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On 23.8.21 at Chambers Farm Wood NNR in Lincolnshire I came across this female Speckled Wood displaying a very extreme example of what I believe to be ab. saturatior, almost deplete of markings. Fortunately Pete Smith and friend happened to be passing by, so I was not alone in witnessing this rare spectacle. Apart from the obvious size difference and manner of flight, it reminded me of the similarly unmarked White Admiral aberration I had witnessed in these same woods back in July, ab. obliterae.

Without doubt the most amazing Speckled Wood I've ever seen.

I still keep looking at my photos as well! It was such an extreme deviation from the normal pattern as to appear like a completely different new species. Even the Natural History Museum doesn't have an example quite as dramatic as this one - see https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/collecti ... a11e68f68e