A decent day for butterflies today. Plenty of large and small whites, the large whites being exceptionally large. Perhaps the high rainfall? Really good numbers of clouded yellows. Speckled woods and lots of freshly emerged Spanish gatekeepers looking velvety and Erebia-like. Strange to see gatekee...

Well done Pete. Great read. Not sure what to make of Europe’s weather for this season. Here in Malaga we have seen 48 days of rain in the last 50. Not rain all day of course. It’s difficult to plan anything because there is no guarantee of sun. Perhaps Roger can give an update on France

Doesn’t matter how many different species I may see this year , You can’t beat a peacock on spring blossom to lift the spirits

a lovely read Pete ! well done on your two lifers Charles Thanks Charles. Those lifers are getting harder and harder to come by these days! Well done Pete and thanks for a great read! It might have been hard going, but it’s all good experience and just adds to your overall knowledge of European but...

Memorable moments were tricky last year. Seeing most of my butterflies in the right place but the wrong time. Spring proved to be prolonged so plenty of time to catch up with the first to show. Provence Orange tip always start my year and bolster my enthusiasm

Forgot to name the above as Painted Lady Vanessa cardui and Langs Short Tailed Blue Leptotes pirithous. Both looking remarkably fresh. A Spanish Festoon caterpillar photobombed the blue

DSC01966.jpeg DSC01930.jpeg My last two butterflies of the year in Malaga today. Fewer species and individuals this December due to, I suspect, the much needed rain in the final quarter of the year. Spanish Festoon Zerynthia rumina is usually the most common species here in Dec/Jan. Not this year t...

Another from Spain. This was in Tarifa in September

Trying not to look at it in one evening. I need to try to prolong it at least through December. Lovely photos Pete.

This took my eye on a dull day in the Italian Alps this spring

Great pictures, Pete. I've spent time further south in the Western Ghats and seen a very similar range of butterflies. I spent a lot of time looking at the blues and so far as I'm concerned, you've identified them correctly! My first gram blue was a female, very like yours, in a very similar contex...

A similar image to Julian’s. These were in the Picos though in the North of Spain in July

This Red Admiral has been flying around outside my office in London for the last two days

I can’t say that I actively look for butterflies in November but this will definitely be my latest .

I usually begin trawling through my previous summers Skipper images in the Autumn and assign them pretty quickly to serratulae. I then spend the winter trying to reassign them to a species I would rather they were . By spring they are returned to the serratulae file . I am not aware of any populatio...

A little update I have put together showing Wall Brown sighting records for Essex during 2024 - locations only. I have also added the Clouded Yellow sightings as these occurred mostly whilst I was searching for new Wall colonies. Happy accidents, if you like. Hopefully you find it interesting. It a...

IMG_8667.jpeg In a season where positive news is at a premium, it is nice to see what appears to be the permanent recolonisation of Rainham marshes for Wall brown. With only 1-2 sightings a year over the previous 10 years , multiple sightings this year have hopes raised. This one appeared before th...

I only have experience of nostrodamus in Spain . Given the variability in both species I still find that nostrodamus gives the impression of being longer . I have never seen both species together though

And here is another before the debate starts. I took this in Athens this spring. I have it as pumilio but happy to learn why it may not be