I had, for some time, suspected that the Brown Hairstreak butterfly might be present in the extensive untrimmed blackthorn hedges surrounding the meadows and horse paddocks at the Naturetrek office in Chawton, but a brief glimpse of a late adult in September 2016 was all I had to show for it.

Naturetrek staff are continuing to record the butterflies we see during our lockdown walks and wonder whether, between all our Naturetrek guests on such walks countrywide, we might collectively record all of Britain’s 60-odd regular breeding species!

The coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented change to the lives of people around the world. Its impact on health, particularly that of the most vulnerable in society, has been tragic, and the economic ramifications of the resulting disruption will be felt for years to come.

Updates from our partners living life in lockdown in the Galápagos Islands, Kenya, The Gambia, Namibia, Alderney and other locations across the globe.

Firstly, I must admit to being a complete novice at bees and this find was in no way down to my knowledge or expertise with bee identification!