Thank you M. I was lucky to get any shots worthy of putting on this site as the strong breeze played havoc with potentially good images.
That's really interesting to know Allan. I'm kicking myself that I only took the one snatched shot as I probably won't see another one!
Thank you Katrina - I don't think many photos actually do that species justice.
Thank you David. I believe Painted Lady will egg lay on wild mallow so I am wondering if I should check that monster mallow that has sprung up through the paving stones.
I didn't have enough time on the day to look around the whole of OWH so I returned to look at the other side. I was initially greeted by a very tatty Painted Lady which was enjoying the early morning sun and a more pristine looking one which was already clearly warmed up and which I could not get close to. A worn Green Hairstreak was egg-laying on Birds foot Trefoil but with limited time I did not stop to search for eggs:
There were even more Adonis flying there but the males were steadfastedly ignoring the females present. At one point I thought I might have found a potential mating pair as 2 males seemed to be in competition for another butterfly low down in the grass but it turned out to be another newly emerged male with meconium dripping from him. I have seen this behaviour before and presumably it is some sort of pheremone that gets the males excited. Sadly no more rare moths!!
(note meconium at bottom right)
Anyone hazard a guess at what is on the flower - I didn't even notice it when I took the shot?
On my way back I took my first shot at a Small Copper this season: