Here in Buckinghamshire, at the heart of the Chilterns we have a wide range of butterfly species, many of these rely on the precious chalk/calcareous grassland. This has to be maintained via regular scrub clearance to allow the wildflower species to thrive that the butterflies require.
As we all know this year has been rather catastrophic for butterflies with many species including the Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell, butterflies that we tend to encounter at this time of the year in our gardens, declining. Results from the Big Butterfly Count will be available soon to show a bigger picture on butterfly populations.
Red Admiral
Red Admiral
Small Tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell
Two species that have thrived in this wet summer are the Marbled White and the Ringlet.
Marbled White
Marbled White
Ringlet
We also have Brown Argus butterflies, these are amazing and look silver when they fly:
Brown Argus
We also have some vibrant Small Coppers
Small Copper
Small Copper
Common Blues are also around this time of year:
Common Blue
Commas are also amazing butterflies with amazing jagged wings:
Comma
A rarer species we get here is the Dingy Skipper
Dingy Skipper
A common butterfly in the countryside is the Gatekeeper, although common they are great little butterflies
Gatekeeper
Skippers are one of my favorite types of butterfly, I am yet to find a Essex Skipper but we get small and large skippers here:
Large Skipper
Small Skipper
Another one of my favourite butterflies is the Small Heath due to their flighty nature and the fact that they keep their wings locked shut constantly
Small Heath
My final butterfly of this blog is the Speckled Wood, a butterfly of woodland clearings, also rather unique
Speckled Wood
