GO WILD WITH ERIC PAYLOR

THE recent hot spell could hardly have been better for Cleveland's butterflies.

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They have begun to appear in huge numbers and, fortunately, there are plenty of varieties around.

It's great to see that this includes lots of meadow browns, even if they are arguably not the most attractive of those butterflies currently on view.

This fine picture of a meadow brown was taken by Paul Whittingham.

Meadow browns were once one of the most common butterflies in our region, but their numbers have dropped dramatically in recent years.

They rely on grassland and meadows as their favoured habitat, but the intensification of agriculture has been very costly, not to mention the changing weather patterns.