Marbles

I’m working on a to-do list! Nothing if not methodical and crossing through lines accomplished is very satisfying. Getting a blip this morning was near the top.

I went up onto Prestbury Hill to the tiny Nature Reserve there. Dingy and overcast, with a damp mist hanging in the air, the slope overlooks the racecourse but you could hardly make it out. I was on the track of a fritillary I’d seen yesterday but all the butterflies were doing their best to hide in the grass. Tricky with a dog! Needless to say they saw me coming!

In the event I saw a few marbled whites ...so here you have one!


In spite of it’s colouring this butterfly belongs to the brown family. No, not lingering too long by  Paddington Station and rescued by the Brown family ...... Worryingly the second time this week we’ve had a Bear ref...hmmm! It’s age - I’m regressing... but NO I’m not losing my marbles! Amazingly some colonies of marbled whites number several thousand; they are found on unimproved pasture and woodland rides mostly. Eggs are laid whilst the female, the larger of the two sexes, flies. No slaving over a hot stove and nappies for her! Oh no, just done and dusted so to speak. The caterpillar hibernates.


OK crossing this one off now! Taken 8 goes to upload this tonight. Made the file smaller but never had to do that before.