Hi bugboy, thanks for your comment. I do have yellow rattle (e.g. in the second photo) but it is hard to see having now gone to seed. That patch is looking the most promising of the various areas I have seeded over the last four years, in that the grass is not too vigorous and there is a good variet...

I thought I would bring this thread up to date. Last season (2022) I had several visits from common blues during the hot weather in July, and then an egg-laying small copper at the end of August. Of course this year I was hoping for better numbers of these two species, but so far I have only seen tw...

Hi David - thanks for your kind words! Yes, I was amazed at the intricate structure of the egg - quite extraordinary really. I had the same experience as you with common blues this year, seeing several over ten days during the hot weather in July, never having seen one here before. I also saw a coup...

Doing some work in the garden today and saw a flash of orange as a small butterfly flew past. It turned out to be the hoped-for small copper which soon homed in on a sorrel plant and laid an egg. Unfortunately, by the time I had gone inside, picked up my camera and returned, the butterfly was gone. ...

Another common blue today - a female this time - I saw it flying about and managed to get a good look when it settled briefly on a white clover. I thought I saw it earlier over my wildflower patch, so I hope it found the bird's foot trefoil I have carefully cultivated.

Great to see!

Cheers,

Matthew

Hi Medard - Good photos again. I think your mystery insect might be a four lined horsefly Atylotus rusticus . To your point about the abundance of insects this year, at the moment I have plenty of honey bees, odd bumble bees, lots of hedge brown butterflies. Earlier in the summer I had good numbers ...

Exciting development today. Looking down the garden, I saw a greyish looking small butterfly or moth flying about quite fast and low. Of course I nipped out to investigate. Whatever it was crossed into my neighbour’s garden and started nectaring on a verbena flower. From its underwing markings I cou...

Nice photos of the scarlet tiger - I've been looking out for them but so far I've just seen jersey tigers which have been around the last few years.

Cheers,

Matthew

An impressive find Dave. I had a very similar experience this time last year - I spotted two privet hawk moths sitting on a wooden post just like yours were. When I saw the first one I thought it was a mouse or something.

Cheers,

Matthew

Hi Bertie - That's encouraging, thanks. As you point out, it would be easy to miss a flying visit. I had my first ever marbled white in the garden recently (I've been here 25 years), which goes to show you never know what might show up.

Cheers,

Matthew

may I suggest that you invest in a few Lavender plants , they can be easily increased by means of cuttings, may be a local nursery / garden centre can help. Thanks for the suggestion - I'm pushed for space in my garden, but my immediate neighbours have large drifts of it, so it must help bring butt...

In my garden the commas seem to flash through fast overhead, rarely settling. The only flower I have seen them on is verbena; I haven't got any lavender. I've never seen a hummingbird hawk moth here but I've just planted some red valerian which apparently they like - maybe next year... Cheers, Matthew

Two more friends came to visit the garden yesterday. https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com ... Nice to see. I get very few small tortoiseshells in my garden - only three in total this year. I planted nettles to see if they would lay eggs on them. That hasn't happened yet, as far as I know, but a very...

Hi Medard, Thanks for your encouraging words. Great photos as well - that moth is a stunner. I've got a fair range of wildflowers e.g. bird's foot trefoil, sorrel, knapweed, yarrow and wild marjoram, and my neighbours have lots of lavender. So I hope any travelling butterflies might be drawn in. Fun...

Thanks David - I will live in hope and post here if anything turns up...

Sounds like you're off to a good start, both species would find a miles travel to disperse to a new site in the countryside a breeze. In your situation it may be problematic depending on how much 'concrete jungle' is between you and the known site but I would hazard an educated guess and say far fr...

Hi Everyone, I just joined this forum after lurking for a few weeks enjoying all your posts and pictures. I've been trying to make my North London garden more butterfly-friendly over the last three years, mainly by letting most of the lawn grow long and by planting wildflowers. There is cover in the...