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18 August


Despite sunny conditions & 22°C (12:15 PM), weak to strong winds and unusually cool early-morning temperatures even prompt trees to assume that autumn has begun. In a similar vein, the species composition resembles my September/early-October observations more than my previous August logs.


+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
| Species                 | Location                        | Status |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+
| Araschnia levana        | Zone II                         | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Cupido argiades         | Zone I                          | Adult  |
|–------------------------|–--------------------------------|–-------|
| Maniola jurtina         | Zone I / II                     | Adult  |
|-------------------------|–--------------------------------|–-------|
| Pieris brassicae        | Yard / Zone II                  | Adult  |
|–------------------------|–--------------------------------|–-------|
| Pieris napi             | Zone II                         | Adult  |
|–------------------------|–--------------------------------|–-------|
| Pieris rapae            | Yard / Mixed Field / Zone I /   | Adult  |
|                         | II / III                        |        |
|–------------------------|–--------------------------------|–-------|
| Polygonia c-album       | Yard / Zone II                  | Adult  |
|-------------------------|–--------------------------------|–-------|
| Polyommatus icarus      | Mixed Field                     | Adult  |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+

Some spots have been moved for the fourth time this year and already were wastelands before forcing me to walk through a dusty cloud. Just as unfortunately, less than 1/4 of "Mixed Field" currently remains, with roughly 20% not even providing any blossoms.


The very few blues remaining active at least get to appreciate a handful of horseshoe vetch, which are mostly deformed and unusually small. With weather predictions no longer forecasting a return of summer conditions (temperatures are expected to drop even further), I'll be switching to my afternoon observation routine which I only practice during autumn – two weeks earlier than usual. At this point I'm expecting this year's observation season to end in September.



/oblog/