Sipping in the Sun

The woods this afternoon were absolutely buzzing with butterflies; mostly whites but the tiny silvery wings of the hairstreaks were more in evidence than I've ever seen them. (See extra) Skippers settled on flowers and the silver-washed fritillaries glided up and down the woodland edges. 

The Fritillary courtships were quite spectacular with the females bolting in a straight line down the ride being hotly pursued by the circling males, which was quite amusing. The males purposefully cork-screwed round the females over the ground at speed - totally fascinating to watch.

This Silver-washed Fritillary is feeding on Betony which lined the paths though they also feed on bramble and other flowers then soar up to feed on the aphid honeydew in the tree tops. They lay their eggs on a tree where there are Violets underneath, the caterpillar hibernates and descends in the spring. They rise to roost in the canopy.