Butterflies for 2005

(Dates correspond to the first sighting of each species. The 'Monts du Lyonnais' area is my local patch.)

Click here for my 2004 list or 2003 list. Guy Padfield and Matt Rowlings also keep interesting year lists.

Commentaries

30/10/05.....A male Wall Brown sunning itself in the garden.

26/10/05.....Hot!! Opted for a bike ride in rather open terrain and bang in the middle of one field found this Geranium Bronze! Here's a male Sooty Copper. A few species flying with Large White the most numerous.

12/10/05.....Autumn weather remaining kind. Red Admirals showing well today and here's a Clouded Yellow. On the whole, numbers of most remaining species diminishing as expected. Small Heath only just hanging on and one faded male Sooty Copper. Small Coppers still looking very fresh though.

9/10/05.....Lovely, warm, sunny day and perfect for a bit of gardening whilst digesting the chicken, mash and carrots! The garden's looking almost ready for the winter now but there are still a few Michaelmas daisies and Verbena bonariensis attracting the butterflies. Still going today were Large White, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Wall Brown, Common Blue and Small Copper.

29/8/05.....Painted Lady no.4 of year on the same buddleias as 10/08/05. This is an incredibly poor year for this species. Back at home in the garden one each of female Southern Small White, Great Banded Grayling and a tired Long-tailed Blue (the only one I've had in the garden this year, echoing the poor migrant representation this season.) 

28/8/05.....Wandered up to 800m and found a Camberwell Beauty at the edge of the woods....any sighting of this butterfly is thoroughly excellent!! Saw many Great Banded Graylings too and several Red Admirals. Another new site (very small) for False Grayling and an odd female Idas Blue.

17/8/05.....A splendid few hours spent exploring wetlands in the Ain. We saw 20 or so species of which none at all were present in large numbers. However, an excellent mixture!! Amongst meadows with great burnet flowers there was Dusky Large Blue and Scarce Large Blue which are both very rare and endangered butterflies. Other interesting sightings included Dryad, Lesser Purple Emperor and Short-tailed Blue. Also nice to get a couple of female Brimstones, Purple Hairstreak and Adonis Blue.

14/8/05.....New sites for False Grayling, Large Wall Brown and Tree Grayling. Here's a Meadow Fritillary. Also this Purple Hairstreak resting near some small oak trees and one very tired looking Long-tailed Blue around the 780m mark.

11/8/05.....Checked out local colonies of Tree Grayling and False Grayling and found both species in good health. These colonies seem very localised and vulnerable to any change in land use I would think.

10/8/05.....Painted Lady no.3 of year seen on buddleia in town.

