My first butterfly of the year

This year is unlikely to be a brilliant butterfly summer because 2016 was so poor. But insects can rapidly bounce backSpring is an unquenchably optimistic time, and two weeks of plentiful sunshine – in the south, at least – has brought out the first butterflies of the year. My first, like last year, was a male brimstone, bobbing beside the old ivy-covered hedge beyond my garden.
On the next sunny March day came the small tortoiseshells and peacocks, which also hibernate as adult butt