Holly Blue !

I was beginning to think I was one of the few people who have not seen an open winged Holly Blue, they are notorious for landing and immediately closing their wings, revealing only the very pale blue almost white underside, and the black and silver dots characteristic of this blue butterfly.
This is one of those blue butterflies that appears in the garden quite early in the year, and one which I must admit, I take for granted not really giving it much attention, especially as my past experience has shown that I am pretty unlikely to see the fully open wings  
My butterfly field guide says that they will occasionally open their wings in weak sunshine to warm up, but I have never witnessed this until recently.

So this is the typical view I usually have of the many sightings of Holly Blue that I have had.

Holly Blue 

I could not believe my luck as I walked past some bramble, this Holly Blue flicked its wings open giving me a flash of blue, just for as brief second, but enough to grab my attention, It did not seem bothered by my presence as I remained perfectly still close by.
Very slowly, it started to open its wings again revealing that gorgeous blue of its upper side and the black wing tips indicating a female of the species.

Holly Blue female

And then, as close to fully open that it was going to go, an open wing view at last, absolutely beautiful, it wasn't long before they snapped shut and back to the usual view.

This view certainly rekindled my interest in this lovely little butterfly.