21/7/05-8/8/05.....A long fortnight camping in Drôme Provençale amongst blooming lavender fields. Woodland Grayling consistently the commonest species throughout though quite variable; here's a lighter, more mottled one. Please note correction of entry 61 to A.niobe eris instead of A.adippe cleodoxa. Thus!!!!!....I note here High Brown Fritillary (had already seen it in Switzerland and locally) which was also pleasingly common....about half the individuals were average sized and pale/fading and the other half were large and colourful. Over the first couple of days also saw Swallowtail and Scarce Swallowtail (the latter common) my son took that photo, Large White, Clouded Yellow including helice, I allow myself Berger's Clouded Yellow on the grounds of the incredibly intense colour of many males in flight but the only photos we took would suggest Pale Clouded Yellow male (my 7 year old son's pic and pretty good!) and female in terms of straight forewing outer margin to the apex (any comments welcome), Purple Hairstreak, Small Copper, Sooty Copper, Holly Blue (in the shadier, sheltered corners), Escher's Blue in reasonable numbers but always looking very tired, Common Blue, Southern White Admiral (common), Comma, Silver-washed Fritillary (quite common), Knapweed Fritillary, Marbled White including a few of the uniformly white underside form leucomelas, Striped Grayling very common at one site, Great Sooty Satyr frequent at the beginning of the stay but most individuals looking as if they'd been on the wing for some time, Great Banded Grayling keen on the buddleia bushes, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper (P.cecilia was notably absent from this area), Small Heath, Dusky Heath worth two in the bush, Pearly Heath was still flying when we left, Wall Brown, Mallow Skipper, Large Skipper. 23rd.......took a walk up to about 700m below a 1000m peak. False Grayling on the way up (this species getting commoner towards the end of the stay), Rock Grayling (full details available on that species page), Black Satyr flying alongside the alcyone, Grayling numerous over two consecutive days but otherwise much scarcer, one or two Plebejus in unidentifiable condition, Speckled Wood, Small White , Chapman's Blue, Adonis Blue. 24th.......finally managed to photograph a real Provençal Fritillary upperside and underside (just this one seen with any certainty), Lulworth Skipper (a couple), Grizzled Skipper ( a few here and there and possibly malvoides of course), Spotted Fritillary, Lesser Purple Emperor (two in flight but close enough to see that one was clytie and one nominate),  lucky with a single, hen-pecked Brown Hairstreak which appeared from nowhereland, posed for a photo, then became invisible again, Red Admiral. 25th.......very exciting observations of the Hermit butterfly ( 1 male and 2 females), Wood White, Bath White. 26th.......Long-tailed Blue (just a couple), Green-veined White, Rosy Grizzled Skipper (seemed quite regular but less so than malvae), Marbled Fritillary, Silver-spotted Skipper (becoming more visible towards the end of the visit.) 27th.......Dryad starting to appear, here's the dark male with the crisp ocelli and here's the larger female with the pale strip on the hindwing and the more splodgy eyespots, Heath Fritillary, Scarce Copper (just one male on hemp agrimony next to a stream at around 800m), Small Skipper, Glanville Fritillary. 28th.......Ripart's Anomalous Blue (2), Dingy Skipper. 29th.......Meleager's Blue (a single male.) 30th.......Esper's Marbled White (1), Chalk-hill Blue, Painted Lady (only second one of the season.) 31st.......Cardinal appeared on a buddleia bush, always a pleasure to see this fantastic butterfly and it reappeared a couple of times before we left, Red Underwing Skipper, Brown Argus. 1st-3rd August.......poorer weather and the end of the lavender harvest which removed the major nectar source. 4th.......Tree Grayling (just a couple) which seemed to be only just emerging in these early days of August. 5th.......Small Tortoiseshell (1, otherwise hibernators basically absent.)

19/7/05.....Whilst I wasn't looking for them (contrary to 13/7!) I found Large Blues. Here's a female laying on a species of wild thyme. Second broods of many species in evidence today; Glanville, Knapweed and Spotted Fritillaries, Mazarine and Provençal Short-tailed Blues, lots of Sooty Coppers.

17/7/05.....A couple of hours this p.m. wandering across the short grass of Alpine meadows above Grenoble at around 2200m. Butterflies thinly scattered around and almost incessantly on the wing so photos had to be quick! Got a Purple-edged Copper down the bottom at 1600m before taking the cable car. Up top there were several Shepherd's Fritillaries busying about. There seemed to be a good mix of Erebia though I missed proper i.d. on at least two species. Common Brassy Ringlet the commonest of these, several Blind Ringlets, a single Water Ringlet, several Dewy Ringlets which were my first ever, as was this single, male Mnestra's Ringlet.

13/7/05.....Whilst I was out looking for Large Blues I was lucky to encounter the pale form helice of the female Clouded Yellow butterfly. I have seen this form occasionally in the past but never in a photographable situation!

5/7/05.....Exciting first ever local sighting of High Brown Fritillary nectaring on bramble flowers briefly in a woodland footpath. A couple of Great Banded Graylings, second brood Dingy Skipper and Violet Fritillary, Marbled Fritillary still fairly numerous though with orange colour fading, Silver-washed in good form, Sloe Hairstreak which is turning up everywhere this year. Just a single, male Gatekeeper preparing the way for the hoards. 

