Just emerged...

A couple of weeks ago we collected three Peacock butterfly caterpillars to raise in captivity. Two pupated successfully, and both emerged yesterday. The third was parasitised and we now have two fly cocoons waiting to hatch. We released the adult butterflies this morning. One flew straight off, while the other sat for a while on a sunflower before ascending into the sky. 

The upperwings of Peacock butterflies are so stunning that the underwings tend to get overlooked, just appearing dark and faintly patterned. But, lit with a bright light, they're remarkably beautiful, intricately patterned with scales of charcoal grey, black and orange - with bluish reflections from the flash.

In the afternoon Pete and I had a pleasant couple of hours attending a walk round Ring Haw, led by one of the WT Northamptonshire reserve staff. The flora of the calcining banks was particularly beautiful, with Common Knapweed, Field Scabious, Small Scabious, Wild Parsnip and Clustered Bellflower all flowering profusely.