NORTH NORWICH: Yellow Bird's-nest

Mid July 2021

I have a list of 'target' species that occur in Norfolk or Suffolk that I'd like to see at some point (admittedly mostly in my head rather than written down), and one of those species was Yellow Bird's-nest, a "myco-heterotrophic" plant, which means that instead of using chlorophyll to get its nutrition it parasitises fungi in the soil (Tricholoma species if I recall). I had previously looked for and not found this species at a couple of locations in north Norfolk, but having heard that some was flowering at our NNNS study site north of Norwich I called in, and with some good directions from Jo I eventually found a couple of flowering spikes. 

As this is a recording priority site I did have a look at the insects whilst I was there, and was particularly pleased to find a couple of new beetles, click beetle Ampedus balteatus and Black-striped Longhorn Beetle. There were also lots of Blushers beginning to fruit, and a Green Hairstreak caterpillar was the first time I'd found the larval stage of this species.