I saw my first Painted lady of 2023 on 15 May and my last on 3 October which, when I look back over the past five years of my records, is about the usual date range. This year, here in south Wales, they were most numerous during September but this was not a year of large numbers – the last major Painted lady influx, according to my numbers, was 2019, when I was astonished to see over 50 of these beauties in one field at a local nature reserve. I miss the butterflies – of all species – when they disappear during the colder months and can’t wait to start seeing them again in 2024.