L is for lepidopteran lifers

17 Wednesday Dec 2025

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British butterflies, British skippers, butterfly, Isle of Portland butterflies, Lulworth skipper, Plebejus argus, Silver-studded blue, summer butterflies, Thymelicus acteon, Tout Quarry

The 11th of June was a red letter day for Lepidoptera! I was enjoying a mini break In the Dorset seaside town of Weymouth and had caught the bus to the Isle of Portland to look for butterflies in the unique habitat of Portland’s former stone quarries. I was specifically hoping to see my first Lulworth skippers, and I did (Lifer: Lulworth skipper, 16 June).

I was not expecting to see a second lepidopteran lifer that day, but I did, my first ever Silver-studded blue butterflies (Lifer: Silver-studded blue, 14 June). It was the stuff my dreams are made of!

Adonis blues

11 Monday Aug 2025

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Adonis blue, blue butterflies, British butterflies, butterflies in Tout Quarry, butterflies on the Isle of Portland, butterfly, Dorset butterflies, Isle of Portland butterflies, Polyommatus bellargus

In classical antiquity, Adonis was celebrated as the epitome of male beauty. I presume, when writing in his publication British Butterflies in 1860, W. S. Coleman named this striking butterfly the Adonis blue, he considered it was the epitome of male beauty in the world of British butterflies. Though lacking the elaborate patterning of many British butterflies, the sheer brilliance of the colour of the male Adonis blue (Polyommatus bellargus) is breathtaking.

Fortunately for me, this butterfly has two broods each year so, though I missed the first in May-June, I timed my visit to Weymouth perfectly for the very start of the emergence of the second brood in August-September. I only managed to see two males, no females (which have chocolate brown upper wings, tinged with varying amounts of blue) but, as these sightings were only the third time I’d seen any Adonis blues, I was very happy indeed!

Chalkhill blues

08 Friday Aug 2025

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British butterflies, Butterflies in King Barrow Quarry, butterflies in Tout Quarry, butterfly, butterflying on Portland, Chalkhill blue, King Barrow Quarry, Portland butterflies, Portland's quarries, Tout Quarry

It was six years since I’d last seen a Chalkhill blue so it probably comes as no surprise that I took rather a lot of photographs of these gorgeous butterflies during my two visits to Tout and King Barrow Quarries on the Isle of Portland, in Dorset, last week.

I decided it would be easier to share the best of these in the form of a video slideshow, and I’ve also included a few photos of the quarries to provide context and give an indication of the habitat in which these butterflies thrive. Tout Quarry has the added benefit of being an open air sculpture park, so it’s very easy to spend many hours there, delighting in both the natural beauty of the butterflies and the creativity of the sculptors.

Wall butterfly

06 Wednesday Aug 2025

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British butterflies, butterfly, Dorset butterflies, King Barrow Quarry, Portland butterflies, Tout Quarry, Wall, Wall brown, Wall butterfly

Wall seems such a bland name for this stunning butterfly, though the name does describe where it’s often to be found, sitting on a stone wall – or just a large boulder, soaking in the sunshine.

The UK Butterflies website gives a list of all the different names our butterflies have been given over the years; the Wall started out as the ‘Golden Marbled Butterfly, with Black Eyes’ – a bit of a mouthful but wonderfully descriptive, has been the ‘Great Argus’ and the ‘Orange Argus’, and also ‘Wall Brown’, a name many people still use.

I found my first Walls in six years in the quarries on the Isle of Portland last week, at Broadcroft Quarry Butterfly Reserve (which was actually quite a disappointing location as it is very overgrown and so not the ideal habitat for most butterflies), at King Barrow and Tout Quarries (both excellent).

Though it was once found at sites throughout Britain, the Wall has suffered a severe decline in population in recent decades, and is now restricted mostly to coastal locations. In Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies, author Peter Eeles explains that this seems to be due to the changing climate. The warmer summer and autumn temperatures can encourage the butterfly to attempt to breed a third generation, which subsequently fails to mature before the weather turns colder.

