Butterflies

The female Ringlet lays her eggs by dropping them from mid-air, onto the undergrowth below.

It is thought that the word ‘butterfly’ is derived from ‘butter-coloured fly’, in reference to the yellow colour of the upperwings, of the male Brimstone.

The Green Veined White is one of the most widespread species found in Britian and can be found almost everywhere.

The Large Skipper is one of the largest of our ‘golden’ Skippers.

The male Common Blue butterfly is blue with a brown underside with orange and white-fringed black spots.

Easily identified by the double white spot on the forewing that is usually present. Male and female Gatekeeper butterflies look very similar.

Very common and often seen in flight or resting with wings closed where the single spot on an orange background on the underside of the forewing is an easy identifier.

The Small Copper is a less seen butterfly in the area but a few can be seen each year.

The Small Skipper really is tiny and it’s typical “Skipper” wing formation leads some to believe it is a moth.

The green underside of this butterfly can make it quite difficult to spot when resting. It has a chocolate-brown upperside, which is rarely seen when at rest.

The Orange-Tip male butterfly is unmistakeable, but the female can be mistaken for other white butterflies, unless the mottled underside is on show.

Painted Lady butterflies are visitors to Britain each year, arriving in large numbers in late summer.

The Peacock butterfly cannot be mistaken for any other, with spectacular eyes on the upperside of the hind wings.

This butterfly is easily identified with its velvet black wings intersected by striking orangey-red bands.

The Small Tortoiseshell is amongst the most well known British butterflies.

The Comma butterfly gets its name from the white marking on its underside, which looks like a comma.

The Wall butterfly is named after its habit of basking on walls, stones and rocks.

As its name suggests, the Speckled Wood can found in dappled shade of woodlands.