Been a strange Emperor season thus far, dilettante. Looking at the Purple Empire blog, there have been places that aren't normally that reliable that have seen many groundings, yet in others that are more notable for this phenomenon there have been fewer than normal. I live in hope that this hot we...

Saturday 17th July 2021 The hot weather and seeing lots of pictures of Purple Emperors online persuaded me to head to Fermyn Woods. We arrived in Lady Wood around 10:30, and depsite others saying they had seen a few, we only saw the one on the ground. It was surrounded by photographers (hello if an...

David M wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:11 am Great capture of the hoverflies with the DGF, dilettante.

I'd like to claim it was skillful, but I don't think I was even aware of the hoverflies when I clicked the shutter.

Butterflyboy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 11, 2021 5:05 pm are Chalkhill blue easy to find when in the right place?

I would say so. There weren't too many when I was looking yesterday but once they're fully emerged they are often seen in large numbers, sometimes very large numbers, at their established sites.

10th July 2021 An afternoon trip to Therfield Heath near Royston and the Herts/Cambs border. This is always a great site, and today was no exception. I don't remember seeing so many Marbled White or Dark Green Fritillary in previous years. Chalk Hill Blues are just getting started I think, with onl...

Sunday 27-Jun-2021 With a hankering to see a Marbled White, I took a brief trip to Trumpington Meadows outside Cambridge. Numbers are yet to build, but the ones I did see were nice and fresh. All males as far as I could tell, mostly searching and not resting much, in breezy conditions. Also nice to...

12th June 2021 Thanks to David M, Wurzel, Katrina and bugboy for the recent comments. Today I went to nearby Royston Heath, Herts to look for the recently arrived (or possibly introduced) Adonis Blues. I think they were first seen here a couple of years ago, but I had yet to see them. They seem to ...

5th June 2021 Back home in Cambridgeshire, I went from our biggest to our smallest butterfly. I cycled up to the recently (re)discovered colony of Small Blues in Trumpington Meadows just outside Cambridge, and found a small number fairly quickly. Being so tiny makes them harder to photograph, but t...

2- & 3 June 2021 On Wednesday, my family were shopping in Norwich so I had the day to myself - a perfect opportunity to go Swallowtail hunting again. Except I had the dog with me and I knew Strumpshaw and Hickling reserves don't allow dogs. I decided to try How Hill, but on arriving there found...

Thanks Wurzel. Noar Hill is always a joy to visit anyway. This week I'm in Norfolk and had a similarly underwhelming search for Swallowtails. I had one good fly-past sighting yesterday at Strumpshaw, but no photos. And an even more fleeting glimpse at Hickling Broad. I may get a chance to try again ...

Weds 26th May 2021 Being able to visit family for the first time in a long while, I was in Hampshire for a couple of days and a trip to Noar Hill was duly arranged. The weather was improving over recent days, but still quite cool and breezy. As we came through the gate, I saw my first Duke, so assu...

That's a lovely Grizzly shot, Andy02

Thanks Wurzel and David M. It was good conditions that day - bright, not too breezy and cool enough that the butterflies weren't too flighty.

24-Apr-2021 I'm surprised to see I didn't post anything to my diary last year. For obvious reasons I wasn't going anywhere much, but still a poor effort! After a slow start to the season, I went looking for Green Hairstreaks on Devil's Dyke, Cambs this afternoon, and wasn't disappointed - saw 5 or ...

Managed a phone shot of a CY this morning on my local patch in South Cambs


Clouded Yellow, South Cambs 21-Jul-2020

My wife tells me it's still there so will try with the DSLR later/tomorrow

Lovely shots millerd

I see so few Small Coppers in this part of the world (Cambs) so it was real delight to find this one with some others in Spring (20-Apr) when I was out looking for grizzlies

A couple of pristine specimens from northern Portugal in July

25/26th August 2019 Just a few photos from the very hot bank holiday weekend, mostly taken at home I was pleased to get this Small Heath picture while walking the dog yesterday. Normally I find they hide in the grass with their eye spots hidden, so it was good to get this one with a reasonably clea...

This story was widely reported in real newspapers too, and I guess this was the source https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/blue-butterfly-boom-in-summer-heatwave

Thanks for confirming the IDs, and for the kind comments, Guy