2/7/05.....Summer brood Map Butterfly today, this male looking very admiral-like with the orange bands vestigial/absent. Here's a summer brood male Common Blue with much warmer colouration than the spring brood and here's a Lulworth Skipper. Silver-washed Fritillaries abundant on bramble.

28/6/05.....First Purple Hairstreaks of the year, skulking around in shady bushes in the heat of the day. Large Tortoiseshell and a huge, male emperor in flight, though I know not which version.

25/6/05-26/6/05.....Trip to the Swiss Alps to visit Guy Padfield and Asha. About 50 species observed in total. I arrived mid-afternoon on the Saturday with some rain clouds but managed to pick up a few species in the garden including Geranium Argus and Lesser Marbled Fritillary. We woke up to glorious sunshine on the Sunday and spent some time in the Rhône Valley. First stop to look for Meleager's Blue though probably too early for that yet. Here I saw my first ever Northern Wall Brown and Blue-spot Hairstreak. Plenty of male Great Sooty Satyrs and one each of Apollo and Purple-shot Copper.....here's another photo. We moved on to a site with good stands of bladder senna to look out for the rare Iolas Blue and were lucky to pick up the one male as the flight period must be nearing the end. Afterwards we explored futher up the valley moving up towards 900m altitude. There were large fritillaries here, High Brown, Dark Green and a couple of Pale Clouded Yellows. But the best observations were around a stream where butterflies were supping minerals: Mountain Argus, Escher's Blue and Safflower Skipper which is an extraordinarily large Pyrgus. Also Chalk-hill Blue in the margins. We returned closer to home to look for Woodland Brown which is such a great butterfly to look at. I was lucky to get the distance shot as the odd butterflies we saw were retreating to shady positions out of reach. Also Large Tortoiseshell, Great Banded Grayling and White Admiral here. Back in the village there was a splendid colony of Silver-studded Blues. Here's a mating pair, male upperside and female underside. Plenty of Large Wall Browns and a single, male Damon Blue. Finally a couple of Erebia which flew away faster than I could climb to catch them up to identify!! Super day out!

22/6/05.....Continuing very hot weather. I found my first Ringlets of the year before finding a few Idas Blues at a a site discovered last September. This male is sitting atop broom which is likely to be the larval foodplant. Pleasingly here was also a Black Hairstreak.

21/6/05.....Excellent woodland walk. On the way down to the valley there were zillions of Small Heaths and both a Small and a Large Tortoiseshell! In the woods were numerous Marbled and Heath Fritillaries and a couple of Silver-washed. This is the best site by far I've discovered for White Admirals which were regular along the valley footpath and accompanied by equal numbers of Southern White Admiral. Then things got very exciting with the appearance of this Lesser Purple Emperor. In a clover/lucerne clearing at the end I found an absolutely fresh Clouded Yellow and on the way back to the car there were Sloe Hairstreaks on yarrow.

20/6/05.....Second Large Tortoiseshell in three days. Amazing year for this. One tired looking False Heath Fritillary in contrast to numerous Heath Frits looking fresh as daisies. Marbled Frits relentlessly flying around bushes and rising into the trees, one Southern White Admiral, another good colony of Sloe Hairstreaks, Spotted Fritillary, quite a few Piedmont Ringlets.

19/6/05.....Found another good colony of Sloe Hairstreaks (here's a female with the black hair tuft at the end of the abdomen) and there were several Ilex Hairstreaks mixed with them. This female Meadow Brown with twin pupils in the main eyespot and an additional ocellus, two White Admirals. Crossed over into the Loire for a lakeside picnic at lunchtime where the main attraction was a male Lesser Purple Emperor defending a spot well off the ground in the treetops. It was a long shot, but you can pick him out here!

18/6/05.....Saw a Large Tortoiseshell fly across the car park at a large shopping complex. It paused on a tree, then inspected a half empty bottle of Kronenbourg 1664 before departing, presumably merrier...