Sunshine in a butterfly

04 Monday Aug 2025

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British butterflies, butterfly, Clouded yellow, Colias croceus, Dorset butterflies, migrating butterflies, RSPB Lodmoor

I’ve been away for another mini break, staying once again in Weymouth, on Dorset’s south coast, for four nights, spending my three and a half days surrounded by birds and butterflies (also crowds of summertime beach visitors, though, fortunately for me, most of them weren’t in Weymouth for the same kind of wildlife as I was). With cool winds and lengthy spells of drizzle, the weather wasn’t as good as during my visit in early June, but I saw lots of lovely creatures that I will share with you over the coming week.

First up today is the first of four new-for-2025 butterfly species I saw, this gorgeous Clouded yellow (Colias croceus), a butterfly I don’t see in south Wales every year as they’re migrants from Europe and their appearance on our shores depends a lot on weather and wind direction and how their population is faring. This sighting was particularly welcome, as I had spent Tuesday morning wandering around the RSPB’s Radipole reserve in almost constant drizzle, then headed for an afternoon wander around RSPB Lodmoor. This little drop of sunshine fluttered up right in front of me when I got to Lodmoor, a sign of the lovely afternoon to follow.

Glorious Graylings

16 Wednesday Jul 2025

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Aberbargoed coal tip, Aberbargoed spoil tip, British butterflies, butterfly, endangered butterfly, endangered Grayling, Grayling, Grayling butterfly

Last Tuesday’s walk was strenuous but the result of my efforts was magical!

As I try to do around this time every year, I caught a train up to Bargoed, then trudged down to the River Rhymney, up the steep slope on the other side to Aberbargoed, then up the even steeper hill that is the former colliery spoil tip.

Why? Because this is the closest and most accessible location I know where I might find Grayling butterflies.

And, yes, as you can clearly see from the extravagance of photographs in this post, my quest was successful.

In fact, I saw more Graylings this year than in any previous year, and they were also more widely spread across the site than I have seen previously.

The national population of Graylings has plummeted in recent decades and they are now officially classified as an endangered species, so their abundance was particularly heartening to see.

It may be that this year’s warm weather suits them, though I think it is likely also to be at least one of the reasons they have dispersed more widely across the tip; the heat means plants are not producing as much nectar so the butterflies have to fly further to find food.

That did mean I was able to photograph these glorious Graylings on a variety of wildflowers and in settings other than them simply sitting on the coal spoil, which made my time spent amongst them even more special.

Roaming Rodborough Common

11 Friday Jul 2025

Posted by sconzani in insects, walks

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British butterflies, butterfly, Common blue, Dark Green Fritillary, Gloucestershire butterflies, Marbled white, Rodborough Common, Silver-washed fritillary, Small heath

On my last full day in Gloucestershire I caught the train to Stroud and spent several hours roaming around Rodborough Common, another hot spot for butterflies and a location with stunning views over the beautiful surrounding hills and valleys of the Cotswolds.

And here they were again, those gorgeous flying black-and-white chequerboards, the Marbled whites. After Tuesday’s remarkable butterfly numbers, I already had more than enough photos of Marbled whites but, as any photographer knows, you can always do better, so I couldn’t resist taking more images.

Though the top plateau of the Common is relatively flat, the hillsides are steep and criss-crossed with narrow paths, for use by people and the cattle that help to maintain the grassland habitat.

This was a 15-butterfly-species day, with many of the more common butterflies I see in other locations. This Small heath posed very prettily for me. And the sight of the blue caused a slight heart flutter, as the very rare Large blues have been re-introduced and are thriving here, and there was a slight chance I might see one. However, my sighting was of a Common blue; it was the end of the season for Large blues and I understand they are more likely to be seen on neighbouring Minchinhampton Common, so an earlier visit to this location is already on the list for next year.

Fortunately, a refreshing breeze was blowing across the Common so my choice of this bench for a lunch stop was just perfect.

Prior to my visit, a fellow butterfly enthusiast I follow on social media had posted of his sighting of singles of Dark green fritillary and Silver-washed fritillary, and had kindly given me details of where I might look for them. And I was lucky – I also saw singles of these two beauties.

