Cheers, Kev - SSB are terrific, aren't they? There will be more of them down the line as I've visited a couple of other sites for them in recent days.
Thanks, Wurzel - I also like that shot you picked out, plus the last one as it was resting on something other than heather or gorse!
It's a good thing there is only one possible species in the UK, as there is a lot of variety between individuals in terms of width of black borders, marginal spots and presence/absence of the spot on the forewings. And variation in the light or not, some are definitely much bluer than others.
19th June was another rare day without a trip out of any sort, but I soon made up for that.
I had been invited down to see my old schoolfriend in Taunton for the weekend (I always seem to get an invite at this time of year, strangely...), but I headed out a day early on
Thursday 20th June, and by a circuitous route to Glastonbury, having booked a night in a hotel there. I was lucky to get a room, as it being the solstice the place was full of people planning to go up the Tor early the following morning. I had different plans of course.
My route took me down to Dorset, avoiding the other solstice traffic around Stonehenge, and taking into account that the weather forecast for the coast was markedly better than that inland. The first port of call was the National Trust car park at Corfe Castle (as recommended by Wurzel) and as soon as I stepped out of the car I spotted a Lulworth Skipper on the grassy bank up to the railway line.
There were quite a few more, in varying condition, plus a few Small Skippers (much brighter in colour), Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Small Heaths. The steepness of the slope made things tricky, but the butterflies compensated by posing beautifully.
First, a Small Skipper for comparison.
Now the Lulworths. The "sunburst" is particularly clear on fresh females, making them impossible to confuse with anything else.
A couple of the darker males, more olive in colour
More shots of female butterflies
It's a great little spot, and I believe there are also Lulworths up and around the castle as well, but I didn't investigate. It's a steep climb.
That was just the start of the day...
Dave