Lathyrus Odoratus

By lathyrus

Changing identity

It was so cold and windy today that I wasn't expecting to see any butterflies. This Small Heath sheltering in the grass was a surprise. Its a butterfly with a long history of name changes. Originally called the Small Heath (Pettiver, 1695) it became the Golden Eye Heath in the 18th century, then the Little Gatekeeper and the Small Argus. In the 19th century it was the Golden Eye and then the Least Meadow Brown, before reverting back to the Small Heath. In France its known as 'Le Fadet Commun' (I have no idea why).

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