Last month, I visited Lawers Dam in the Grampian Mountians with my mate Nick, for a day stomping around a boggy hillside hunting for mountain ringlet, a species of butterfly that's only found high up above an altitude of 350m in the Scottish highlands and also down south in the Lake District. Having managed to find the remaining thirty three species of butterfly found in Scotland, the mountain ringlet was the last one I had to see. After a long drive, we spotted one very quickly and my butterfly hunting side quest was complete. I actually managed to see all thirty four this year and having enjoyed myself in the process, I've decided to extend my side quest to include the rest of the UK and have already made a start. Here are the final ten Scottish species as well as my first two new UK butterfly species.
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| Top row: Chequered Skipper. Dark Green Fritillary. Dingy Skipper. Large Heath. Middle row: Large Skipper. Marsh Fritillary. Mountain Ringlet. Purple Hairstreak*. Bottom Row: Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. White-letter Hairstreak*. High-brown Fritillary (ENG). Marbled White (ENG). |
This new extended side quest gives me over two dozen new targets to track down over the remainder of the summer months. I've already seen nine, most of them in the north of England, and a trip down to Cornwall next month might see me add one or two more before the season is over.
Scott.
*These photos were taken by my mate Nick. These two species typically spend most of their time at the top of oak and elm trees so getting a photo with my phone was impossible. While Nick used his camera I was happy enough watching them through a pair of binoculars. That said I'd like to see them up close if possible. Maybe next year.
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