MEADOW BROWN

Meadow brown butterflies are so common that we rarely bother to photograph them.  This is a pity because they are very cheery, flying in much gloomier weather than most other butterflies.

Photo: Alan Watts

They are basically pale brown with a touch of orange on their forewings.  When they perch you can see that the eye-spot usually has only one white dot in the centre, unlike the gatekeeper with two;  and the hindwing has a few BLACK dots, which you can just make out in the photo, whereas the gatekeeper has white dots.