IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Highfield Road, NOTTINGHAM, NG16 1BP

Looking south west.

Showing position of Postbox No. NG16 317. See Image] for postbox.

At evening peak periods considerable queues form on the Nuthall Bypass on the approach to the big roundabout where the A610 intersects the Nottingham orbital A6002. To avoid rat-running along the residential old Nottingham Road, this bus plug legally bars all but buses from using this short link onto the roundabout. This is not the original alignment of Nottingham Road and involved the demolition of a couple of houses to enable a safer access onto the roundabout. The remains of the old alignment of the road can be seen here http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1556634.

Postbox No. NG16 317. See Image] for context.

One of our commonest native butterflies, found wherever there are flowers and nettles anywhere in the British Isles, reaching the highest mountain tops and remotest islands, including Shetland. It may often be seen basking on brambles. There are usually two broods a year, the later one of which will hibernate over the winter. It is also common and widespread throughout Europe.

An orange and black banded hoverfly with a distinctive pattern of faint stripes on the body, widespread and very common. Hoverflies are useful insects to encourage in a garden as most species, including this one, feed on aphids. In most years numbers are greatly boosted by immigration from the continent. There are about 250 different species of hoverfly in Britain. Although hoverflies look like bees or wasps, they are in fact true flies and do not bite or sting. Hoverflies are excellent examples of Batesian mimicry (named after H W Bates who first described it in 1862). They generally mimic bees and wasps – insects that sting and also taste unpleasant, so are avoided by predators.

The recent hot weather has seen many Painted Lady butterflies appear in this area. For more information, and to see a picture of the ornate underside of the Painted Lady, go to Image

One of Britain's largest & most vividly marked butterflies, the Red Admiral arrives from late May onwards, spreading throughout the British Isles including the larger islands. The underside of the forewing is a duller version of the upperside and generally quite conspicuous, although when roosting it is pulled down between the underwings so that only the dark tip is visible. The butterfly is then camouflaged to resemble tree bark. The Red Admiral is unable to tolerate British winters and there is some evidence of a return migration to the Continent. However, many, probably most, try to hibernate and almost invariably perish.