White Admiral.

 It seems ages ago now that I was doing my surveys in a lovely and quiet private woodland in the middle of Sussex, but at times like this, at the end of the summer, it is good to look back on those long summer days.

Around this time Nigel invited me up to his wood to see the brilliant White Admiral pupa he had found, One of the most bizarre looking larva and pupa in the British species. The pupa reminds me of an upside down Rabbit!!

White Admiral pupa.

A full sequence of caterpillar to butterfly can be seen on Nigel's blog that can be found here. http://eastsussexwanderer.blogspot.com/search/label/White%20Admiral

I had to wait until my woodland surveys to see the adult butterfly, but this year was a pretty good year for this lovely species and over a couple of weeks I had 2 different butterflies that posed well for me.

A very fresh White Admiral posing well for me.

The following week and another beautiful White Admiral.

Later in the season a male was found holding territory, this one was quite worn, but still gave a few photo opportunities.

Male White Admiral holding territory.

On the same days there were some wonderful Silver-washed Fritillaries that had recently emerged, and these too posed very well for me.

The first Silver-washed Fritillary of the year is like a large flash of gold along the woodland rides.

Male Silver-washed Fritillaries.

Mating Silver-washed Fritillaries.

Really fresh Meadow Brown are surprisingly stunning, and although are normally a bit skittish, on some days can pose well.

Female Meadow Brown.

There are also few butterflies as lovely as a fresh Comma to brighten up a bit of woodland.

Comma.