Pararge aegeria

As its names suggests, this butterfly is primarily found in woodland, but can be found anywhere there is sufficient scrub to provide the shaded conditions that this butterfly favours, which includes gardens and hedgerows.

This species is unique among the butterflies of the British Isles in that it can over winter in 2 stages, as both a larva and pupa. As a result, there is a mixed emergence with adult butterflies on the wing from April through to September, with a few adults being seen as early as March or as late as October, especially at southern sites. There are 2 or 3 generations, depending on location and weather conditions and adults of later generations are generally darker than those emerging earlier in the year. The larval food plants are grasses.

Courtesy of Naturespot - www.naturespot.org.uk