I have set myself the task of seeing all of Hampshire's regular breeding butterflies and dragonflies/damselflies this year its not an especially challenging task given the small number of species involved but I thought it would be an interesting little project for the season. These are the regularly breeding butterfly species with 42 species present.
I began the season with a visit to Stockbridge Down on 2nd May where the main target was Duke of Burgundy but with other targets such as Brown Argus, Grizzled Skipper, Dingy Skipper and Green Hairstreak in mind. I managed to find around 3-4 nice fresh Duke's and also the two Skipper's and the Argus but the Hairstreak eluded me but there is plenty of time to try for this.
Duke of Burgundy - Stockbridge Down. A scarce species in Hampshire as in all counties, around 20 sites in Hampshire with the best sites being Butser Hill and Noar Hill where peak counts of 43 and 28, respectively, in 2022.
Duke of Burgundy - Stockbridge Down
Grizzled Skipper - Stockbridge Down
Grizzled Skipper - Stockbridge Down
Brown Argus - Stockbridge Down
