In a two hour walk at Lyes Cary this afternoon we must have seen 70-80 Painted Lady butterflies all tazzing northwards as fast as their wings would carry them. Look out Scotland, here they come. Not yet as prolific as in the 1996 invasion year when I counted over 1,000 an hour passing me on the Haldon hills in Devon one day but if the weather gives us any southerlies over the next week expect the hordes to arrive. There were hundreds of thousands reported from northern Italy this week. all heading this way :-)