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At last, a butterfly in my garden. Now I know from comments on previous blogs that others have already seen lots this year. There's a tendency to brag about them, I think. But my garden was empty of butterflies until Saturday. Then, like buses

We have a tiny patch of long grass in our garden, less than a couple of square metres. It's mostly the exceedingly common Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus) and false oat (Arrhenatherum elatius). Nevertheless, it's attracting several butterflies

wilderness.The evening air is alive with the sewing machine whirr of grasshoppers and bush-crickets, and the distant piping of field crickets sweeps in from far-off grassy knolls and rocky outcrops. And in the morning we are engulfed in wildlife.Butterflies

I'm in love with the moth orchid. Not obsessed, no butterflies in the stomach, you understand. It's just that orchids are... perfect.What greater example of natural purity could you ask for? And unlike slipper orchids that lack generosity by only

Last week, Butterfly Conservation published a report called The State of Britain's Larger Moths 2013. It makes a depressing read, demonstrating a marked decline in the number of our larger moths over the last 40 years. The survey, conducted

In the Horniman Museum Gardens earlier today and a brightly coloured butterfly caught my eye as it visited a low dandelion flower. I skulk up to it and discover a painted lady, Cynthia cardui. This is only the third I have seen this year.A native

barely seen any rain at all.In drier parts of the UK, plants are bursting into flower earlier, bees and butterflies are out earlier, and the ground, which should be warm and wet from April showers, is parched. All this and some areas are still getting

How hard would it be to design green roofs for cars? Just imagine: you stop off to pick up some groceries, and on returning to your car, you find it's alive with the sight and sound of butterflies and bees tucking into the supply of nectar on its

and moss.I have grand plans for my lawn. It's only tiny, but it will be full of pretty 'weeds', wildflowers and crocus. Butterflies will lay eggs in it, bees will drink nectar from it and I will sunbathe on it.At the moment I can't really describe what I

Chrysalis, of butterflies particularly. The inactive stage between the larva and the adult. The term refers to the insect itself, rather than the cocoon.