Not as many Wall about last year, though I was probably off chasing something else when they were at peak. This female was on her own along an arable field edge dodging Speckled Wood and feeding up before she flapped off further down the track.

The enigma that are the Small Pearls. Just how widespread they are in the Scottish Borders will always remain a mystery I reckon. We have had an increase in sightings this past decade due to the number of recorders we now have either resident ot passers by. What we do know is that there is some conc...

The Small Skipper have now become one of the commoner species especially in the eastern Scottish Borders this past decade and more. They turn up in ones and twos at new sites very regularly and then suddenly produce plague proportions the following summer. They have made some big shifts inland to up...

The Small Tortoiseshell up here in the Scottish Borders have suddenly become a much rarer sight for whatever reason this past few years. The species last had a good year in 2013, since then, numbers have been on the dive, quite seriously so during 2017. I get the feeling from what I have seen so far...

A very early start, and late finish for the Berwickshire coastal Small Blue colonies during 2017. The first were seen on the record breaking date of May 3rd and the last August 17th suggesting some partial brooding going on. This particular male was found on a cliff top terrace among a good number o...

Lovely, sharp image of a fresh aethiops, Iain. All the guides have this species down as a predominantly western-based insect, so it's good to see there are colonies further east in your neck of the woods. David, the Scotch Argus is still quite numerous in the western Borders but the picture of how ...

That's some image, Iain, particularly given that your area is outside the range where Ringlets would be considered commonplace insects. I agree David ,I,ve certainly never seen a large gathering of Ringlets like IAC,s excellent image Well...how interesting. I can say that the Ringlet is an extremel...

I don't take enough photos of Ringlet and am guilty, as I am with say Meadow Brown as well, of pretty much disregarding them as worthy subjects to photograph. Familiarity breeds contempt, and that should never be the case with any of our species these days, as it is obvious to me that the common spe...

Maybe I am pretty lazy looking for this species, because now I just turn up at the same guaranteed spot every year in an often vain attempt to capture a photograph worthy of this absolute belter of a Butterfly. It's a difficult species to say the least to photograph and its unpredictability can lead...

The Red Admiral have continued to impress me, especially this last year. A monster of a Butterfly, seemingly bullet proof, able to adapt to any conditions and not just survive , but thrive. Not fussed at all by out of sync broods, just ploughing on, able to extract nectar sources that very few other...

This is maybe not the best photo I had taken of the Peacock Butterflies this past season, however, it is the most unusual one I could find during 2017. It was August 15th in a woodland clearing with plenty of Creeping Thistle, Spear Thistle and Knapweed that I immediately spotted this beauty and cha...

Thankfully I had the help of Iain Cowe, the local borders expert, and I managed to tick of the final Lycid on my UK list. To my great relief Bugboy :D I must admit to be being so downhearted that you did not get to see this species in all of its glory. I am as I said, very glad at least you did not...

It would be interesting to know what equipment has been used for all of the winning entries. The exif data doesn't seem to be available now that the competition has ended, but I wonder how many of the winning entries, both this year and in previous years, have been taken with top-end, professional ...

The Comma, a very enigmatic and at times near impossible to find species up here in the Scottish Borders. It is very difficult to find out in the open and will stick to the canopy of a woodland edge venturing out for ground supplies very rarely. I have enjoyed hunting this Butterfly more than any ot...

Hi Pete, I have seen some very late Small Tortoiseshell broods on only a few occasions, most notably 2011 when good numbers of Small Tortoiseshell pupated in late September emerging in mid to late October. They were joined by a very late number of Red Admiral. Both species I observed and photographe...

Thank you Guy, David and Bugboy. :) Whats next, Gatekeeper you say David. We get sightings from time to time that turn out to be twin spotted Meadow Brown...Meadow Brown are struggling in the open countryside just now as farming becomes ever more efficient, and the loss of grazing animals has certai...

Hahaha, cheers Pete :D Seriously though what next I wonder up here. Naturally the White Letter Hairstreak may have been here for quite some time undetected, as the Purple Hairsteak which Im sure we will have in the Scottish Borders considering its success elsewhere in Scotland, or its a recent arriv...

NEW BUTTERFLY SPECIES FOR SCOTLAND Its not everyday that something as special as this is found whilst out and about on a regular Butterfly recording foray. This White Letter Hairstreak is a new species for Scotland as of yesterday 9th August. Its a very ragged and worn individual which I found on th...

Despite finding that incredible ab Small T Shell in August my favourite shot perhaps was of a more conventional ST on a grim kind of day with low cloud that just cleared enough to put up a few of the Vanessids around a stand of Teasel. In between the cloudy and cooler spells this crispy Tortoiseshel...

but how about another look(please) at another aberrant Tortoiseshell ,posted by IAC also back in August By all means :D I am hoping that I may encounter this individual again some sunny day in March or April this year. 13th August 2016, Creeping Thistle patch in the arable landscape of the south ea...