The first Marbled White butterfly of the year was seen at lunchtime. Unusually for this garden, it didn't just fly straight through, but nectared on the patio bedding plants (lobelia) for a few minutes. Marbled White is a scarce visitor to the garden, probably annual, but only one or two sightings per year and normally about July. It is a beautifully marked black and white butterfly and the attached photo shows this well, although this is not from the garden, but was taken locally.
Yesterday (2nd), my wife saw a Small Tortoiseshell, which alighted briefly on a patio lavender. Surprisingly, this was only the second garden record, although this species has undergone a population collapse. 2009 does appear to be seeing a welcome revival in its numbers.
To date, 21 species of butterfly have been recorded in the garden, with Silver-washed Fritillary and Purple Hairstreak being two of the more unusual visitors.
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