Off and away

It was very hot again today and with a temperature of at least 30°C my only activities worth mentioning have been to water the plants on our courtyard, walk one of the dogs from the sanctuary and do some shopping on the way home.

When I went downstairs to see Rosie after getting out of bed, I saw that one of the larger green caterpillars that I'd found among some cauliflower leaves that I'd brought home for Rosie had emerged as a butterfly. It wasn't the caterpillar though that had transformed into a chrysalis first but the one that I'd found last. The first chrysalis is unfortunately looking much darker than the one the butterfly has emerged from so I suspect that the other one may had died during its development.

A few days ago I'd seen a white butterfly when I was riding along the river on my way to the sanctuary so I thought that it would be a good area to release this one 'my butterfly'. I'd managed to take a few photos through the side of the container before I left the house in case I wouldn't get a chance when I released it but when the butterfly flew out of the container it landed on one of the wild flowers that grow at the side of the river and was so kind to stay there just long enough for me to take one shot of it before it continued its flight to the other side.

When trying to identify this butterfly I had not been able to determine whether it was either a Small or a Large White because I'd been unable to get a good look at the inside of its wings . It was only after looking in one of my books that the even green colour of the caterpillar helped me identify it as a Small White.

Thank you for the kind comments and stars on my Great Crested Grebe blip from yesterday. As always they are very much appreciated!