fly on the wall

...we had to spend most of the day in Dorchester so, as the forecast was for a wet afternoon/evening, I took a quick stroll in the Durlston meadows before we set off. The wind was even stronger than it had been earlier in the week and I only managed some shots of a Large Skipper. When we got back from Dorchester, we were delighted to discover that the weather was far better than forecast, so we took a longer walk through the meadows.

My target species was the Wall Brown Lasiommata megera. I have been particularly concerned as I have not seen one all summer. Consequently, I didn't hold much hope. It was still windy but one of the footpaths is an ancient track that runs between two drystone walls that have become overgrown by blackthorn and ivy and which provides a modicum of shelter. There were several Speckled Woods and then, suddenly, a Wall. It settled on a patch of drystone wall but, just as I was poised to take a shot, some walkers spooked it. We followed it down the path and were delighted when another male leapt out and started fighting with it. We had to watch, follow, and wait patiently for one of them to settle again and, even then, it chose a stone that was already occupied by a very territorial Flesh-fly. Every now and again, the fly would dart over and the butterfly would leave only to return.

None of the six frames I captured were perfect but I was simply delighted to have achieved what I set out to achieve. What interests me is that, by the damage on his wings, this is by no means a recently emerged example, so where have they been hiding?

In addition to the Wall, I got lots more Common and Small Blue images...