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A delicate pas de deux on a flowery stage, a silent tango in a meadow, a joining of colourful featherweight bodies. It is mating time in the world of butterflies. Two Scarce Coppers sit back to back and share a quiet moment on a daisy while creating the next generation.
Meanwhile, a friend of mine, who is also a butterfly expert, and I enjoy another kind of quiet moment. We quietly observe all the life that flits and flies around us. We have found our way to a place called Addit Hede, supposedly one of the prime butterfly sites in Denmark, on one of the few Saturdays in July 2011 with no rain. Addit Hede is in Central Jutland, between the towns of Silkeborg and Horsens, somewhat well-hidden and not particularly mentioned anywhere where you would search for places to hike or camp.
The wild and peaceful meadows, heaths and forests in this location have given rise to a pleasant biodiversity so we see a nice variety of butterflies, birds, and flowers plus a frog that hops onto my shoe while I am busy photographing a butterfly.
Although it is butterfly mating time, the butterflies are not just focused on sex. They also eat. One of their favourite hangouts seems to be the blue Field Scabious, on which we often spot several butterflies at once, all elbowing for nectar. One of my photos shows several Narrow-Bordered Five Spot Burnets on one flower while another photo has a Ringlet (bottom) sharing space with a Meadow Brown (top) and an unidentified orange butterfly.
The top side of the Scarce Copper is a lovely bright orange that complements every flower it chooses while the White-letter Hairstreak (don’t you just love those names?) with its delicate white W is a kind of alphabet creature.
