24th June - Pig Bush, New Forest, Hampshire

The forecast today was cooler, overcast and with the threat of rain.  A the weekend Ian had followed up on a report of Lesser Butterfly Orchids at Pig Bush.  With only a short time this morning I decided to go and see if I could find them.  Ian had provided some coordinates, so I was confident as I pulled into the car park at Pig Bush.

Normally here I head off through the woods and down towards Denny Wood, today I crossed the road and walked through the heather on the other side.  I followed the coordinates and made my way through the heather.  But before I reached the coordinates I came across one of my own, a lovely looking specimen.

The Lesser Butterfly-orchid is a delicate-looking, white-flowered orchid. It grows to between 15 and 30cm in height. Two shiny, spreading tongue-shaped leaves grow opposite one another at the base of the stem. From these emerges the stem, which bears 1-3, narrow, sheathing and erect leaves. The inflorescence is formed of up to 25 flowers, each with a distinctive strap-like lip, lateral wings and a long nectar-bearing spur.

Early success, but I was keen to try and find the site Ian had sent me, so I continued following the directions, which took me close to the road.  I flushed a Skylark and it flew up, but quickly settled on the road quite close to me.  A chance for some views you never get the chance to see.

I reached the site and sure enough there were quite a few Lesser Butterfly Orchids, the flower spikes coming up though the heather.

Lesser Butterfly-orchid is very similar to Greater Butterfly Orchid - the key difference between the two is the position of the pollen sacs. In Lesser Butterfly Orchid these are 1-2mm long and are parallel to each other forming an II shape. Those of Greater Butterfly Orchid are 3-4mm and converge above to form an inverted V. Greater Butterfly Orchid also tends to be larger, with a longer spur.

Lesser Butterfly-orchid is a perennial plant that overwinters as an underground tuber, from which the two basal leaves emerge in spring. A second tuber develops over the summer, from which a plant may grow the following year (although the plant can persist as a tuber for several years). The flowers appear around early June and release a sweet, nocturnal fragrance that entices night-flying moths to sip the nectar from the spur and, in passing, to transfer sticky pollen between flowers on its proboscis. The Elephant Hawkmoth is a key pollinator.

I continued to walk around the heath and after leaving the Lesser Butterfly Orchids, I came across this male Silver-studded Blue.

Other orchids in the area were some lovely Heath Spotted Orchids.  Heath Spotted Orchids are the most common orchid found in the New Forest.

The leaves are more heavily spotted than the Common Spotted and the flowers have dots instead of ther lines seen on the Common Spotted.

A short visit, but another orchid lifer and an orchid that takes this year list to 25, which is the best I have ever done, still some more to find too this year.