Fly high, my pretties!

THINGS have certainly been all of a flutter during the hot weather as yet, I'm not prepared to follow the press lead and call it a heatwave.

- MIKE LOCKLEY

There has been an explosion of butterflies and the buddleia bush in my back garden is, as I write, a crowded dancefloor for the insects.

With age, I've developed an increasing interest in lepidopterology - that's studying butterflies - and in recent weeks found some unusual species. I wrote recently about watching my first marbled white.

They are fascinating, beautiful creatures which we take for granted, despite many species being in steep decline, some being lost completely.

So, what are the butterflies you are likely to encounter as the temperature continues to rise? You'll encounter them by simply looking out of a window. Here's a handy guide.

Peacock

If you've got a buddleia, you're enjoying plenty of visits from possibly our most striking species feasting on nectar. Deep red, with what look like eyes on the wing tips - the markings are a defence against predators, the peacock is unmistakable.

Unlike the majority of species, it is thriving and can be found in gardens, parks and woodland. Eggs are often laid on nettle leaves and the caterpillars - jet black with white spots - can be seen from late May. They emerge as adults in July and August.

Not many know this, but...the peacock emits a hissing sound when threatened. The noise is created by rubbing its forewings and hindwings together.

Large white

It's a bit of a minefield identifying Britain's white butterflies - usually all lumped together by the layman and labelled "cabbage white".

The one you are mostly likely to see is the large white. As a handy reference, the forewings have prominent black tips and the female has two spots on them.

You have to be clued-up to separate the large white from the small white - size isn't a fail-safe key to identification, but the "small" has duller tips on its wings.