www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

After thumbing through a bug book I'm almost certain these are six spot burnets but could somebody confirm it please as I can only count five spots on the wings?


Cheers
Dave

thats because they are 5 spot Burnets

Both 6 and 5 spot look almost identical, except for number of spots.

Can anyone tell me the difference between five spot and narrow bordered five spot burnets?

Thanks roundwood123, for the correct identification.
Regarding the five spot, I read the following info on UK moths “They are locally distributed in South-west England and Wales, and occupy damp meadows, marshes and sea cliffs. Flies during the day in July and August.”
I saw these on a chalk hillside near Hemel Hempstead in June. There were hundreds of them. They appear to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Cheers
Dave

...or are they Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnets? Identifying the five-spotted species correctly can often be tricky.

Edit: Missed the post by eccles totally...

Wont help much, but:

Narrow Borderd 5-spot burnet: 30-46 mm.
It occupies grassland, chalk downland and sea-cliffs, and the larval foodplants are such low plants as clover (Trifolium) and vetch (Lathyrus).

The adults fly in the daytime, visiting various flowers, and are on the wing in June and July.

5-Spot Burnet: 28-33 mm. (Slightly smaller than previous)
Flies during the day in July and August. The larvae feed on bird's-foot trefoils (Lotus spp.).

Apart from looks (which look very similar in each species) does this help?

I've asked Alan Kimber from UK moths and he replied:

"I'd say these are most likely Narrow-bordered, mainly from a distribution point of view. Five-spot is generally a south and south-western species, and rather more coastal in habitat preferences. It's not possible to identify them by appearance alone, but Narrow-bordered is much more common and widespread and more often seen nectaring in large numbers like this"

Cheers
Dave