It all sort of made sense when I heard on the radio this morning that there is a drastic decline this year of the number of small tortoiseshell butterflies.  Yesterday I was out in the garden lurking beside the buddleia bush trying for a few butterfly pictures in  the morning sunshine.  I had been preparing a slide show for the Peterhead New Senior Ladies Fellowship based on the nature pictures I have been posting on Facebook for the past few months, and I felt I would like a couple of butterfly pictures for the section on the theme “All creatures great and small.”

Last year there were lots of the tortoiseshells about, although I recalled that I had always though that they were Red Admirals, at least that what I used to call them when I was a boy.  Looking them up I discovered that these butterflies where tortoiseshells. There were a few of the Red Admirals about, but no so many.

Yesterday there was a whole navy  of Red Admirals feeding on the buddleia, but just one or two Tortoiseshells. The decline has obviously affected Hatton too.

I must prune the buddleia which has got a big straggly so that I can do my big to help the butterflies next year.