15/6/05.....Another afternoon to the north of Lyon where the best colony of Sloe Hairstreak that I have ever encountered was flying. At the same site were at least three fantastic male Reverdin's Blues staying close to dense clumps of crown vetch, the larval foodplant. Nice to pick up a couple of Adonis Blues too.

13/6/05.....Finally managed some June butterflies today in a bit of early afternoon sunshine, though rather windy and a storm brewed up after 3 p.m. Various fritillaries, particularly Heath which was numerous and showing much variation on uppersides. Nice to pick up Silver-washed (so big!), Marbled (such bright uppersides), also Spotted and Queen of Spain. Full set of  Thymelicus skippers (Lulworth is a favourite) and Large Skippers too. The common satyrids M.jurtina, C.pamphilus and P.aegeria are now accompanied by Marbled Whites beginning to emerge. One Sooty Copper, one tired Common Blue, two Chequered Blues, two Southern White Admirals, whites........Black-veined, Large, Small (second brood male well marked plus another in the jaws of a crab spider), Green-veined. No Satyrium hairstreaks but a single Green. Mallow Skipper and Small Tortoiseshell which is commoner this year than I've known it previously.

31/5/05.....Two new skippers for the year, Large and Oberthür's Grizzled. Also saw one Chequered Blue. Black-veined Whites becoming more numerous.

27/5/05.....A trip down to the extreme south of the département where a couple of peaks start off the Pilat range which is essentially in the Loire. From the summit at 780m here's a view south into the Rhône valley and here's a more south-westerly photo across the Massif du Pilat. Little flying on the way up, but right at the top I found several Swallowtails and this is the first time I am witnessing 'hilltopping'. Also a single Piedmont Ringlet up there. On the way home stopped off at another site which was quiet too but here's a Grizzled Skipper.

26/5/05.....A single Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary today, such a rare butterfly here. Also a couple of Dukes looking well past their best.

24/5/05.....A day in the Var with Roger Gibbons. I must thank Roger and his wife for the very warm welcome and a superb day butterflying. 42 species recorded, encountered roughly in this order; Adonis Blue (very abundant), Scarce Swallowtail, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Bath White, Pale Clouded Yellow, Cleopatra, Western Dappled White, Orange Tip, Green Hairstreak, Western Marbled White, Glanville and Knapweed Fritillaries, Common and Chapman's Blues, Red Underwing Skipper, Spotted and Heath Fritillaries, Yellow-banded Skipper, Pearly Heath, Brown Argus, Wall Brown, Purple-shot Copper, Swallowtail, Osiris Blue, Small White, Baton Blue (this single adult was very tired, probably a female from the upperside), Holly Blue, Niobe Fritillary yellow underside form eris, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Grizzled Skipper, Provence Chalk-hill Blue, Clouded Yellow, Large White, Provence Orange Tip (always difficult to photograph as it rarely stops flying!), Camberwell Beauty (a very tired individual), Southern White Admiral, Wood White, Black-veined White, Spanish Festoon, Dingy Skipper and Marsh Fritillary.

23/5/05.....Plenty of activity in the meadow despite average weather. Here's a Meadow Fritillary, one of my favourite butterflies and here's a well flushed Knapweed Fritillary.

20/5/05.....Wandered up into the hills where few butterflies were on show today. However, there were first local showings of the year for Spotted and Meadow Fritillary and remarkably after yesterday's experience I picked up another Duke of Burgundy. 

19/5/05.....Many thanks to local butterflier Jenny Scott for showing me some interesting calcareous land with very diverse vegetation north of Lyon. Excellent for blues. There was Chapman's, Small, Adonis, Green-underside, not to mention Common and Brown Argus. But the most fascinating was an abundance of Duke of Burgundies. Terrific afternoon with 20 species in all.

18/5/05.....20 species on show again today; a similar mix but a handful of different ones from yesterday including a couple of Southern White Admirals (fantastic butterfly) and this Heath Fritillary.....I often get a few odd ones in May before the June rush. Also saw a Knapweed Fritillary with a complete row of well defined black spots on upper hindwing.

