Butterflies / Ubley Warren

Pearls of Ubley Warren

by Jeff Bevan · Published 10th July 2022 · Updated 15th August 2022

Ubley Warren – Mendip Hills, Nr Charterhouse, Somerset, UK. ID JB_9741

For a long time I have been a volunteer warden on the Mendip Hills of Somerset. On one of the Somerset Wildlife Trusts’ interpretation boards is a photo of a dark green fritillary butterfly. I have never seen one, and it was beginning to annoy me. Perhaps I had seen one but not realised what it was? Either way, time had come to go out and finally find one.

I had heard that there were some at Ubley Warren – so I headed out.

Ubley Warren

It was a beautiful morning with dew still on the grass. The first butterfly I saw was a small heath.

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) – Priddy Mineries, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_9763

The small heath is pretty but is way too little to be mistaken for a dark green fritillary.

As the sun rose up in the sky a cycle race started on a neighbouring farm.

Cycle Race – Warren Farm, Nr Charterhouse, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_8197

I walked around looking for the fritillary butterflies. I did not find them but the colours of the stonecrop plants on the limestone made up for this – nearly.

Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre) – Ubley Warren, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_0123

The Next Day

I thought I had found a dark green fritillary, but it turned out to be a small pearl-bordered fritillary.

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) – Ubley Warren, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_0354

Disappointed, I returned the next day. This time the cattle that had been watching the cycle race had moved to the spot where the small pearls had been flying. This put an end to that day’s visit.

Cattle – Ubley Warren, Mendip Hills, Somerset, UK. ID JB_1017

It is not that I’m scared of cattle (maybe a little bit) its is just that they do not leave you alone. When I stood up having photographed a bumblebee I was surrounded by the inquisitive friends.