Small tortoiseshell

Another warm lunchtime today. Lots of butterflies were on the wing behind the office, including this small tortoiseshell. It is a rather worn specimen - some of the scales have worn off the left wing - but it still makes a better picture than the rainy one last week (here).

I saw my first orange-tip butterflies and red-tailed bumble-bees of the year today, but none of them would settle down to be blipped. I've also seen a few swallows now, including one at a usual nest site in town.