UK Butterflies is a community website providing comprehensive information on all butterfly species in Britain & Ireland. Posts by Pete Eeles. https://linktr.ee/ukbutterflieshttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mudg22ni522qAnother foodplant first! This time, of Holly Blue using Kidney Vetch as a larval foodplant, with an egg followed through to final instar larva by Maggie Zebroski. This is, I believe, the first record of the use of Kidney Vetch, not just for the UK, but for the whole of Europe! Well done Maggie!30 Aug 2026 22:13 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mudg22ni522qhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mtr56nbavc2oWell done Naomi Addleton on finding a Holly Blue larva feeding on Erica cinerea (Bell Heather) in the New Forest. This is the first record of the use of this foodplant in the UK. Just look how pink the larva is - perfectly matching the plant! And a Lasius ant to boot!23 Aug 2026 15:47 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtr56nbavc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mt5iqhkvhk26Monk Sherborne is just 10 miles from my house, so no excuse for not seeking out the Queen of Spain Fritillary there. I see this species every year in Europe when guiding for @greenwingstours.bsky.social, but seeing them on my local patch was special. And it was great to put lots of faces to names!15 Aug 2026 20:20 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt5iqhkvhk26https://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mqaejqzfok22Good grief! What an amazing sight! [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Jul 2026 19:28 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqaejqzfok22https://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mq55gh46i223White Admiral seems to have had a good egg lay at Kintbury Chase in West Berkshire, with 6 eggs and 25 caterpillars found in the space of 2 hours this morning. I do love those little 'hairy golf balls'!08 Jul 2026 12:42 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq55gh46i223https://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3moxqpiw4gc2rJust wow! More from the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour. We revisited a mating pair of Apollo early this morning to observe the development of the sphragis - a wax-like mating plug that the male deposits onto the female's abdomen to prevent further pairings. And then they did this 😀23 Jun 2026 15:46 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3moxqpiw4gc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mosrq7qoek2zGreat to catch up with Southern Swallowtail (Papilio alexanor) on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour. Despite our usual sites being extremely arid, the swallowtails seemed to be in their usual numbers and a delight to see as they fed from whatever nectar sources they could find.21 Jun 2026 16:21 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mosrq7qoek2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3moq7kfc3bs2mIncredible numbers of Apollo on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour, with Clouded Apollo showing well too. However, I did feel sorry for this Camberwell Beauty we found today, that not only had very worn wings, but was missing half an antenna. Still, a delight to see nonetheless!20 Jun 2026 15:51 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3moq7kfc3bs2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3moo4ugwgxc2kGreat to catch up with the Scarce Fritillary (Euphydryas maturna) at an area new to us, on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour. This very restricted species feeds on Ash in its early larval instars, before hibernating in ground litter, and subsequently switching to a herb-based diet.19 Jun 2026 19:57 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3moo4ugwgxc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mol3utunrc24A 'brilliant' start to the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour, with 5 species of 'copper' seen - Scarce, Purple-edged and Purple-shot Coppers shown here (Small and Sooty also seen). Along with a very obliging Large Blue.18 Jun 2026 15:02 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mol3utunrc24https://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mnuygr25v22vAnother fantastic day on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour of Northern Greece, with some very special butterflies seen, including Lesser Fiery Copper, Map, Yellow-banded Skipper and Blue Argus; hard to choose a favourite given all we've seen. What a wonderful part of the world!09 Jun 2026 20:01 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnuygr25v22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mnpwudga4k2rA Papilionidae family day today on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour of Northern Greece, with all of our targets seen, namely Eastern Festoon, Clouded Apollo, Scarce Swallowtail and Swallowtail. All in beautiful surroundings in a beautiful country!07 Jun 2026 19:50 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnpwudga4k2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mnn373iaak22Two's company, three's a crowd, four's a ... ??!! This mating pair of Black-veined White, photographed on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour of Northern Greece, were photobombed by not one, but two males that were both trying to disrupt events. I didn't realise they were forming an orderly queue!06 Jun 2026 16:30 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnn373iaak22https://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mnkz6n53b22oLove is in the air! Wonderful to watch a courting couple of Southern White Admiral today, on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour of northern Greece, along with a mating pair of Sooty Copper and literally thousands of Nettle-tree Butterflies going about their business!05 Jun 2026 20:48 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnkz6n53b22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mmrkjk4r222fI must have taken 100s of photos of Purple Emperor larvae over the years, but this one, from today, is probably my favourite ... showing just how camouflaged a fully grown larva is against a leaf of its foodplant (Salix caprea, Goat Willow, in this case).26 May 2026 17:49 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmrkjk4r222fhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mjrzybnlrs2aA cool day on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social False Apollo tour resulted in an impromptu photography workshop (20 minutes that turned into 2 hours thanks to all of the great guest questions!), with a Small Copper then appearing as things warmed up. A favourite species for the last 50 years!18 Apr 2026 18:10 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjrzybnlrs2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mjpm7wddsk2kThis male Orange-tip wasn't taking 'no' for an answer, despite the female clearly rejecting him by raising her abdomen, as many species in the Pieridae family do! It was nice to see so many of them flying today, along with Holly Blue in numbers not encountered for several years!17 Apr 2026 18:59 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjpm7wddsk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mjkunhitgk2eJust back from another very successful @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour in Greece! I'm not sure why, but this photo of a Green-underside Blue seems to evoke something about the place that I just can't put into words ... answers on a postcard!15 Apr 2026 21:46 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjkunhitgk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mj3jixrff22nAnother great day on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social False Apollo tour. Lots of lovely Grecian Copper, including an aberrant female with elongated spots. Finding the rare Krueper's Small White was the icing on the cake!09 Apr 2026 19:17 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj3jixrff22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3miyrkwsomk2wA fantastic start to the @greenwingstours.bsky.social False Apollo tour. Not only did we find adults, but also managed to locate a few batches of False Apollo eggs on its main foodplant, Aristolochia hirta.08 Apr 2026 17:03 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3miyrkwsomk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mik3u3n7dk2eGosh - a Dingy Skipper forewing with a Chequered Skipper hindwing ... what a butterfly! I had to check that it wasn't April 1st! [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 Apr 2026 20:57 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mik3u3n7dk2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mhfuxtw5ek2hWord of the day: pharate. This term describes a fully formed larva or adult when inside the cuticle of the previous developmental stage. Behold a pharate Purple Emperor caterpillar within its egg case and a pharate male Silver-studded Blue adult within its pupal case!19 Mar 2026 11:18 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhfuxtw5ek2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mheb2xxjkk2iOrange-tips are nearly upon us and, surprisingly, Green Hairstreaks were seen today in Cheshire! https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=197029&sid=a6eedc50040303a4e4ef5435bd513c44#p19702918 Mar 2026 19:50 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mheb2xxjkk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/ukbutterflies.bsky.social/post/3mh6iubb5mk2xThis week's challenge is to identify the species whose pupae are represented here - one from each of the 6 butterfly families ... the final two in a reply to this post! I'll give it a few days before providing the answers!16 Mar 2026 12:53 +0000at://did:plc:fd34bzm2k5ccksoozfckvlbx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh6iubb5mk2x