Quite a few Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries on the wing on Dartmoor, Devon yesterday, just over a week earlier then I've ever seen them before,.Good start to the new Month, wonder what else will be early next, possibly Meadow Browns ?

Many thanks Allan, I thought it was but not certain

Searching for Grizzled Skippers yesterday at a site where they were once seen ,but now probably extinct I spotted this upside specimen nectaring and got a few snaps before it disappeared out of sight.I am pretty sure it was a Dingy Skipper but could be a moth, any ideas welcome.

Spotted my first Common Blue of 2025 yesterday down here in Devon, just the one on the wing but I think the earliest one I have ever seen Also a rather tatty Dingy Skipper that looked like it had been out and about for at least a week or more, once again a very early sighting for me,both species usu...

Warm ,sunny start to the day in Devon yesterday, lots of Vanessids active by Lunch time, then a nice surprise a fresh Large White settled on a Forget me Not flower As I pointed my camera towards it, flew off before I could press the shutter.But heart lifting to see my first Large White of 2025, I wi...

MARCH 3RD 2025 Spent the last few days searching for Vanessids in this non stop glorious Devon sunshine,without any luck, but had the surprise of my recent life today, a Small White flew past me down a Devon country Lane, never settled but I did video it going down the lane and then over into a farm...

My favourite photo of 2024 must be this image of a Black Hairstreak and a Hoverfly (I think its a Hoverfly ! ). This is my Favourite Photo of the year for two reasons.Firstly its the first Black Hairstreak I've ever seen and I had to travel up from Devon to Oxfordshire in June to search for them.It ...

Many thanks to all your interesting replies, but as Peter mentions I never thought to check them carefully in case any were Southern Small Whites.But basically there are so many, literally hundreds and I don't know I would be able to spot the difference of a SSW compared with our well know British S...

It seems that we have had a mass influx of Large and Small Whites from the Continent in Devon over the last few days I was astounded this Tuesday on my normal Coastal Path walk in looking for Clouded Yellows (which have been noticeably absent here this year) by hundreds of Whites everywhere along th...

First sighting of the second brood of Dingy Skippers spotted in Devon on Friday 9th August being a welcome appearance after a shocking wet ,grey, cool summer down here.

Got my first Brown Hairstreak of 2024 down here in Devon yesterday, but not sure if Male or Female as it did not open its wings before flitting off and not returning for full identification.But great to see one in the brief spells of sunshine we managed yesterday, like the return of a long lost frei...

Thanks David, I agree , one of the most stunning Purple Hairstreaks I have ever seen myself in 15 years of photographing them, I was quite in awe of its beauty and thought it should be posted here for others like yourself to admire.

At last a fine summers day down in Devon, warm and just a light breeze, and so went in search of Hairstreaks and Clouded Yellows but would welcome anything on the wing after the dismal start to July. I was rewarded with a lovely Purple Hairstreak and a couple of White Letter Hairstreaks,plus a very ...

Many thanks for that positive identification Guy,
I can now file it away in my collection as definate Helice,
your help is invaluable,
Dave.

The constant rain in Devon this month is driving me mad, hardly a dry full day worth going out butterflying, and even then strong winds and little sun so many stay indoors Butterfly days over the last few weeks of so called Summer of 2024. But staying indoors encouraged me to go through hundreds of ...

Thank you to both Millerd and Bugboy for your positive confirmation of a normal DGF female, and most interesting comments and comparisons.
Devon Dave.

Whilst chasing Dark Green Fritillaries this afternoon in a fern filled Dartmoor Valley, I noticed one that seemed darker and not so golden in flight down the path ahead of me.It alighted for a few seconds on a fern in the distance from my position.I zoomed in as much as I could and got one shot just...

Great June day down in Devon today, at last it felt like a normal sunny Summer Day. I was rewarded with a sighting of a pair of White-letter Hairstreaks mating, and then a GateKeeper landed very close to me, just settling long enough for a quick shot.All photos not to my normal standard as was tryin...

BLUES ARE OUT IN DEVON.
A rather late start this year ,but at last I saw my first Common Blue of 2024 at a local site in Devon yesterday.
Dingies on site were early and out for a few days now, its a spot where I got a Long Tailed Blue last Summer, so fingers crossed for another this year !

I am currently selling off the contents of my Parents home, as my mother has had to go into care at Christmas and my Father died several years ago. I had a customer arrive today to collect some garage items and we got talking Butterflies as he was a Beekeeper, but not a Butterfly man. He mentioned t...