MEADOW BROWN

One of our most common grassland butterflies, being seen mostly between June and September.

The female lays eggs singly on grasses and the green caterpillar feeds mainly at night so is seldom seen. 

This butterfly can overwinter here as a larva. Both sexes are dark brown with the male having a small single orange ringed black spot on each forewing and a black blotch over the centre of the body and wings. 

The female has a large black eye spot surrounded by an orange smudge. This butterfly has an overall wingspan of 46mm.