Agreed, Trevor. That site looks totally unsuitable for Silver Spotted Skippers, certainly compared to any place I’ve ever seen them. On a more positive note, you have a couple of absolutely stunning blue female blues there!

Chiltern gentian.

Hi Dave, no. No red squirrel for us. There was a notice, asking for any greys to be reported. Hopefully you’ll make it up there one day, Wurzel. Yes Trevor, it was a cracker! Thanks David. Yes, we came home happy, having achieved our aims. Last week, it was time for my annual trip to Aston Rowant. T...

Hi Dave. No, that’s not a bad collection for a piece of land like that. You’ve even got a couple of Painted Lady in there, I see. Not been many of those about this year...

Our second and final day came. We spent the morning enjoying Keswick, and had lunch beside the lake. 710711E2-67BF-48A6-A55E-A01BAA8C25B3.jpeg We then headed off Smardale Gill, a new site for us. We walked to the viaduct, which is currently closed for maintenance, and onto the grassy slope nearby, f...

Thanks for your comments. It’s been a good few years since I saw the Scotch Argus, indeed quite a while since we’ve been to the Lake District. So, last Saturday evening, we headed up for a two night stay. We arrived at Arnside Knott just after 9am on Sunday. Unfortunately, the sunny spells forecast ...

Take heart, Pauline! Although Silver Spotted Skippers have emerged in late July in some recent years, they are really August butterflies. The chilly, wet weather of July just might cause them to appear at their traditional time!

Thanks Wurzel and Goldie, and I agree. I would add Holly Blue to the ‘doing well’ list, and perhaps the Whites. Welcome to August. This is the time that the days really start to draw in, and we loose two hours of daylight this month, even in the south. However, there is still much to look foreword t...

Ahh, Hadleigh castle. I thought that might feature in your diary. Been there a few times. Just a few! But not this year, sadly...

There haven’t been many warm, sunny evenings this summer. There were a couple of weeks in mid June, but that was too early for most species. But by early July, the Hutchinsoni Commas has emerged. Fewer than last year, but perhaps they were still getting going. In the event, it was the only chance I ...

Cracking shot of the peak white, Guy. And the Amanda’s Blues , one of my favourite European blues. Went on a butterfly trip to Croatia a number of years ago now, and they were everywhere! One of the highlights of the holiday.

Your second generation Common Blue is very nice specimen, Neil.

Plenty of Graylings at Kynance Cove currently, and stupendous numbers of Gatekeepers. No second generation Small Pearl-border Fritillaries yet, they will emerge next week. A sprinkle of rain seems to have finished off my ageing LUMIX, so no pictures.

Thanks everyone. Pauline, May and June are the peak months for orchids. Large Skippers started to emerge in mid June, and fresh ones are still appearing. 1202A3B7-2262-42D5-8E4B-227FF7169044.jpeg 6510710B-A5AC-48E7-BFF5-80936784FEC6.jpeg Followed, a few days later, by Small Skippers. They seem to be...

Lattice Browns are fantastic, aren’t they. Like you, I’ve always found them on shady tree trunks and the like during the heat of the day.

The early start certainly worked!

I was then off to the Lydden Temple Ewell reserve, where I found several Adonis Blues. F8B99AE2-ED9F-4D22-BFAC-AD7E3CF97AD3.jpeg There was plenty of horseshoe vetch this year, foodplant off Adonis Blues and Dingy Skippers, but an attractive flower in its own right. D9D9B861-564B-43CD-B88A-B1290A022D...

Yes, Britain is very poor in terms of biodiversity, even compared with the rest of Europe, never mind Africa.

We should live in harmony with our world, and with nature, but we just don’t do it.

Yes, an excellent range of images for the rest of us to enjoy!

Me too. What a shame it wasn’t a couple of weeks ago, when the hawthorn blossom was out. No pleasing some people...

Thought you’d like those pictures, Wurzel! Having spent the late-spring Bank Holiday in Dorset, my east Kent orchid fest had to wait until last week. Might be early June, but the picture of Park Gate Down clearly shows it was still spring. 2DF87C00-2D8A-4A49-A3FC-FF4850E902CD.jpeg Visited a couple o...