Spanish Tobacco

I walked my woodland butterfly transect this morning and was pleased to record the big three - Purple Emperor, White Admiral and Silver-washed fritillary. I counted eight White Admiral, which is good news as there were only six recorded in the whole of last season, and also added Ringlet to my list for the year. 

My image is of a newly-emerged Silver-washed Fritillary taking a very brief pause in its rapid flight. This is a butterfly that has had at least ten different names  starting with Petiver's Greater Silver-streaked Fritillary in 1699 and ending with A.H Haworth's Silver-washed fritillary in 1803 via Greater Silverstreakt Orange Fritillary,  Silver Streak Fritillary, Silver Stripe Fritillary, Silver Stroaked Fritillary and more. My favourite, and perhaps most obscure, is the curious French vernacular Le Tabac d'Espagne.