Spring sunshine brings butterfly abundance to fill 'that hole in our soul'

Whether you're looking for something special or just enjoying the fluttering of familiar favourites, this summer looks goodMeadow browns are jinking along lanes, small tortoiseshells are unusually abundant on bramble flowers and purple emperors are attacking drones (trying to film them) in Knepp wildland in West Sussex.This week's heatwave - after three months of what Butterfly Conservation's Richard Fox calls "nigh on perfect butterfly conditions" - is delivering peak butterfly. Continue reading...