Lullingstone Butterfly's !

After seeing the Silver- Washed Fritillary at Shorne, thought I would look for the Dark Green Fritillary at the Orchid Bank at Lullingstone, a pretty reliable site to see these in good numbers.

I had chosen a good day, the sun was shining, the greater Knapweed was in full bloom, and I was the only person looking for  butterflies.

Centaurea scabiosa  Greater Knapweed 

The Grater Knapweed is so attractive to Butterflies and as you will see, the common factor in most of my photographs, although it could be the colour purple, because  Field Scabiosa and red clover were also attracting the Butterflies,  Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, Skippers and Common Blue Butterflies as well as the bee's, all drawn to their colour and promised nectar source

As I approached the Orchid bank the stands of Greater Knapweed are quite obvious, I could see some trails leading through the grasses towards the Knapweed, probably where others had been seeking out the Fritillaries.

A quick scan around and no Fritillarys on view, but Marbled Whites were there in abundance. very attractive Butterfly, I especially like the subtle shades of grey in the under-wing. some of the females have a slight yellowish wash to the underside which can be seen in the photographs.

Male Marbled White Melanargia galathea   

Female Marbled White

Strangely the Marbled White is not a member of the sub family of whites,  more aligned to the browns, quite widespread here in the south of the country and can usally be found in flowery meadows.

Quite approachable when nectaring on purple flowers, and often disturbed from the grassland as you walk through.

 The female does not land on the grasses to lay her eggs, rather she drops them as she flies over. And that explains probably why I have never caught up with one when seen flying along a grassy field. you live and learn.

Always a spectacular  Butterfly to photograph

Meadow Brown

Small Skipper

Male and Female Common Blue

Finally caught site of a distant Fritillary moving over the grassland, I settled down near the clump of wild flowers mainly Greater Knapweed, Clover and Scabiosa, and then they suddenly began to appear, all around me giving some excellent views and photographs.

Dark Green Fritillary

Silver-Washed Fritillary

And just for a comparison this photograph was of a single Silver-Washed Fritillary found at Shorne Country park.

The difference in under-wing pattern is quite distinctive, white spots on the Dark Green Fritillary, and three whitish bars on the Silver-Washed Fritillary.

The Silver-Washed Fritillary appeared much larger also than the Dark Green Fritillary

A very nice session with the Butterflies, hopefully with this good weather we have had recently, all the species are doing well.