Beautiful Early marsh orchids (var coccinea) alongside even more beautiful rose coloured hybrids with common spotted orchids (D. x kerneriorum) and a splendid D. x grandis. Braunton Burrows, 3/6/2026 😃 @lizlouise.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social @orchidvinny.bsky.social @rogercharding.bsky.social

‘Peak Pyramidal’ isn’t quite here yet, but we’re not far away ! Pyramidal orchids ( Anacamptis pyramidalis) in Dorset today 💜#orchid #dorset

The pure white Southern marsh orchids in Partridge slack have succumbed to the grazers, but some fine very pale SMOs have yet to be eaten elsewhere at Braunton Burrows. 3/6/2026 @lizlouise.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social @rogercharding.bsky.social @orchidvinny.bsky.social

Hundreds of Heath Spotted-orchids (Dactylorhiza maculata) make a wonderful display in Dorset. 4/6/26 #dorset #orchid

English vernacular names for species can be pretty clumsy things (moths being an honourable exception!), and I'm sure I'm not alone in being perplexed by the supposed scent-based etymology of Elder-flowered Orchid* (Dactylorhiza sambucina). *not 'Elderflower Orchid' - strong cringe for that...

I really like the vermillion shade of Early marsh orchid var coccinea, seen here at Braunton Burrows @ukorchids.bsky.social

Nice comparison of the undersides of a male (above) and a female (below) Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus). #butterfly

Further beauties from our Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees tour, presently our featured tour of the week. This glorious region of France is an intoxicating wildlife-watching destination at this time of year. www.mariposanature.com/tours/butter... #butterflies #moths #orchids #teammoth

The orchids of Powerstock Common NR today. Common Twayblade, Heath Spotted, Common Spotted, Bee, Greater Butterfly. See ALT text for details. #orchid #dorset @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

Another amazing Dorset roadside verge, this one 5 mins from home is full of life. Orchids, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, Knapweed Broomrape, and many other plants. See ALT text for details. #wildflower #dorset

Tour update 🚨 Our orchid tours are becoming renowned for the quality and quantity of species, hybrids and varieties our guests enjoy upon them, and also for how soon they fill in advance. Orchids of the Gargano 2027 has taken its first booking today... www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

A pretty pale variation of the Late Spider Orchid (Ophrys fuciflora) seen on the Kent downs this week #WildflowerHour #OrchidChallenge @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

Two red-hot Kent classic #orchids for this week's @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #OrchidChallenge, both seen while doing the pre-tour preparation for the @mariposanature.bsky.social Kent orchid day-trips this sultry weekend - Late Spider & Lizard Orchid.

#WildflowerHour #OrchidChallenge Today on Braunton Burrows North Devon. Early Marsh, Twayblade, Pyramidal, and yet another Belgarum Bee @botanybeck.bsky.social

#WildflowerHour #OrchidChallenge Today on Rackenford Moor. North Devon. Fabulous variety in Heath-spotted @botanybeck.bsky.social

My son has just sent me an update on my garden Bee Orchid, just in time for #wildflowerhour! I can include this one for the #orchidchallenge as it arrived by itself, isn’t it gorgeous! 🥰

News you can use: if you catch a swamp milkweed leaf beetle while he's tucking his wings under his elytra, you can see his swimming trunks. #BugSky

Saw some lovely Fly Orchids yesterday including this beautiful red one 🤩 thanks to @withylake.bsky.social - N Somerset. Also in time for @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

A sensational postcard from the field from tour leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social after this weekend's Kent orchid daytrips: We've been blessed with views of both Fly Orchid & Late Spider Orchid being pollinated - rarely witnessed, and a fabulous experience for all concerned. #orchids

Had a fantastic orchid tour in Kent today, led by @dunnjons.bsky.social and @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social of @mariposanature.bsky.social. Visited beautiful sites with gorgeous orchid species and saw my first Adonis Blue butterfly. A great experience – thanks, Jon and Richard!

Despite some major cliff falls over the Winter, managed to find some delighful Fly orchids and Bird's nest orchids at Blue Anchor yesterday 30/5/2026 @lizlouise.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

So, after ten weeks or so, our local Bee #Orchid has flowered, and not been mowed thanks to the sign I put up. Another squeal of delight this morning!

Marsh helleborine flowering alongside Bee orchids, Southern marsh-orchids, Common spotted-orchids and their hybrid Dactylorhiza x grandis in East Devon this evening 28/5/2026 😃 @orchidvinny.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

It's a Raven Day. @stevieparsons.bsky.social

#WildflowerHour #OrchidChallenge I'm early for this Sunday's WildFlower Hour, but 5 weeks ago a local verge had been strimmed to death. Just look at these glorious survivors. @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social @dunnjons.bsky.social @stevieparsons.bsky.social @withylake.bsky.social @lizlouise.bsky.social

Yesterday proved to be a good day for finding not only hybrid Ophrys bee orchids, but also scarce variations - two smart var. bicolor Bee Orchid were growing among hundreds of their normally-marked counterparts in the middle of a floristically rich, rolling open grassland.

