Butterflies are a unique group of insects with a wonderful variety of colours. They belong to the order Lepidoptera meaning 'scale wing' and it is this that make up the structures of the pigment and reflectiveness of the scales. There have been 71 species recorded in Britain and Ireland. 59 of those are regularly recorded, 3 of these are regular migrants including the Clouded Yellow, Red Admiral and Painted Lady. World wide there is a staggering 17,500 species of butterfly, that's a lot of insects.

The order Lepidoptera also have a unique life cycle which has 4 stages. This starts with the egg which hatches after a couple of days or over winters with the tiny caterpillar formed inside. The caterpillar is a eating and growing machine which can last from 3 weeks about nearly 2 years in the species which hibernate twice. The chrysalis stage is where the greatest change takes place ,the metamorphosis. This is where the caterpillar changes to the adult. Often just a few weeks is all it takes for it to turn into a fully formed butterfly. The butterfly breaks out and pumps its wings out to start its new live which can last from 4 days to 11 months.