and several species were found including Emperor and Four-spotted Chaser Dragonflies as well as Blue-tailed, Azure and Common Blue Damselflies.

Whilst counting the Small and Essex Skippers I also bumped into a small patch of several plants of Hare's-foot Clover which is a new species for Sandgate. On the Hidden Meadow there were literally 1000's of Cinnibar moth caterpillars on every bit of Ragwort I came across. What was interesting was the difference in size of the caterpillars on the same plants (See photo), which presumably means eggs were laid by two females on this one plant.