Admirable

I was absolutely thrilled to meet this beautiful creature on my walk today.  I found it feeding on buddleia at the bottom of St Catherine's Hill.  It was huge, with rich colour and perfect wings, not like the majority of butterflies this year, which have been undersized, tattered and faded. 

And it's only the second red admiral I've seen this summer, so I knew it would be my blip for today, but I kept going, round the back of the hill, over the motorway and onto Twyford Down, then back over the top of the hill and home.  Enough walking!

And I've added this to my wildflower list for the buddleia.  I know it probably counts as a garden escape, but it grows wild all over Hampshire.

Hope Monday's treated you well  xx

A list of my blipped 2018 wildflowers to date:

JANUARY
Snowdrops
FEBRUARY
Gorse (or furze);  Wild daffodils
MARCH
Coltsfoot;  Primroses;  Blackthorn
APRIL
Greater periwinkle;  Goat willow;  Ground ivy;  Cowslips;  Daisy;
Common field speedwell;  Wood anemone;  Greater celandine
MAY
Cuckoo flower (or lady’s smock);  Yellow archangel;  Common dog violet;
Crab apple;  Bluebell;  Red clover;  Germander speedwell;
Three-cornered leek;  Hawthorn;  Yellow flag; Dandelion;  Common vetch; Dog rose;  Green alkanet;
JUNE
Bramble;  Stinking iris;  Dropwort;  Meadow buttercup; Sweet briar;  Red campion;  Butterfly orchid;  Poppies;  Nettle;  Birdsfoot trefoil;  Meadow cranesbill;  
JULY
Musk mallow;  Field Scabious; Ragwort;  Rosebay willowherb; purple loosestrife; teasel;  meadowsweet; yellowloosestrife;  Great willowherb;
AUGUST
Water mint; marjoram;  spear thistle;  rowan;  guelder rose;  cow parsley;  common sorrel;  buddleia; Himalayan balsam;  hedge bindweed; crab apple; field fleawort;  sainfoin;
SEPTEMBER
Water forgetmenot; common toadflax; buddleia;