I am sorry to read about Satsuma Guy. It is always sad when a caterpillar you have been following disappears. I notice that there are a lot fewer Orange Tip caterpillars on our Garlic Mustard than there were a few weeks ago. The several next boxes full of Blue Tits probably don't help! I had a Comma...

Grizzled Skippers, Dingy Skippers, Brimstones, Holly Blues, Brown Argus and Marsh Fritillaries. So many exotic butterflies that we don't get up here!

..The Painted Lady invasion started two days later and it was in far greater numbers. They were still seen arriving on the coast last week and have since dispersed inland... There are more crossing continental Europe right now, Nick. Many more. Towards the end of the week, warm SE winds will direct...

Great to see the Small Blues, Nick, as well as hearing about the influx of Red Admirals (brace yourself now for Painted Ladies!) The female Green Veined White is stunning. It's so well marked I could probably mistake it for Mountain Green Veined White. David, The Painted Lady invasion started two d...

It must have been great to have seen the irruption of Red Admirals Nick :D Lovely st of shots - that Small blue on the finger really lives up to it's name, a very Diminutive Blue :shock: :D 8) Have a goodun Wurzel Wurzel, I remember a mass arrival of Red Admirals a few years ago on a typical dreich...

On 5th June A friend and I drove down to the coast in Berwickshire near Burnmouth in search of Small Blues. I picked Abbie up in Haddington in fog and drizzle and we questioned whether we were mad to look for butterflies in such weather. However, it brightened up on the drive down and by the time we...

Pete, I hadn't realised you had had to do this until I e-mailed you when I discovered that my pictures had disappeared out of the early pages on my Personal Diary. I hadn't even found the "Website Comments" section until just now. I just wanted to thank you for the enormous amount of work ...

Thanks, Nick. Haven't managed to see Spanish Marbled White yet....but it's on my list!! Funnily enough, we were discussing only today how much longer would it be before Marbled Whites hit SE Scotland. I reckon two more heatwave summers are all that's required!! :) David, That would be very exciting...

I went down to the Berwickshire coast near Burnmouth on Wednesday 5th June to look for Small Blues. Luckily the weather was kind and we managed to see almost 100 of them. We were also thrilled to witness the start of an invasion of Red Admirals, seeing about 25 of them coming in off the sea and feed...

Crickey Nick I've only ever seen one type of Marbled White :D :mrgreen: so to try and differentiate between the two species I wouldntt know where to begin - better get back to some study of Tolman :shock: :lol: Have a goodun Wurzel Wurzel, I have been lucky to have seen Iberian, Spanish, Balkan and...

Just as a matter of interest, Nick, how commonplace were Spanish Marbled Whites in that area when you visited? That is a good question David. I counted more than ten on that walk, but that was before I realised that there were also Western Marbled Whites there! On previous visits to Southern Spain ...

I was looking through my pictures from my morning near Antequera and I discovered that some of my Spanish Marbled Whites were actually Western Marbled Whites, Melanargia occitanica . Even though the pictures are not very good, they are sufficient to identify the butterfly. So, that was a second life...

I see that you are concentrating on anything that lacks a backbone now that you are living amongst a more limited variety of butterflies! I have been concentrating on eggs and caterpillars, too, as I haven't seen many butterflies this year with the lousy weather we have been having up here. Hopefull...

Fantastic pictures Trevor. I have always wanted to take pictures with more than one species in the frame to show the differences in size. I have never managed to get a picture with both butterflies in focus! I am always amazed to see pictures of large groups of butterfly enthusiasts photographing a ...

Beautiful pictures Wurzel. I have never seen a Pearl, just Small Pearls. I am pleased that summer has arrived down there. We don't appear to have had spring here yet!!

Wow, this looks like it was an amazing trip. I have always wanted to return to the Pyrenees. I used to be dragged there a lot as a child when my father worked in France. Sadly in those days I didn't appreciate the fauna or flora, but I do remember a lot of wild flowers and butterflies. I am looking ...

Wow! Fantastic pictures. I really can't wait to see the book!

I love your Dukes. A butterfly I have never seen.

Just catching up on your diary Chris, I'm with Wurzel, that Turquoise Blue underside is very eye catching :) :mrgreen: Yes, me too! The Turquoise Blue is lovely. Very like the Nevada Blue, which is one of my favourites. It also uses Kidney Vetch which manages to cling on in the high Sierra Nevada i...

Some lovely pictures there Bugboy. I particularly like the Common Blue with Green Hairstreak and your not-Northern Brown Argus. I am also very envious of the species you have there that we don't see north of the border.