17/5/05.....A single Knapweed Fritillary nectaring on white clover in wasteland during my lunch hour at work. Later on, closer to home, more Knapweed Fritillaries among 20 species including this Scarce Swallowtail, Black-veined White, Provençal Short-tailed Blue, Chequered Blue, this Green Hairstreak, and this female Mazarine Blue who laid an egg on a red clover flower. 

15/5/05.....A few hours spent on the garrigue dominated Provençal coast in warm sunshine amongst an array of wild flowers. Though butterflies were not especially abundant and the species diversity much lower than I would have expected. Western Marbled White (upperside and underside) the best species and quite common in the occasional grassy, flowery places. These in low numbers; Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, Large White (a huge one), Bath White, Clouded Yellow, Sooty Copper, Common Blue, Southern White Admiral, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Wall Brown, Mallow Skipper, Spotted Fritillary.

11/5/05.....Had a little potter today in lush, damp meadows beside a tree-lined stream. Very lucky with a single Marsh Fritillary. Among the other species present were Violet and Glanville Fritillaries, Grizzled and Dingy Skippers, numerous Wood Whites and a male Sooty Copper.

9/5/05.....Second visit of the year down to the hot slopes of the Rhône valley. The vineyards are visible in the foreground and as earthy patches in the background. There are steep sided wooded valleys between them, around which most of the butterflies are confined, only many Wall Browns seeming to venture out between the vines. A digger can be seen on  the slope converting more woodland to vineyard....the green patch to the right of it is a mass of tree stumps and the remains of the natural beauty which is being progressively reclaimed by the grapes. It's lucky that the valleys are too steep to be exploited entirely but I fear the remaining grassy/flowery patches where the butterflies fly will be lost in the long term. Skippers best today; Dingy, Mallow, Grizzled and Red Underwing upperside and underside.......resting on the larval foodplant salad burnet. And numerous Green Hairstreaks.

8/5/05.....Wandered a little higher this afternoon to about a maximum of 600m. Quite a lot of fairly exposed terrain with mostly Orange Tips and Green-veined Whites but a single Large Tortoiseshell showed up too! Most of the days species were found in a small, sheltered clearing where there was a nice, spring Map flying and at last I found some Large Whites. Always males powering through strongly, making them instantly recognisable from the other whites around.  

4/5/05.....Things went a bit bananas today as emergences seem to have caught up a bit after the late start. Though most species in low numbers or even singly. Scarce Swallowtail seen from the car before arriving at some large, mostly exposed, flower rich meadows which provided Small Heath, Wood White, Western Dappled White, Green-veined White, Glanville Fritillary, Speckled Wood, Sooty Copper, Green-underside Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Violet Fritillary, Small Copper and Mallow Skipper. Moving on to an embankment I added Provençal Short-tailed Blue, Dingy Skipper, Painted Lady, Green Hairstreak and Clouded Yellow.

2/5/05.....14 species this p.m. mostly in very sheltered woodland. Several of these.....Green-veined White, Orange Tip (quite a few females), Wood White, Speckled Wood.......low numbers of these.....Scarce Swallowtail, Small Copper, Violet Fritillary, Small Heath.......and just one each of these.....Small White, Chequered Blue, Large Tortoiseshell (very worn), Comma, Grizzled Skipper and Mallow Skipper.

1/5/05.....Green-veined White and Queen of Spain crossed the pitch at the kids five-a-side tournament today (very windy.) Swallowtail and Scarce Swallowtail in the garden at lunchtime.

27/4/05.....With all the rain we've had recently the vegetation has given a hard push and there is a much wider variety of wild flowers on show now. In particular a proliferation of greater stitchwort which is serving as a perch for this Wood White. Bugle starting to show now too and in general there is a feeling of lateness in the flower emergence which is evident in the butterflies aswell....there are several species I would expect to see in April that I won't get until May this year. A few Violet Fritillaries in one small area today however; here's a picture my seven year old son took.

