A profusion of butterflies were on the wing around the Cerne Abbas giant today - the star attraction being the Duke of Burgundy fritillary (which is, the lepidopterists will tell you, a metalmark rather than a fritillary). Also present were Brown Argus (which is a blue, not a brown), Marsh Fritillary (which
is a fritillary, but was on chalk downland, not marsh), Green Hairstreak (which
was green but a tatty specimen which didn't have much of a hairstreak), Common Blue (which wasn't that common), Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Small Heath, Small Blue and Adonis Blue (which did what they said on the tin, except the Grizzled, which didn't). With one or two unidentified species of White that made 11 or 12 in total. Conditions were perfect for photographing them - bright sunlight to get them flying about followed by patchy cloud to get them settled and take the harshness out of the light. A selection of the best shots below.
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| Duke of Burgundy |
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| Duke of Burgundy - this fresh specimen remained partly obscured unfortunately |
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| Duke of Burgundy underside - stunning |
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| Duke of Burgundy underside |
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| Adonis Blue - male |
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| Adonis Blue - a female |
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| Brown Argus |
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| Brown Argus |
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| Grizzled Skipper |
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| Grizzled Skipper underside |
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| Marsh Fritillary |
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| Marsh Fritillary |
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| Marsh Fritillary - underside |
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| Cinnabar moth |
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