On visiting Kenfig Nature Reserve I was excited at having photographed what I thought was either a Dark Green or High Brown Fritillary.  These large and powerful butterflies can be seen flying rapidly in a range of open sunny habitats. The... Read More

While most people visit Spain in July/August, I prefer to go in May when the countryside is dappled with wild flowers and temperatures are pleasantly warm but not excessively hot. There are less people, which frankly is a blessing to the... Read More

The results of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme showed worrying declines for many species, including the Grizzled Skipper, which had its worst ever year (down 54% since 1976). It was therefore with some sense of apprehension that I set out... Read More

Remembering my elementary school art lessons, I fondly recall the use of the complementary colours, such as blue and orange. Such colour theory taught me that complementary colours were found by looking at the circumference of the colour wheel and... Read More

JUNE IS A GREAT MONTH FOR BUTTERFLIES with up to 54 species on the wing (a significant increase from the 35 species that can be seen in May). The bittersweet irony was that during June, work commitments meant that I... Read More

SPRING HAS ARRIVED and many butterflies (up to 35 species) are on the wing! It is at this time of year than many specialist species occur, such as the Grizzled Skipper.  I had the privilege of seeing this chunky, plucky and totally... Read More

The first butterfly sightings of 2017 have been recorded by Butterfly Conservation. Butterflies reported were all seen outside, active and not in hibernation. The earliest recording was of a Red Admiral – Vanessa atalanta – on 1st Jan (Sussex), followed by... Read More

It’s October and summer’s bounty of insects seems to be a fading memory, as if hiding behind the autumn mist that tenaciously clings onto the distant hills. To my relief, there are still the bees, butterflies, hoverflies and wasps that... Read More

On the 26th May, I set out on my motorbike, with rucksack full of camera gear precariously balanced on my back, to Merthyr Mawr. My journey, or rather quest, was to search for the Grizzled Skipper. Grizzled Skippers are tiny... Read More