At this time of year, with the weather here changing by the minute, it only takes a little sun and the temperature rising above about 15C for several species of butterfly to start to appear; and the opposite, for if the temperature drops below 15C they as suddenly disappear.
So, for example, on Wednesday when I went out at about nine in the morning the sun was out and the air temperature a balmy 17C....
....and a variety of butterflies were on the wing, including a tortoiseshell, a small copper, several whites, and....
....a male orange tip; but by lunchtime the air temperature had dropped suddenly, to a mere 13C, and there wasn't a butterfly to be seen.
I suppose that the butterflies which survive around here must have adapted to the vagaries of this climate.
There is, however, one species which seems to be different: the speckled wood. This butterfly can be in the air with the temperature relatively low - but only on condition that the sun is out.
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