Annual 2022 Competition

[sensationalpeanut]

Queen of Spain fritillary taken in Warmer Kent 2022, A 10 year wish finally realised

[sensationalpeanut]

Pearl bordered fritillary Wyre forest 2022

[idwatts]

Female Brown Hairstreak, Hampshire.

Male Brown Hairstreak, Cumbria.

Green Hairstreak, Devon.

[sensationalpeanut]

White letter hairstreak Northamptonshire 2022

[Phil Bowler]

These are my choice from many photos taken this year (new camera!) I eventually narrowed it down to a handful and I chose these three because they each relate to a specific topic: sheer good luck in having incredible numbers of a migrant species almost on our doorstep, unusual camouflage, and a lovely habitat shot of a rare butterfly.

Clouded Yellow female helice form being serenaded by a disappointed male.

Unusual camouflage of a Small White amongst daffodils.

Pearl-bordered Fritillary in its North Yorks Moors habitat.

[Katrina]

Peacock from Herstmonceaux

[Hiker]

Marbled white, white-letter hairstreak and orange tip all photographed at Saltwells National Nature Reserve.

[Neil Hulme]

A mating pair of Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Rewell Wood 2022
Long-tailed Blue, Worthing beach 2022
An ovipositing Duke of Burgundy, Storrington Downs 2022

[SarahD]

Hello, first time on the forum and new to the group. Just discovered the competition and thought I would share 3 of my photos from this year. All taken with a lot of patience and with me often crawling through the undergrowth to get a close enough picture on my phone’s camera before the butterflies spot me

[Francis Kelly]

Francis Kelly

[Stevie Blunder]

Not often seen (by me) underside of Dingy Skipper. Rodborough Common Gloucestershire April 21st 2022. And colour co-ordinated male Silver-washed Fritillary. Forest of Dean Gloucestershire 4th July 2022.

[Stevie Blunder]

This is my 3rd entry. The rather plain looking butterfly is actually a White-letter Hairstreak! It's just been nabbed by a spider who must have stunned it somehow. They seem to be easy pray for the spiders hiding in the Hemp Agrimony. I've seen this before in previous years, but never seen the uperside wings before. Wye Valley AONB July 16th 2022

[overthepass]

Here are my three.

First is Heath Fritillary on common spotted orchid, from Blean Woods, Kent, June 2022.

Heath Fritillary

Second is White Admiral high up in bramble in evening light, from Bookham Common, Surrey, June 2022.

White Admiral

Third is a mating pair of Silver-spotted Skippers with a third looking on, from Denbies Hillside, Surrey, August 2022.

Silver-spotted Skippers

[Katrina]

Last two from me -Comma from Greenbank Garden and Silver-studded blue from Iping

[@Gonepteryxman]

Swallowtail, RSPB Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk, this year.

[@Gonepteryxman]

Peacock nectaring on blossom, Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve near Lowestoft, this year.

[@Gonepteryxman]

Silver-washed Fritillary briefly stopping to nectar on bramble blossom, RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk, this year.

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks to everyone who entered and congrats to Dave Miller, with his incredible shot of a pair of Brimstones in flight, with even the horizon in focus!

All winning entries can be seen here: https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/competi ... ?year=2022

Thanks to Vince Massimo, Ben Greenaway and Guy Padfield for helping with the incredibly difficult job of judging the entries, which gets more and more difficult each year it would seem with the diversity of submissions!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Neil Hulme]

Congratulations from me too, Dave; nobody was ever going to beat that quite incredible image. It just shows that you don't need the best kit in the world to capture the beauty of nature. That picture really does paint a thousand words.
Congratulations, also, to all the other winners and entrants. There were just so many great images to choose from this year, but I particularly liked Max Anderson's Adonis blizzard.
Many thanks to the judges for giving their time to perform such a difficult task.
BWs, Neil

[SarahM]

Congratulations on your well deserved win Dave, it's a cracking photograph!

Well done to all other top 10 entrants, there are some beautiful images there.

Best wishes,
Sarah.