And then it was time to walk back down the hill and in to Stroud to catch the train back to Cheltenham. What a fabulous day to end the fabulous three days of my mini break!

A day in Tiddesley Wood

10 Thursday Jul 2025

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British butterflies, Brown argus, butterflies in Tiddesley Wood, butterfly, Painted Lady, Silver-washed fritillary, Tiddesley Wood, White admiral, Worcestershire butterflies

My main aim for my little trip to Cheltenham was to try to see my first ever Purple emperor butterfly: I failed. Yet, in spite of that failure, and the late afternoon train chaos (caused by a fault at Birmingham New Street station) that meant I arrived back at my guest house almost two hours later than planned, I had the most wonderful day in Tiddesley Wood in Worcestershire.

The reason this was such a wonderful day was the sheer abundance of butterflies I saw in this woodland, an abundance that has been very sadly lacking in recent years at the various locations I visit in south Wales. The first treat was getting very good views of several White admirals as they were gliding along the woodland rides. (The previous week I’d been to Slade Wood, in Gwent, the only local place I can find this species and seen two, but only distantly and fleetingly.)

The second source of delight was the profusion of Silver-washed fritillaries living in the wood. These are big showy butterflies, the largest of Britain’s fritillaries, and they thrive in the wide wildflower-filled rides of woodlands like Tiddesley. The only location where I’d ever seen such a large quantity before was on a visit to Lower Woods Nature Reserve in south Gloucestershire back in 2019 so I was in butterfly heaven watching them at Tiddesley.

And then there were the ‘ordinary’ butterflies, like this handsome little Brown argus, a gang of which were patrolling small territories along the edges of the rides.

And this stunning Painted lady that flew right to my feet, as if to insist that it was also worthy of a photograph. I was happy to oblige.

For those interested, the total butterfly species list for the day was 19. They were: Ringlet, Meadow brown, Speckled wood, Gatekeeper, Small skipper, Large skipper, Brown argus, Small white, Large white, Green-veined white, Marbled white, Brimstone, Red admiral, Comma, Peacock, Small copper, Painted lady, White admiral, and Silver-washed fritillary. I may have missed out on seeing my first Purple emperor but I headed home smiling after a magical day in the woods.

An exuberance of Marbled whites

08 Tuesday Jul 2025

Posted by sconzani in insects, walks

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British butterflies, butterfly, Charlton Kings Common, Leckhampton Hill, Marbled white

The first full day of last week’s mini break, based in Cheltenham, was forecast to be the hottest day of the year so far so, rather than catch a train to one of the nearby locations I was planning to visit, I decided to stay in the Cheltenham area. I still ended up red-faced and sweaty after a six-hour eight-mile walk up and down and around Leckhampton Hill and Charlton Kings Common but what a fabulous day it was! As well as 13 other species of butterfly, I saw more Marbled whites than I’ve ever seen in my life before. I stopped counting at 50; they were everywhere, especially on the Knapweed flowers, which seemed to be their favourite nectar source.

As I didn’t take many landscape photos during this walk, I’ve included in my little slide show a few images from the last time I walked this way, in early June 2023, just to show you something of this beautiful place. You can see how much browner everything is this year after all our hot weather and with little rain to water the plants. It was a magical day!

The Gatekeeper and the Painted lady

04 Friday Jul 2025

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British butterflies, butterfly, Essex skipper, Gatekeeper, Painted Lady, Silver-washed fritillary, White-letter hairstreak

During the three days from to 25 to 28 June I saw six new species of butterfly: Gatekeeper, White-letter hairstreak, Essex skipper, White admiral, Silver-washed fritillary and Painted lady. Seeing so many in such a short time was an amazing experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent watching each and every one of them.

Disappointingly, the only ones I can show you reasonable images of are the Gatekeeper (above) and the Painted lady (below).

The other species were either flitting around high in the tree tops (White-letter hairstreak), paused for the briefest of moments on some flowers before disappearing in to the farm field behind (Essex skipper), weren’t stopping for a moment in their endless quest for a female (a Silver-washed fritillary exits stage left), or weren’t stopping at all ever (not even a blurry photo of the two White admirals I saw).