Fri 17/06/17

A ringlet butterfly got into our conservatory today. They are a common species, but not in our back garden; I doubt if I have ever seen more than half a dozen in my life, so it was quite an event.

My wife pointed out a large moth, which she accurately identified as one of the yellow underwings in the jamb of the sliding door. I couldn’t photograph it unless I prodded it out into the open, in which case it would fly away, which is exactly what happened. It paused briefly on my arm though, with wings half-open, which gave me a chance at one single shot, which fortunately came out pretty well! This is the lesser yellow underwing; only slightly smaller than the large yellow underwing.

This little skipper butterfly turned up in the garden as well. The all-black tips of the antennae identify is as an Essex Skipper; the small skipper is extremely similar, but the underside of the antennae tips are orange.