A painted lady butterfly resting on the sun-warmed boulders of Trencrom hill.
Identified by pale orange wings adorned with black and white spots with an underside of mottled brown spots, this little beauty can be found all across the British Isles.
(click to enlarge to full size)
Few things say summer more eloquently than the fluttering of butterfly wings in the garden and countryside. Sadly I haven’t seen many this year other than up on the hill and only large white ones in the garden. The painted lady (Cynthia cardui) likes heathland and open meadows so I expect she is loving the heather now. A migrant (too cold here to stay over winter) the painted ladies are strong flyers capable of long distances and when summer comes to an end they will journey as far as tropical Africa.
Earth laughs in flowers 
Lovely shot, Jude! 🙂 We’ve had lots here this year. Mostly whites.
Whole lot of whites here too. And Red Admirals, but I haven’t managed a decent shot of one of those yet.
A pretty lady indeed 😀 I finally found red admirals today!!! I’m sure they’re late. It’s been a good year for meadowland species. I’ve sighted loads of meadow browns, gatekeepers, ringlets and skippers! It’s going to be interesting to see what the Big Butterfly Count results have to say.
Tricky devils to photograph cuz they rarely sit still. You were lucky to catch this one resting!
Apparently evening is a good time, when then settle more.
I’ve heard early morning is a good time because butterflies generally don’t start flying till after they’ve warmed up.
I shall keep my eyes out this year, saw very few butterflies last year, and I’m not really a morning person, but should possibly become one!
Entomologists here know it as Vanessa cardui. I looked online and found Cynthia is a subgenus of Vanessa:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_lady