This Ringlet butterfly was a roadside casualty that Barbara spotted when we were in Dalby Forest, North Yorks Moors, last month.
I put it under the microscope to focus on the eye-spots. Each has a bright fleck in the middle, even the smallest of them, which must help give the impression of a gleaming snakelike eye, distracting any attacker either by surprising it or fooling it into pecking the butterfly’s wing instead of its body.
This was very interesting for my children. I had them guess what the top photo was, and they were absolutely sure it was a snake. Thanks.
I was surprised at the level of detail when I zoomed into those little eye-spots. The butterfly is on the desk here beside me and the spots look like little targets painted with a very fine brush, so it’s surprising to see how they’re put together like a mosaic or a tapestry.