26/4/05.....Shame to be cooped up at work in the gorgeous sunshine today! Couldn't resist a half hour after work late afternoon. A handful of species including Queen of Spain and several Wood Whites.

18/4/05-23/4/05.....Visiting the folks in the U.K. These species in varying numbers; Speckled Wood ssp.tircis with the yellow spots, Orange Tip, Green-veined White, Small White, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Brimstone, Holly Blue.

16/4/05.....As I write this rain is still falling for the 39th consecutive hour, with snow settling from 700m. The vegetation will get a good boost from this and a new batch of butterflies should be emerging during the next sunny patch.

13/4/05.....No time spent looking for butterflies and their habitat is time wasted it seems. Dull and almost cool this afternoon I went exploring and found this slope (the blue thing is not argiolus, it is my son!) Fully facing west with a plateau at the top, low scrub and grassland growing on rather crumbly, stoney soil with numerous bare patches and lots of rabbit activity. I found the place buzzing with Western Dappled Whites zipping to and fro even in these conditions. Here's an underside and a mating pair. Tremendous!

12/4/05.....Thoroughly overcast. Went to explore a new valley. Found first confirmed Holly Blue for this year. Also Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock braving the weather.

11/4/05.....A quick hour this p.m. before collecting kids from school.....couldn't resist trying for crameri again at last week's sight during a bit of welcome sunshine. Of course there was no sign of them! Still a tricky wind too. However, I did pick up quite the smallest, male Southern Small White I have ever seen. Here is the upperside and the underside. Note the heavy, uniform dusting of scales under the hindwing and the well marked upperside with extensive apex marking.

10/4/05.....After some welcome rain cold weather has returned and yesterday snow was settling from around 700m.

6/4/05.....Found a meadow where several E.crameri were flying. A very flighty species and windy too so photography very difficult. Here's a colourful female Speckled Wood and an Orange Tip in the clutches of a cleverly disguised crab spider.

5/4/05.....With the sun so generous I decided to get down into the Rhône valley in the south-east of my patch which is probably about the hottest area of the Rhône département where the steep, south facing slopes are interspersed with little valleys and vineyards. Needless to say I found this in 'micro-climate' form compared to other recent walks, with the flowers and the butterflies far more advanced. Orange Tip consistently the commonest species, several Scarce Swallowtails, a couple of Queen of Spain Fritillaries tussling for space on the path, mating Bath Whites plus at least one other which are my first spring sightings here and would seem to confirm it as resident rather than only migrant, Small White, Green-veined White, several blues in flight only (must be Holly but will wait for a better view before it goes on the list), first Red Admirals since the winter, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Wall Brown and I rather think I saw another Large Tortoiseshell flying too. 

4/4/05.....First Wall Brown and Wood White for this year. Also Green-veined White, lots of Orange Tips including a female laying on cuckooflower, Speckled Woods, a couple of Commas, Small Tortoiseshell and the one that got away was an interesting, strong flying white which I would say was crameri but I'll never know for sure! In the continued heat hibernators seem to be drying up and there was no sign of polychloros today at a site where it was numerous on 15/3.

3/4/05.....We were at a christening in the Saône-et-Loire on the edge of the Monts du Beaujolais today. In the afternoon we visited the gardens of a rather splendid stately home. There were Orange Tips, Artogeia sp., male Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and, naturally for this year, Large Tortoiseshell!

2/4/05.....First trip of the year, to a site around 700m in the Drôme. I was so lucky to get just a single Spring Ringlet which flew out of the grassland beside me. I followed it as it flew incessantly but when it passed over bushes I wasn't able to follow. Unfortunately I cannot propose a photo but do read more info here. Very little was flying on the whole and early afternoon cloud rather halted proceedings. Saw the following......male Green-veined White, male Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Large Tortoiseshell, two Grizzled Skippers (interesting sharp chevrons on the marginal forewing marks, and probably ssp. malvoides at this location) plus a couple of blues flying at bush level and probably Holly but no certainty........and not forgetting the bionic Spring Ringlet!!! That's seven species against twenty-five at the same site on 25/4/04 (see 2004 list.)

