What to look for at Railway Fields in March: Bees and butterflies are flying, lovely ladybirds on fresh green leaves

The wonderful sunshine of the past few days has brought the insects out. Both queen bumble bees and solitary bees, some of them tiny, are visiting the first flowers: white comfrey by the cabin, blackthorn blossom by the fox den, big bright dandelions by the path sides, green alkanet and white dead-nettle by the gate.

Resting on bright green leaves, we have spotted shiny seven-spotted ladybirds warming up in the sun.

Also this week, the first Brimstones were spotted over the meadow where the primroses are in full bloom. The males are a bright acid yellow and their fluttering has been described as like "a wind-tossed sweet wrapper". Females are paler, more of a buttermilk colour.

Do you know why the Brimstones appear so early? It's because of their particularly long tongue which enables them to reach the bottom of the primrose flower head, giving them an advantage over other butterflies.

The Friends of Railway Fields take part in the annual UKBMS Butterfly Surveys which are carried out by our small team of dedicated volunteers, led by Caroline. The results were submitted to UKBMS in October. The results showed a much higher number of butterflies were spotted overall last year - including a big increase in large whites - but less variety, and a big drop in gatekeepers compared to the previous year of 2024. No skippers, commas or meadow browns were recorded during the transect walks. Overall a similar story to the national picture from this year’s big butterfly count nationally.

If you're interested in helping out this year and can spare about an hour once a week though the summer, drop us a line at friendsofrailwayfields@gmail.com for more information.

Don't forget that the site is open this Saturday, the official start of Spring, from 10am to approx 2pm (last entry at 1.45) if you want to come and spot some of these wonderful plants and insects. We will also be at the cabin if you want a chat about anything that you see.