Purple Hairstreak. Photo: Mark Pike
White Admiral. Photo: Mark Pike
Two photos from Mark sent in telling us:
Plenty on the wing at Piddles Wood this afternoon, 08/06/2026 including Red and White Admirals and this nice fresh Purple Hairstreak basking on a fern, would have been churlish not to take its picture!
Common Blue. Photo: Mark Pike
Peacock Butterfly Larvae. Photo: Mark Pike
Two photos from Mark sent in saying:
A mass of Peacock larvae on a stinging nettle and a perfectly fresh Common Blue at Motcombe Meadows yesterday morning, 05/06/2026 before the cloud rolled in once again.
Blood -vein. Photo: Mark Pike
Forester. Photo: Mark Pike
Mark spent some time in Motcombe Meadows on 29/05/26 and photographed this beautifully backlit Blood-vein and one of at least 21 Foresters present.
The Foresters can appear a metallic green or blue according to the way the light catches them.
Large Skipper. Photo: Mark Pike
Meadow Brown. Photo: Mark Pike
Two more photos of butterflies in pristine condition from Mark, both taken on his visit to Motcombe Meadows on 29/05/2026.
Small Tortoiseshell. Photo: Mark Pike
Painted Lady. Photo: Mark Pike
Two photos from Mark sent in saying:
A quick couple of hours in the meadows today, 29/05/2026 found some very fresh species, all common stuff, but these examples were absolutely perfect.
Scorched Wing. Photo: Mark Pike
Buff Tip . Photo: Mark Pike
Two more from Mark’s Motcombe trap on 26/05/26.
The wonderfully named Scorched Wing (it’s ok really)
and the one that resembles a broken twig, a Buff Tip.
Marsh Fritillary. Photo: Mark Pike
Marsh Fritillary. Photo: Mark Pike
Two more photos from Mark taken at Lydlinch Common yesterday, 04/05/2026. He told us the intermittent cloud and cool temperature helped with producing these drowsy Marsh Fritillaries – he saw a total of 7 of them in total.
Orange Tip. Photo: Mark Pike
Orange Tip. Photo: Mark Pike
Two photos from Mark sent in telling us:
More Orange Tips I’m afraid, but photographic conditions were just about right in Motcombe Meadows this afternoon, 20/04/2026 with more or less equal amounts of sunshine and cloud. The butterflies have a habit of vanishing when the cloud appears but a careful search will often find them inactive in some excellent positions.
Orange Tip. Photo: Mark Pike
Orange Tip. Photo: Mark Pike
Mark sent in these two photos of nice fresh Orange Tips he saw among the Blackthorn flowers at Motcombe Meadows yesterday, 02/04/2026.
Peacock (1). Photo: Mark Pike
Peacock (2). Photo: Mark Pike
Two photos from Mark sent in telling us:
Although I had hung up my butterfly boots for this year I came across these two excellent Peacock’s yesterday, 08/11/2025.
Peacock (1) was kind enough to land on a gorse bush right in front of me on Middlebere Heath, near Corfe Castle and Peacock (2) did the same about an hour later, this time amongst lichen on Hartland Moor, about a mile or so distant as the crow (butterfly) flies. Both were pretty fresh.