Thursday was a special day. I met my very first Duke … Duke of Burgundy butterfly, that is. The Duke (Hamearis lucina) was once thought to be a species of fritillary but the UK Butterflies website explains: ‘This is the only European representative of a family known as “Metalmarks”, evidenced by the distinctive clear cut band of white marks running parallel down the underwing.’

The Duke is not present in Wales; I found this little beauty at Charlton King’s Common, just outside Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire. And he was little (something I hadn’t really registered, despite reading about him before my search), about the same size as the Dingy skippers and Small heath butterflies that were flitting about nearby. I only managed to get a few quick photos before the Duke flitted off, and I couldn’t find him again. I’m already planning to visit the site again next year, but a week or two earlier, when these handsome little butterflies should be more abundant; I’d left my visit a little late and was very lucky to see even one.