…well, some of them have. With the much talked about decline in pollinator numbers I have been getting concerned about the dearth of butterflies recently. I had hoped that with the warm sunshine we had in June that there would be a bumper year this year – sadly I was sooo wrong.
However, it is now buddleia flowering time and my hopes are starting to rise again. Earlier in the week there were a few white butterflies about, and I got excited when I saw my first Peacock of the summer. Today, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and I should have been doing some coursework, but, the sun was shining etc. I managed to count up to 10 peacock butterflies at the same time – there may have been more, but I can only see part of the shrub. I also saw four whites over the back garden, a small tortoiseshell in the front and back (although it could be the same one), a gatekeeper and, for the first time in the garden this year, I a saw a comma butterfly – see the picture on the left – so called because of the white, comma-shaped mark on the underside of its wing. As yet, no Red Admirals or Painted Ladies, but we are only just starting the second week of August and the admirals tend to hang about until October / November.
Peacock butterfly picture below is just because it is such a gorgeous creature that I had to include it!
