Lynchcombe Steps

Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) – Lynchcombe, Somerset, UK. ID JB4_3250

This may not be a rare butterfly in the UK, but it was a first for me at the Lynchcombe reserve for which I’m the voluntary reserve manager for the Somerset Wildlife Trust. I assume they are doing well this year as I saw 4 of them whilst doing my butterfly transect. They used the young bracken stems on which to warn up in the weak sun.

Most weeks in the summer I walk a defined transect route counting the numbers of each species of butterfly. I always take my camera along for times like this – sometimes taking a picture for identification purposes. Over the last few years I have seen many butterflies – mainly Meadow Browns, but also Marbled White, Small Copper, Common Blue, Silver Washed Fritillary (probably on a day-trip from the nearby Ebbor Gorge), Comma, Gatekeeper, Small Heath, Small Skippers, Large Skippers, Speckled Woods, Clouded Yellow, Painted Ladies, Red Admirals, Brimstones and Large Whites.