Silver-washed fritillary

Male silver-washed fritillaries were patrolling the sun-dappled rodes of Gamlingay Wood, their vivid orange contrasting with the verdant greens of the foliage. They were mostly sipping nectar from the dewberry blossom but every now and then two would meet and engage in a territorial tussle.

The male has four distinctive black veins on its forewings that contain special “androconial” scales that are used in courtship. These veins are known as “sex brands”. We saw no females - it seems likely that they haven't emerged yet.The courtship flight of this butterfly is one of the most spectacular of all the British species. The female flies in a straight line while the male continuously loops under, in front and then over the top of the female. With the courtship flight over, the pair lands on a convenient platform where the male showers the female in scent scales. The male then draws the female’s antennae over the sex brand and mating subsequently takes place.

We had a rather tense and nervous drive home. The painkillers seem to have made my memory worse, and part of the way there I realised I'd forgotten to pack my purse. This wouldn't have been a problem if we hadn't been rather low on petrol. I thought we would have enough in the tank to get us there and back, but later realised that it was going to be a very close thing. I practiced my eco-driving on the way home, but the needle on the petrol gauge was perilously close to zero for the last few miles - I think we were running on fumes! At least we didn't have the embarrassment of breaking down on the A1(M)!