Finding new butterflies

UPDATE: July 2022 – Have now added Small Blue and White Admiral to my list as well as getting better photos of the various hairstreaks and Clouded Yellow.

A couple of Clouded Yellow
A couple of Clouded Yellow

UPDATE: 17 Jun 2022 – A butterfly I’d first seen at Overhall Grove, the White-letter Hairstreak, and which pushed me down this finding new butterflies path, seems to have turned up in numbers at nearby Manor Farm Wood, I counted more than a dozen and got a poor-quality photo of one of them.

White-letter Hairstreak
White-letter Hairstreak

UPDATE: 15 Jun 2022 – Added Eurasian White Admiral to my list at Brampton Wood near Huntingdon.

In 2021, I met a couple twitching a butterfly, the White-letter Hairstreak, who told me about other sites I might visit to see other butterflies I’d not seen before. So, last season, I added five species to my “list”. In 2022, I’ve been keeping an eye on various sources in the hope of finding more.

As of the end of May, I’ve added Wall, Adonis Blue, Black Hairstreak, and Grizzled Skipper to my list. More details and photos on my Instagram as well as my main website – sciencebase.com

Adonis Blue
Adonis Blue
Black Hairstreak
Black Hairstreak
Grizzled Skipper
Grizzled Skipper
Wall Brown
Wall Brown

I have several more I think I have a chance of seeing locally this season: White Admiral, Small Blue, Chequered Skipper (reintroduction site), Dingy Skipper, and perhaps even other fritillaries if we head slightly farther afield. If we head up North again, there’s Large Heath to tick too.