Speckled Woods Flitting in the Sun

If you walk in the wooded area of The Heath, your eye may be caught by Speckled Wood butterflies flitting in the sunny patches. This species has a long season – it can be observed from March to October – but at the moment there are more than have been seen at any other time this year.

They inhabit deep woodland and feed not on nectar but on honeydew from leaves up in the tree-canopy. The males characteristically tussle for territory in areas of dappled sunshine – this afternoon I was enchanted by five spiralling up and down an oak tree by the sandpit.

Kevin Griffiths