Marsh Fritillaries

I had a voicemail message from Dougy this afternoon to let me know that he and Sarah had just counted six Marsh Fritillaries at the farm. First discovered in 2003, this is a small colony of this Red Data Book species, with a peak count of 18 butterflies in 2004. After another good season two years later, only two were seen in 2007. We then had two blank years, coinciding with poor weather during their flight period and we assumed we had lost them. Two more surprisingly appeared last year but again the weather put paid to any further sightings. So today's report is great news! Dougy has sent these photos through, along with a close-up of a Red-veined Darter.