It's time for our favourite @wildflowerhour.bsky.social challenge of the year! This week it's the #OrchidChallenge for #WildflowerHour on Sunday evening. Let's post your Platanthera, tweet your twayblades, delight in your Dactylorhiza, and adore your Anacamptis. Let's ogle some #orchids!

Lovely start to the day! A neighbour's hedge is full of butterflies this morning. At least 15 Painted Lady and 6 Red Admiral just on the facing side of this one blue-flowering shrub. It's a butterfly-tastic day here in Weymouth! 🦋🦋🦋 @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Good morning and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour is Spring Butterflies in Abruzzo. We're currently having a great week there, and next year's tour is already taking bookings and, naturally, generates a donation to support @europebutterfly.bsky.social. mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Perfect plants throughout this week in Abruzzo thanks to the preparation by our superb Italian leader Michele Viganò and his network of local Italian contacts. Today we reveled in some outrageous #orchids - Orchis x colemanii (hybrid of O. mascula & O. pauciflora), and Orchis spitzelii.

Bee orchid numbers are down this year at Dawlish Warren but a good display of Southern marsh orchids in the moister areas 😃 25/5/2026 @ukorchids.bsky.social @warrenbirding.bsky.social

Orchis spitzelii was a long-awaited first for me today, an orchid I looked at in a field guide 35 years ago and yearned to see one day. Orchis pallens on the other hand wasn't new, but it's been a while, and it's a species I love unreservedly for its elegance and clear colours.

A very exciting day in Abruzzo today when I found three examples of the hybrid between Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) and Ophrys dinarica. Much fun for the orchid-loving members of my @mariposanature.bsky.social group... and me! #orchids

And a postcard from the field from tour leaders David Moore & @cactusfranks.bsky.social in the French Pyrenees: A phenomenal 90 species seen by guests and guides on our French Pyrenees butterflies tour which concludes tomorrow, including French ultra-rarity Spanish Fritillary. ❤️🤍💙

26/5/26 #Cumbria - The season is further behind at this stunning pasture on the Scottish border, with pristine Early Purple #Orchids (Orchis mascula) and a handful of Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) coming into flower. It’ll be a carpet of Dactylorhizas soon #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social

26/5/25 #Cumbria - The Sword Leaved Helleborine (Cephalanthera longifolia) is a fabulous #orchid but sadly a rather rare one that's heavily threatened in the British Isles. Hotter than today's weather, these magnificent plants were an absolute joy to behold @bsbibotany.bsky.social #wildflowerhour

The butterflies and orchids of Abruzzo have been exceptional this last week for me and my @mariposanature.bsky.social group. (The food has been wonderful too!) It won't be long at all before I'm back in Italy to explore further with my Italian friends - I'm only just getting started...

Simply outrageous butterflying today in Abruzzo with my @mariposanature.bsky.social group, co-leading with the fabulous Michele Viganò. Glorious views of, among others, Italian Marbled White and the local provincialis form of Marsh Fritillary. Heaven. @europebutterfly.bsky.social

@mariposanature.bsky.social holidays aren't just about butterflies and orchids! Here in Romania today, we enjoyed spectacular views of seven Carpathian Brown Bears. Experience of a lifetime for everyone. 🐻🧸

Postcard from the field from tour leaders @dunnjons.bsky.social & Miki Viganò leading our Spring Butterflies of Abruzzo tour: We've had a brilliant day today, with countless fresh Italian Marbled White, and Italian Festoon the undoubted highlights. But many further highly satisfying butterflies!

Two outstanding Ophrys bee orchid hybrids seen with my @mariposanature.bsky.social group here in Abruzzo today, both involving Ophrys dinarica as a parent - one hybridised with Ophrys bertolonii, the other with Ophrys incubacea. Joy! #orchids

Frog orchids flowering on the Somerset levels 🐸 21/5/2026 @orchidvinny.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

An early evening walk yesterday before dinner here once we'd arrived in the heart of Abruzzo was marked by several species of orchid, including my first example of Ophrys appennina. Plenty more orchids, other wildflowers and, of course, butterflies to come this week...

Curiouser and curiouser.

More urban Bee orchids in Poole ...heavily strimmed but early enough that they will flower 😃 19/5/2026 @orchidvinny.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

A few Bee orchids in flower on the Purbeck coast today 19/5/2026 (incl. a wasp / belgarum type), quite a few in bud. Early spider orchids have all but vanished, a few in seed 😃 @orchidvinny.bsky.social @ukorchids.bsky.social

Even if she weren't perched right on it, you could tell this leafcutter bee has been getting into the butterfly milkweed. #bees #BugSky

😔

Any sign of laxiflora x morio?