30/3/05.....All yesterday's species flying today in similar weather conditions, including a tiny female Orange Tip and this male. In addition two Large Tortoiseshells. Here's an upperside (looks like a female from the abdomen) and an underside. And here's the habitat. Also a single Peacock.

29/3/05.....Mostly overcast these last few days though never cold. Sunny this morning. This afternoon's walk was blessed with odd, very brief sunny patches which revealed the latest emergences amongst the white species. Numerous male Orange Tips which are always so fantastic to observe in early spring....quite variable in size but always looking amazingly small when disputing with odd male Green-veined Whites on display today. Also Commas and Speckled Woods in the woodland and Small Tortoiseshells around the edges.

23/3/05.....Yesterday it rained. This would appear to have initiated life in the natural world! The grass is looking greener and wild flowers are sprouting in earnest. The butterfly world was well awakened too! Things got started this morning when I walked into the garden and discovered a Large Tortoiseshell basking on the lawn!! Also a Small Tortoiseshell on the violets. In the afternoon the sun started fighting with clouds a little, but fought them off long enough for me to get down into a nice woodland clearing. Peacock showed first, then the first of many male Brimstones making the most of the expanse of hollow-root adorning the woodland floor. Two Speckled Woods, a couple of Commas, a single, female Small White almost incessantly on the wing and remarkably, yet again, several Large Tortoiseshells! It is worth noting that outside this hive of activity in the clearing the world seemed utterly butterflyless, although back at the top of the woods I found a few Small Tortoiseshells.

21/3/05.....Hazy sunshine, clouding over now. Good weather for exploring new ground. Found two Small Tortoiseshells, two Commas and three more Large Tortoiseshells!

20/3/05.....Small Tortoiseshells and Commas. Sixth consecutive day of cloudless, blue sky and warm sunshine.

19/3/05.....Small Tortoiseshell on violets in the garden whilst I was finally tidying up the flower beds, putting in a few new plants and trimming the buddleia. 

16/3/05.....At a different site from yesterday I found two more Large Tortoiseshells. Also plenty of Commas.

15/3/05.....and the sun came out and heated everything up to 20°C! An hour's walk between 3 and 4 p.m. revealed a Small Tortoiseshell and a Comma at the top of the valley; there were no butterflies along the path to the stream, but in the clearing at the bottom I discovered several Large Tortoiseshells!! Three maximum in view at any given moment, the butterflies were dividing their time between sunning themselves on tree trunks or on the grass and whizzing off in aerial dispute. Thoroughly enjoyable! 

1/3/05.....Freezing! Much of the country is on a cold alert and the electricity company is struggling to keep up with the demand for heating power. I usually put in some plants and prune the butterfly bush during the first week of March......can't see myself doing that for at least another fortnight....

23/2/05.....Continual snow over the last two weeks or so. More predicted over the next few days.

7/2/05.....Sunny afternoon though a little hazy with air temperatures quite low. Nonetheless I bumped into this Red Admiral!

28/1/05.....In stark contrast to early January we are now going through a patch of biting cold. Sub zero temperatures lasting the day long and a perishing north wind. Springtime feels a long way off today!!

11/1/05.....Beautiful mild weather has lasted a week now and I couldn't resist getting out for a couple of early walks though I didn't really believe I would get butterflies this early. Should have had more faith as I came back with my first ever January observations!! First a Red Admiral flew from the ground and circled overhead a couple of times before taking to the treetops...this was at about 14:50. About 40 minutes later another butterfly flew that I didn't have time to identify, though it was orange and most probably a Comma. Here is a photo of where I was walking and you'll notice the glorious sky. The low sun is shining hard onto the south facing valley side where it was surprisingly warm (I was far too hot with my coat), in contrast to the completely shaded north side where there was frost and cold!! I'm standing at 280m here.