Wingclipped in Spring. Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly, Aglais urticae, on Viburnum, Marineterrein, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies can survive Winter and often do. As such they're among the first Flyers out in Spring. But I doubt whether the Tortoiseshell I saw this afternoon will survive long. One of its wings has been severely damaged either in a possible Winter bivouac or by a hungry animal of prey. It did, however, happily flutter away when I came too close to that Viburnum cluster.
Wingclipped in Spring. Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly, Aglais urticae, on Viburnum, Marineterrein, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies can survive Winter and often do. As such they're among the first Flyers out in Spring. But I doubt whether the Tortoiseshell I saw this afternoon will survive long. One of its wings has been severely damaged either in a possible Winter bivouac or by a hungry animal of prey. It did, however, happily flutter away when I came too close to that Viburnum cluster.