I don't know if this will help, but here is part of Nick's photo rotated then stretched, to reconstruct a 90° view. This trick sometimes helps to get a feel of a butterfly's wingshape, though its accuracy depends on the original wing being in a flat plane, which they rarely are, of course: I, too, ...

Thank you Roger and Pete, I am afraid that the only other picture I have of this butterfly is an even worse angle! I wish I had paid more attention now. Earlier in the holiday I had seen a lot of Bath Whites down by the river near where I was staying. A couple of days later, I had seen a lot of what...

I wonder if anyone can help me with this Dappled White that I saw near Antequera, southern Spain last week. It seems to be different from any of the other Western Dappled Whites that I saw that week and I am inclined towards a Portuguese Dappled White. The hind wing appears to have a much smoother c...

Received my copy of European Butterflies a couple of days ago. Loads of interesting articles and pictures. I am really looking forward to reading it on holiday.

I have signed it, but I do wonder when all of this sort of thing will come to an end. I fear it won't be until we have completely screwed up the planet and there will be no going back. Sadly, all that appears to motivate most politicians is the economy. I know we all want jobs and nice pensions, but...

The cat has now attacked Petal, one of the hens whilst she was in her nestbox. The result was a visit to the vet for an abscess on her foot and no eggs for a week as she wouldn't go back in the next box. I have spent £100 for pointed plastic to go on the top of the fence - no difference. The owner ...

Thank you Guy, Expect a pm!! You have certainly managed to see a great selection of springtime butterflies. I would agree that it seems early for bellargus but I find that many species appear to be beating the dates in the books these days. Not that I have ever seen a bellargus , but maybe that will...

Guy, You have me really excited with all of your sightings! I am due to fly out to Malaga on the 18th and we will be staying in Alora about 45km north west of Malaga. We have stayed in this village on four previous occasions, but always in July, when it has been hot and parched. I have a few local h...

You're getting me excited. Only 18 days till we're off to Malaga! :D I can pm you some specific site details when I get home later if you're interested? That would be fantastic, if you wouldn't mind. We will be staying at Alora, about 45km north west of Malaga. I was thinking about going to Torcal ...

You're getting me excited. Only 18 days till we're off to Malaga!

Brilliant! I am going to the Malaga area next month and I am looking forward to seeing some different butterflies to my normal summer butterflies for that area.

After a bit of a slow start to March we have had a number of records in over the last three days - Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells, Red Admirals and Commas, and yesterday another Speckled Wood!

It was a record week for February up here in East Lothian last week, with seven species having been recorded. Peacock Small Tortoiseshell Painted Lady Red Admiral Comma Small White Speckled Wood I suspect that some of those butterflies may be regretting their early emergence now that the weather has...

My first butterfly of the year (and maybe first for Scotland but I doubt it), Small Tortoiseshell on cliff top Portknockie, Moray. I didn't manage a photo of it as it was quite flighty and enjoying this view.19-02-21-296-BowFiddle.jpgJack Sorry Jack, we had a Peacock here in East Lothian on 11th Ja...

David, Skippers can be quite tricky, but I would suggest that Skipper 1 could be Polites dictynna. Skipper 2 looks like Wallengrenia otho ophites, which were quite common when I was there a few years ago. The book that Guy recommends is fantastic, but not easy to come by. My library had to order it ...

I can certainly recommend the Panasonic Lumix Range. I have an FZ150 and it is fantastic for clos-ups, general panoramas and has a great zoom. No faffing around changing lenses, etc. I had an SLR in the "film days" and took it with me to Africa, but spent so much time carrying and changing...

Great to see so many butterflies being seen up and down the country. We haven't been doing too bad here for November in Scotland. We have been having frosts for three or four weeks, but the sun continues to shine. I have had a couple of Small Coppers reported to me on 1st November from a little colo...

Interesting topic Salpaint and something I have been trying to figure out for some time. My father had an area of land in the Scottish Borders, that I helped him look after and improve for wildlife. It was mainly unmanaged woodland and rank grassland. Many would say it was ideal for wildlife, but Rh...

Welcome Lisa,
I think your question has everyone stumped!
This is certainly not something I have seen before. I wonder if the butterfly has been marked as part of a research project. Unusual, as you would normally expect any marks to be put on the wings.

Guy, It will be really interesting to hear about the changes you are seeing compared with what was flying in your childhood. There have certainly been a lot of changes in the butterfly species up here in the last 30 or 40 years and they area almost all positive. Hard to believe when you see what is ...