I was out yesterday afternoon looking at marsh fritillary habitat as we are trying to produce some suitable habitat for them at Parke and in the Teign Valley. I couldn’t find any marsh fritillaries but I did come across a small colony of small pearl bordered fritillaries.
This is a male small pearl bordered fritillary
This is a female – brighter ‘pearls’ around the lower margins of the wings
Amazing underwing colouration
Detail
Hanging on as the buttercup bends
Small pearl bordered fritillaries have declined massively across the country with the heaviest losses in Eastern and Central England. Dartmoor is still a strong hold for the species. The best National Trust places to see the butterfly are Hembury Woods in the Dart Valley – the open ground around the hill fort and in the Teign Valley below Castle Drogo.
I wish it could be summer and sunny every day and then I wish I would have the time to chase butterflies all the time – it’s just a dream
