Grizzled, Chequered, Subfusc, Celestial...

Sunshine and blue skies yesterday had me seizing the day by heading for the Surrey hills. Exploring a little way beyond my usual haunts, I was soon delighted by the sight of my first Grizzled Skippers in many years. I always seem to miss these pretty little moth-like butterflies, although - as readers of this blog will know - I'm something of a magnet for their close cousins, the Dingy Skippers (try 'Dingy Skipper' in the search box above). The Grizzled Skipper is more chequered than grizzled, but the Chequered name is already taken, for a species that is just hanging on in western Scotland. The Dingy too could do with a name change from its present unflattering handle - how about the Subfusc Skipper? Means much the same but sounds more mysterious...
 The Grizzled Skippers were but the prelude to a glorious display of butterfly beauty - Adonis Blues were flying! The first I spotted was a female (darker and less spectacular than the male) which obligingly settled long enough for me to confirm that she was indeed an Adonis. Then came the unmistakable males in all their glory - first one, then more, some flying singly, others chasing each other at speed up and down the sun-baked downland slope. I must have seen nearly 20 in less than an hour. Spotting a male Adonis - especially the first of the year - truly takes the breath away (this was the 'Dartford Blue' that Grimaldi chased obsessively). That blue! It is surely the nearest thing in nature to the blue of Heaven that the Renaissance painters strove to depict. Perhaps the Adonis should be called the Celestial Blue - but Adonis, the archetype of youthful male beauty, is a good fit. An Adonis with no need to adonise...