Small tortoiseshell

Today's the day ………………………. to stay in the shade
 
Despite all the sunshine we've been having recently, for some unknown reason, there have been very few butterflies in our garden - well apart from cabbage whites.
 
As far as I know, butterflies are 'cold-blooded' creatures which means that they don't generate enough heat from their own metabolism to provide them with the heat and energy they need to fly. So therefore, they rely on heat absorbed from the sun.  More than that though, according to recent studies in China and Japan, not only do they need sunlight, they make better use of it than anything we can make.  It has been discovered that the wings of butterflies have better photoelectric properties than our best solar cells. This, they conclude, allows butterflies to fly at colder or, higher altitudes than normal.
 
This one here, however, was all on its own resting in the shade on the greenhouse window frame.  Maybe, like some of us, it has been finding all this sunshine just a bit too much …………………….