Ian Short

Accompanied by Isi, Josi and granddad, I visited King’s Wood in Bedfordshire today (a few miles from our house) in search of a purple emperor. I would have been satisfied with a purple hairstreak or a white admiral instead. Here are some of us having a rest after five-hundred metres.

The first butterfly we saw was a green-veined white. It remained still for a photo.

Nearby was a spider in a funnel-shaped web.

Isi and Josi weren’t getting into the spirit of the adventure (“can we go home?”). We loaded them into backpacks and Josi fell asleep. Then we saw the highlight of the trip, a silver-washed fritillary.

After that the wind dropped, the sun came out a little, and butterflies seemed to appear in abundance; mostly gatekeepers, ringlets, meadow browns, large whites and small skippers. Here’s a small skipper.

All in all a success, even without a purple emperor. King’s Wood has beautiful oak trees; we’ll return in the near future. On the journey home Isi fell asleep. When she awoke later she told me that a butterfly had flown past the window of her car.