Holly Blue butterfly on Green Alkanet, West Molesey
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Holly Blue butterfly on Green Alkanet, West Molesey by Stefan Czapski as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Holly Blue butterfly on Green Alkanet, West Molesey
Image: © Stefan Czapski Taken: 30 Apr 2012
April 30th was probably the sunniest day of April, 2012 - and frankly, there wasn't much competition, the month was the wettest April on record. I had seen very few butterflies in previous weeks (in March rather than April) so I was pleased to see my first holly blue and orange-tips of the season on the wing - by the so-called Dead River (at the end of Approach Road). In my experience the Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus, is a species typical of suburban streets and gardens - but not often as approachable as this one. The only other blue butterfly likely to be seen in such places is the Common Blue, Polyomattus icarus - but that has a more complex underwing pattern, with orange, black and white markings on a ground which shades from blue-grey to buff.
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Image Location
Latitude
51.395763
Longitude
-0.372116