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| The Grayling is usually seen with its wings folded down so only the grizzled underside of the rear wings is seen, which camouflage it in its normal habitat - which is not grassland! |
The underside of the front wing is reminiscent of a Meadow Brown, but the second spot is distinctive - it is much larger in the female (as here) than the male |
Graylings always hold their wings closed when at rest so the only way to see the upper side is when they're in flight - which is why this image is a little blurred! |
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How we came to have a Grayling in our back garden in 2018 is a complete mystery, as its distribution is on heaths & downlands, mainly coastal, and it enjoys stony surfaces or those baked dry by the sun - not a good description of our lawn! Occasional sightings have been recorded throughout mid-Suffolk though, so we were happy to add ours to the database |
| A glimpse of the upper side patterning can sometimes appear when they're moving around though - as here |
The Grayling is supposed to like landing on human clothing (probably searching for perspiration) but this one took things one step further! It was probably just having a rest though |
