Thanks, David - fresh male Chalkhills are lovely insects and there is infinite variety. No two are the same, and its no wonder the Victorians amassed large collections of them displaying every nuance imaginable.
It was a great little visit to Arnside, Wurzel, one of my favourite places even if the butterflies weren't quite so good there. However, the range of species there is amazing considering its northerly location, and seeing both NBA and HBF on the same day is a real highpoint of the year. The HBF was a corker too, with just the small tear on one hindwing and kind enough to pose for the underside shots with its good side toward me!
Thursday 18th July started wet, but by lunchtime it was very warm and muggy with some sunshine breaking through. I decided to undertake one of my periodic counts on my local patch, but inevitably there were photos as well. I counted 337 butterflies of 18 different species over around three and a half hours:
Gatekeeper 91
After a mediocre season in 2018, they are doing extremely well this year.
Small White 63
Ubiquitous today.
![SW1 180719.JPG (2.03 MiB) Viewed 1339 times a very dusky underside](./files/thumb_9839_43e853ac77620110f2218c2e2febc7db)
- a very dusky underside
Meadow Brown 60
Numbers waning slightly now.
Peacock 32
An unusually large emergence this year, and some territorial behaviour seen too.
Essex Skipper 15
Small Skipper 11
An estimate - but of those counted, there was a definite majority of Essex.
Red Admiral 11
A steady inclease in numbers now.
Brown Argus 11
The second brood is well underway, with some nice new examples.
Comma 9
It seems to be a very average year for this species. Both summer and winter forms are around.
Holly Blue 7
New second brood males are appearing, and many of them are headed straight for muddy patches to take minerals.
Large White 6
A poor year so far around here, but I did find a mating pair today.
Speckled Wood 6
Another common species that has been thin on the ground - this is the highest count this year.
Small Heath 5
It is between broods at the moment.
GVW 4
Very few amongst the many Small Whites.
Common Blue 3
The second brood is just appearing.
Small Tortoiseshell 1
Once again, just a singleton.
Brimstone 1
Never seen in any numbers in the summer here, despite their reliably good showing each spring.
Ringlet 1
Another singleton only - curiously never common on my local patch.
Dave