Saturday 5th June at Prestbury Hill in Gloucestershire 15 fresh marsh fritillaries seen in the Bill Smyllie field and 7/8 duke of burgundy butterflies including some fresh individuals seen in both parts of the reserve.

My first butterfly sighting of the year, a male brimstone in my back garden in Cheltenham this morning

Many thanks for confirming what this butterfly is

A butterfly that was seen in the quarries on Aggs Hill in Gloucestershire at the top of the Cotswold escarpment, fairly close to Prestbury Hill nature reserve managed by Butterfly Conservation. I am unsure if this is a female common blue or female adonis blue. I'm leaning towards common blue as the ...

Many thanks Wurzel and Guy, this is what i originally thought it was

Several weeks ago I found a hairstreak butterfly nectaring on a field scabious at Prestbury Hill nature reserve in Gloucestershire. It was seen on the lower slopes of the Bill Smyllie field close to the hedgerow and fairly near to the small wood that divides the two fields. It is an unusual sighting...

It's a shame i missed you at Prestbury Hill on Wednesday Neil, I was there until about 3.15pm. I saw around 12-15 dukes on this occasion plus 4 wall browns along the path at the very top of the Bill Smyllie field, and also two females brimstones egg laying in the Happy Valley area.

First orange-tip of the year, a male in Stratford Park, Stroud this lunchtime, also four small tortoiseshells, a peacock and two brimstones

Lemon Pansy seen at All Saints Church allotments in Cheltenham late on Monday afternoon!

Many thanks for identifying it Tony, I guess it must have been an illegal release. It was a huge surprise to find it on my allotment!

A strange looking butterfly seen at All Saints Church allotments in Cheltenham late Monday afternoon. At first I thought this was a speckled wood aberration but it was the size of a silver-washed fritillary and twice the size of a normal speckled wood. It was spotted sunning itself on the ivy in the...

The Linear Park on the outskirts of Cinderford is potentially another good site to visit. It is off the Valley Road in Cinderford and great for invertebrates. Butterflies like grizzled skipper, wood white and small pearl bordered fritillary have all been recorded there. You can also see commoner spe...

Serridge Green near Brierley can be a good place to see wood whites, small pearl bordered fritillaries and grizzled skippers. The small pearl bordered fritillaries can also be found at Moseley Green. The grizzled skippers are also found at Nagshead nature reserve which is managed by the RSPB.

Thursday 22nd December a single peacock seen at the top of the Cotswold escarpment on the road leading to Prestbury Hill nature reserve and Cleeve Common

Prestbury Hill near Cheltenham is a good place to see Dark Green Fritillaries they can be found all over the reserve especially where there is knapweed growing. I would suggest that is the best place to see them in Gloucestershire. They were on the wing in great numbers in the last couple of summers...

There are still some fresh ones at Rodborough Common in Stroud too. On my visit today I saw brown argus, common blues and adonis blues in good numbers, around ten to twelve dingy skippers, a couple of brimstones, a few small blues, a holly blue, a large skipper, and two duke or burgundys, one in rea...

You got some really superb images of the dukes from your visit Neil, I managed to get quite a lot more shots in both parts of the reserve after you had departed for Nottingham Hill. I also got some images of small blues mating and a cistus forester moth. I hope you managed to see some wall browns at...

It was nice to meet up with you and Chris yesterday Neil, I had a very enjoyable day at Prestbury Hill and saw many more species than i'd anticipated seeing beforehand. I shan't spoil the next installment of your diary by revealing if the duke of burgundy did indeed put in an appearance!

The Dukes should be on the wing at Rodborough Common still. They can also be found at Edge Common and at Prestbury Hill too. I was at the latter site yesterday when I met Neil Freeman briefly and we saw around six dukes in all in both parts of the reserve. All were in very good condition.

In the Forest of Dean today three red admirals and two speckled woods as well as three dragonflies, one migrant hawker and two common darters