On my walk #today I headed for a hedge-lined lane where I knew there would be sun-traps. I thought I might see the first #butterfly this year, drawn by the warmth. Sure enough! Pararge Aegeria - a Speckled Wood - flitting in and out of the hedge. I managed a hasty blurred shot of it when it landed briefly in the undergrowth. #SpeckledWood#butterflies#SaveButterflies#ButterflyConservation#lepidoptery
This past week I joined the Big Butterfly Count. Some ecologists - in the face of the changing global climate - link butterflies’ survival with ours. On Tuesday I recorded the highest number #InMyGarden at one time, over a 15 min. watch. Eight species - Gatekeeper (😍 yay), Red Admiral (5 on a buddleia), Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Small & Large Whites. #BigButterflyCount#butterflies#ButterflyConservation#butterfly#SaveButterflies
It’s been a wonderful couple of days butterfly spotting #InMyGarden with nine different species visiting us. Newest arrivals are Pararge Aegeria - Speckled Wood - flitting in and out of the shade. And my favourite Pyronia tithonus - the Gatekeeper - with its double eyespots patrolling the hedges in the firey heat of the summer. Pyrotechnic… #GateKeeper#butterflies#SaveButterflies#ButterflyConservation#lepidoptery
I was always expecting it - the invasion of the Small Whites, they are everywhere now, the most common butterfly (by numbers) around these parts & in other parts of the globe where they have successfully adapted to local conditions. Brassicas & other food crops (like radish, probably the Greek reference in its name ‘rapae’) beware! But the Pieris rapae does look pretty feeding on our lavender.. #butterflies#ButterflyConservation#SaveButterflies#SmallWhite#lavender#InMyGarden#GayGardener