I'm pretty certain...

[eccles]

... that this is an essex. It was docile enough to climb onto my finger where I got a good look at the antennae tips, which were completely black. But the buff underside extends further towards the tip than I would have expected. Comments appreciated.

DSC00766.jpg (77.44 KiB) Viewed 430 times

This is the same individual

DSC00773.jpg (74.73 KiB) Viewed 430 times

Crop of the above

DSC00773crop.jpg (37.69 KiB) Viewed 430 times

Both taken with Sony A700 with Minolta 'Big Beercan' 75-300 zoom at 300mm. 1/250 f8 and 1/160 f8 iso200. Available light, hand held, pattern metering, image stabilisation on.

[Charles Nicol]

definitely an Essex Skipper... it looks well 'ard

charles

[eccles]

Thanks Charles. I found it in a patch of scrub and long grass very near where I live. I had a tentative visual sighting of a single individual at this location two years ago, then a positive photo last year, so it's nice to see at least one there again this year. The fact that it's a female is encouraging too. I shall have to get a GPS reading of the spot so I can notify the local environmental records office as there's marbled white there as well.