Les and I went to Fingringhoe wick to try for adders on Saturday 26th August but were unrewarded, the birding was good with a good but brief view of a nightingale out in the sunshine, lesser and common whitethroats and bullies being the highlights. the only pictures were of these varied insects, the moth having fantastically cryptic plumage, it must be almost invisible on the trunk of a dark tree, There were a few butterflies about with a small copper pictured. Dragonflies were numerous and the one above is a ruddy darter. The hoverfly and the spider I have also been unable to identify yet.
Today I went to Fowlmere but the only thing of interest seen was a slug that was 1.5 inches longer then my iphone!

Dark dagger moth caterpillar

Despite trawling the web and reading up in my reference books I have been unable to find out what the caterpillar was doing on this gossamer carpet, I am guessing that he has been caught by a predator and the white capsule under its rear is going to eat it when it emerges. this little caterpillar was about 1.5 cm long. This was on the Alder in our garden.

Ladybird larva

The top picture is the larva hunting, picture two shows one preparing to pupate and also one that has turned into a pupa, taken on the Alder in our back garden

Cinnabar caterpillar

These brightly coloured caterpillars food plant is Ragwort (pictured), which is a poisonous plant, and deadly to cattle and horses if they eat it, they know to leave it alone in the field but when it is mixed in with hay, it then becomes dangerous