They really do make them work hard those females don't they! Oh they certainly do, bugboy! Hats off to the male Torties for perseverance and attention to foreplay!! Lincolnshire weather has now deteriorated again after the brief spell of warmth and sunshine. I have been concentrating more of late o...

Lovey shot of mating Green hairstreaks there Nigel! I had a bit of a personal first two days ago in Lincolnshire. In more than 40 years of butterflying I have never before actually witnessed Small Tortoiseshells in cop . I have watched numerous courtships over the years, but they have all been long ...

Very envious of your epistygne there Chris! Lovely shots. This species is rapidly ascending towards the top of my "most wanted" list of French butterflies that I have yet to see...
I may have to consider a trip out to your part of the world this time next year!
Regards.
Pete

From the ridiculous to the sublime! After a long lag phase, spring has finally arrived with attitude. My garden in central Lincolnshire today was alive with butterflies - yearly firsts of five newly emergent species in the space of just two hours - Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Orang...

I bought the Pentax Papilio 2 8.5 x 21 recently, and am absolutely delighted with this model. Great quality optics, close focus, lightweight. Perfect for butterflying. Highly recommended!

Agreed - that euphenoides male and female shot is fantastic!

Great stuff Chris - I am enjoying these early stage records! I spend quite a bit of time myself looking for overwintering eggs of hairstreaks, or grovelling around seeking out fritillary larvae, so I am also used to the strange looks from passers-by! I am contemplating the purchase of an FZ1000 myse...

Hi David.

My next planned trip is to the Cote d'Or, France, early June. If I find anything interesting I will post back.
Here's wishing everyone a great 2018 butterfly season!

Pete

Many thanks for your comments folks - it has been a pleasure sharing this experience! I have just about come back down to earth after a week back in Lincolnshire, where I am glad to say spring is finally making some headway. On reflection, this really was a perfect butterflying trip. There was just ...

Many thanks Guy - very grateful for confirmation of onopordi!

Nick, you are absolutely correct that having local site information is very helpful, although it is quite possible to stumble upon interesting areas by chance. I always like to make trips like this with a bit of previous knowledge of one or two good sites, then spend some time exploring and seeking ...

Thanks Chris, it really is well worth a visit out there if you get chance! It is quite different to France, in that the density of butterflies in many areas is quite low, but it seems that when you do find butterflies, they are always of significant interest... I have to say though that I am quite j...

On Saturday 24th March I flew into Almeria airport, in the company of fellow enthusiast and good friend Bob Lambert, for a week of butterflying in Almeria and Granada provinces. Our main target species were several species of Pieridae, including the rare Spanish Greenish Black-tip, Desert Orange Tip...

Thanks for sharing that Roger. Fantastic quality footage, and a great selection of French butterfly species. I think I recognised at least one of the habitat locations...

This is a personal favourite of mine from this year - the serious photographers will slate this for its black background, but I like the way it captures a moment of "butterfly love" in the bottom of my Lincolnshire garden hedgerow this April...

Butterflies in their landscape definitely sounds good. How about "cryptic butterflies"as a category - i.e. photographs demonstrating the camouflage that some of our species can show? And maybe a category for mating pairs? Also, perhaps a category for aberrations? Just thinking out loud her...

A couple of shots from Lincolnshire's main Marsh Fritillary colony. A re-introduction to the Limewoods back in 1992 which has had great success and remains viable to this day.

Pete wrote Neil Hulme, Mark Colvin and others are using relatively-cheap equipment, and produce amazing images. Absolutely! And hats off to all who post the many stunning images on this website! Plus many congrats to the deserved winners of the competition, both this year and in previous years. I t...

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 o...

Had my best ever year with Large Blue in 2017, in the Dordogne. Three of my favourites below - just a stunningly beautiful butterfly with a fabulous history and lifestyle to match...