Switzerland, August 2005

Switzerland, August 2005

Long ago...

The painted lady is a remarkable butterfly. It is not a permanent resident anywhere in Europe but arrives here in the spring from North Africa and breeds continuously throughout the summer. In the late summer and early autumn it seems to attempt a return journey south to its breeding grounds but so far as we know invariably dies en route. This dependence on migration means its numbers fluctuate greatly, especially in northern Europe. In some years it is abundant, in others almost absent. 2005 was such a year. I saw none at all in Switzerland until August (my first for the year was seen in Spain in July), when I saw a total of about three.