THE glorious weather over the past week seems to have done wonders for invertebrates residing on our nature reserves.

During a trip around two of our reserves, while checking on our cattle, I was astounded by the diversity of insect life. Each site’s display was very different, but equally stunning.

The first site I visited was Puxton Marsh. While waiting for the cattle’s water trough to fill, I had a few moments to take in the surroundings.

The edges of the footpaths that skirt the grazing cells where ablaze with colour, not floristically, but with the gentle fluttering of butterfly wings.

The first that caught my eye was one of my favourite species, the Comma. Though not uncommon, it is a butterfly, which is all to often overlooked. It is not its orange and black colouration which attracts me, but the distinctive and relatively unique ragged edge to its wings.

A few feet away from the Comma were two other species, the Red Admiral and the Peacock. The Red Admiral is a dull chocolate colour when resting, but when it opens its wings fully you witness the full splendour of this stunning species with its black wings, broken up by red bands and white spots, you can’t help but admire it.

Similarly with the Peacock, it isn’t until it displays the upper surfaces of its wings that you really appreciate its beauty. Its wings are a red/orange colour, edged in a dark brown, but each bears a striking peacock feather-style eyespot. Although attractive, the reason for this unusual adornment is as a means of scaring away predators. In amongst these where many Large Whites, often called Cabbage Whites for their association with the vegetable. By this point the water was full and it was time to venture down to the Rifle Range, a little frustrated to be leaving, as I was keen to continue searching, but keen to see what the heaths had to offer.

On arrival I set about the daily cattle checks while their water filled, made easy by the hot weather, as all the animals were lazing about in the tall heather. Again, I had some time to take a good look around.

Much of the heathland wildlife is more subtle than that of the marshes. However, this by no means equals less beautiful, but in many cases, it is a more delicate beauty.

It wasn’t long before I made my first sighting. The heather surrounding the cattle was awash with tiny orange and black butterflies, known as he Small Heath. A slightly unremarkable species when seen singly, but with so many in one area, it was a fantastic site. My next sighting was of only a single specimen, a Small Blue. A small but striking butterfly, it has grey-blue wings edged in a silvery white band. The final sighting is as yet, not fully identified. It belonged to the family of butterflies known as the skippers. This particular skipper was a wonderful burnt orange, with brown markings, and was flying rather weakly amongst the heather stands. At rest they are more moth-like and as such are often confused with their usually nocturnal cousins.

Both nature reserves had offered up more than just butterflies. An assortment of beetles, spiders, bugs and dragonflies had all brightened up my day. It was a great couple of hours, and a reminder of why I went into this line of work in the first place.