Monday, June 24, 2024

Whiteholme

 Tufted Duck

Orchid. I photographed this as a Common Spotted Orchid, and it does have a lip divided into 3 with the middle lobe a little longer than the side ones (ruling out Heath Spotted). However, the cuts between the middle and side lobes are quite shallow, and there are a lot of spots and not many lines on the lips - so it could be a hybrid of Common Spotted and Southern Marsh - which is common here. (Apologies - but the birding is quiet!)

1 comment:

Peter Smith said...

On 22 June DJS posted on the Moth and Butterfly blog a shot of a Small Heath on a Common Spotted Orchid. Dave's photo shows well how deeply cut the lip of a pure Common Spotted is.