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Butterflies: Close-up views in a country garden

Adam Dutton
·2 min read
Small tortoiseshells in flight (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
Small tortoiseshells in flight (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)

A wildlife photographer was thrilled when he looked to his garden and saw Britain’s most beautiful butterflies.

Andrew Fusek Peters, 57, spent a week snapping the colourful insects behind his countryside cottage in Lydbury North, Shropshire.

The butterflies captured include the comma, holly blue, painted lady and small tortoiseshell.

A painted lady in flight (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
A painted lady in flight (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
The painted lady is one the most common of all butterfly species (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
The painted lady is one the most common of all butterfly species (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)

Fusek Peters has been travelling the country to photograph every species of UK butterfly but managed to capture this bunch from the comfort of his own home.

He said: “The interesting thing is I’ve been all over the UK to get the rarest butterflies but these were shot right here in my garden.

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“These are the common garden butterflies that are no less beautiful. It has been an absolute delight to celebrate what’s under my nose.

“It’s all to do with the flowers in the garden; I have my wife to thank for that.

The holly blue is a common sight in southern England, though in recent years it has migrated north (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
The holly blue is a common sight in southern England, though in recent years it has migrated north (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
It is easy to identify in early spring as it emerges well before other blue species (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
It is easy to identify in early spring as it emerges well before other blue species (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)

“These are going to be part of the book. They’re just as interesting.

“The painted lady has the longest journey migration: they start at 9,000 miles away in Africa. It takes them generations to get here.”

Andrew snapped the butterflies with his Olympus E-M1 Mark II, sitting a few centimetres away and using a shutter speed of 1/6,000th of a second to get the perfect shot.

The comma, once a rare sight in Britain, has enjoyed a huge population boost in the past 40 years (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
The comma, once a rare sight in Britain, has enjoyed a huge population boost in the past 40 years (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
The male small tortoiseshell is very territorial and will chase other butterflies away from its chosen space (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
The male small tortoiseshell is very territorial and will chase other butterflies away from its chosen space (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)

He added: “It was a super-fast shutter speed. I’m literally going 2cm away from them to capture them.

“So it’s always incredibly difficult to capture. You could call me the butterfly whisper: no one really gets shots like these.

“I think the fact that it’s a safari in my back garden is what makes it better. My mileage is just three yards.

The painted lady cannot survive the British winter: it either perishes or migrates to Africa (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
The painted lady cannot survive the British winter: it either perishes or migrates to Africa (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
Painted lady populations tend to peak in late summer (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)
Painted lady populations tend to peak in late summer (Andrew Fusek Peters/SWNS)

“One thing I want to do with my book is show you that there’s stuff in your back garden. There’s just so much going on: there’s mice, bats, insects, everything.

“You can capture nature in your garden. You don’t have to travel.”

SWNS