Butterflies galore!!

During the summer of 2015 I spent alot of time around Devon and Cornwall in fields, gardens, forests and coastal footpaths.Within this time I managed to photograph many different species of butterfly. I thought I would include them all in one post for you to see. Butterflies (lepidoptera) are an important indicator species which are used to identify diversity in an area and how well tha area is sustaining itself .’This is due to thier sensitivity to changes to their environment, see here for more details. So basiclly the more the merrier, and the more you see in a specific area the more likely you ll see a larger amount of other species of insects and plants which shows that area could be thriving. Anyway check out some of my pictures below from a few different locations. Some of the Butterflies are notthe best specimens and have damaged wings but I just wanted to record the different species that I had seen:

meadow-brown(Maniola-jurtina) — Here is a meadow brown butterfly (Maniola-jurtina) spotted in the Gardens of Mt. Edgecombe house in Cornwall.

Another Meadow Brown(Maniola-jurtina) spotted in a farmers field near Mevagissey in Cornwall.

A Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) butterfly spotted in a field of grass in Cornwall. Here you can see a distinct pattern of the underside of the wings.

Another Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) from the same field in Cornwall but displaying the vibrant blue of the topside of the wings.

A Gatekeeper (maniola tithonius) Butterfly sitting on a leaf in the gardens of Mt. Edgecombe.

A Marbled white (Melanargia galathea) Butterfly spotted feeding on a Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) on the Cliffs around Bantham beach in Devon.

A Painted lady(Vanessa cardui) spotted at Mt. Edgecombe botanical gardens.

A lovely Peacock (Nymphalis io) butterfly sitting on a Pink Hydrangea in the botanical gardens of Mt.Edgecombe

mtedgecumbe-(10) — A close up of a Peacock (Nymphalis io)

Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) — The open wings of a Red admiral Vanessa atalanta) taken at Mt. Edgecombe gardens.

The underside of a Speckled Wood(parage aegeria) hiding in a the tall grass of a field in Cornwall.

So many butterlfies found at Mt. Edgecombe due to the combination of surrounding fields and wild flowers and also the diverse amount of Flowers and plants in the gardens near the house. Here is a Ringlet(Aphantopus-hyperantus).

A Silver washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia) once again in the gardens of Mt.Edgecombe.

So thats ten different species I saw over the summer when I had my camera with me but I saw many more. Uk butterfly populations are dwindling (even the common ones!) So help out by recording your butterfly observations here at ispot which is a brilliant site in partner with the open universtiy, dedicated to recording sightings of nature. Thanks for reading and check back soon! Lu x

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