Small Blue and Dingy Skipper - 20th May 2023

 After seeing details on social media earlier in the week, Jayne and I spent a couple of hours at Pleasley Pit searching for a colony of introduced Small Blue butterflies.

We arrived at the car park, and after walking just 200m, saw our first butterflies (they really are small!!), 3 males, one of which posed beautifully.

Small Blue (male)

We walked on to the area where previous sightings had come from, where we managed to watch both males and females, including this mating pair. At one point there were 11 on the ground together!!

Small Blues (male on the left, I think)

Whilst there, we also spotted several other species: Peacock (2), Comma (2), Orange Tip (1 male) Large White (2) and, best of all, a Dingy Skipper.

Dingy Skipper