Painted Lady

On the hottest day of the year I was out surveying railside land wearing orange nylon high-viz trousers, waistcoat and a hard hat. It was pleasant when we started at just after 7 a.m, but by 9 it was getting decidedly warm, and the temperature just kept shooting up. We'd planned to leave by about midday, but decided to brave the conditions and get the site finished in case the storms predicted for Friday actually materialised. By the time we left the site at 2 p.m. the car showed that the temperature was 34C! Phew!

The butterflies were enjoying the high temperatures - masses of common blues, gatekeepers and various whites as well as the occasional small copper and small heath. My favourite was this pristine painted lady, recently emerged from its chrysalis, the progeny of the small migration noted in May. It was taking advantage of a good crop of teasels to top-up on nectar. The background vegetation looks uncharacteristically green for July 2018 - this is a damp meadow with lots of fleabane and has survived the drought better than most.

As usual, I'm all behind with blipping, but the intensive fieldwork is over for a while, so I may soon get around to back-blipping the missing days! I  may also feel more enthused when the temperature drops as the heat is decidedly draining - in the evenings I keep falling asleep at the computer before I've had a chance to write anything!