On the wing: Speckled Wood

P.aegeria tircis (N.Europe)

Now flying in the woods opposite the zoo, the Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria is one of our commonest butterflies, and is familiar to anyone who has gone for a woodland walk in most parts of the country. It has an amazingly long flight season, and can be seen from now until September, even though an individual butterfly probably only lives for a week at most.

Spring births

Just a brief post to let you know of some new arrivals born recently at the zoo:

Mammals:

1 Ring-Tailed Lemur
1 White-Faced Saki
1 Goeldi's Monkey

On the Wing: Green-Veined White

After a break of a few weeks, I have decided to start a new occasional series this year on the various butterflies that I come across on walks or in my garden, and despite the late spring and bad breeding season last year a few have finally started to show up. I will start off with a very pretty little butterfly that is often mistaken for one of its relatives, the Green-Veined White Pieris napi. Although much the same size as the cabbage pest the Small White, it can be distinguished by the heavy green veining on the underside of the hind wings.