It was a cloudy, overcast day which was not the best weather for butterflies to be out and about. However, we did see a good few in the more sheltered area of the meadow and when the wind dropped.

Martin gave an interesting introduction, explaining the difference between butterflies and moths. Butterflies land with their wings open and then close them but moths remain open. Butterflies usually fly during the day whereas moths are mainly nocturnal. The tips of butterfly antennae are club shaped but moths are more feathery. However, with nature, things are not as simple as that which makes it all the more interesting! Another fascinating fact was the markings on the top and underside of some butterflies are completely different in pattern and colours.

As we walked around, Martin pointed out the favoured areas of particular butterflies. He brought along his guide book on butterflies, showing photos of not only the male and female butterflies, but the eggs, caterpillars and chrysalis of the different species so we could see the whole life cycle of the butterfly.

We saw meadow brown, gatekeeper, small heath, small skipper, small white and marbled white butterflies plus a few moths as well. One lady walking in the park earlier in the morning had photographed a comma butterfly but we did not see any ourselves. Martin told us that nettles are a favourite place for peacock butterflies and as we have lots of nettles on Grove Farm, we may see them during the summer.

For anyone interested in butterflies, Martin recommends the Wild Guide series and Field Studies Council guide books.

The best take away for me was discovering that the blackthorn is where the black hairstreak butterflies lay their eggs during the winter and it is a very long time before the eggs hatch.