Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

We coped with the cleaning of the Lodge to "Safer stay" standards and methodology far more easily than I was expecting.  We must be getting practiced at things.  So we were home by late afternoon.

Having formed a support bubble with "The Mate" we had invited him over for a meal.  The afternoon and evening turned out weatherwise to be the best part of the day.  We were sitting on the patio enjoying a preprandial drink when he pointed out butterflies on one of our Buddleia.  We have seen very few butterflies this year.  

With the "Get Cumbria Buzzing" requiring photos to go with reports of pollinators I took some shots.  All the butterflies were Small Tortoiseshells.   Interestingly the Large Tortoiseshell has been seen in fair numbers in Eastern counties, previously it was thought extinct in the UK.