Silver Washed Fritillary and Comma at Brigsteer Wood

Comma and spider with prey

What's in a name?  The sylvan experience isn't about taxonomy- I remind myself.  The essence of life is dynamic, the pulse and rhythm of the place. A Red Admiral settles on my shoulder, a Silver Washed Fritillary comes close- and all the while there are insects on the wing, delving flowers and fluttering through the herb layer. 
I follow the flight of a Comma and my camera discovers a  strand of spider silk that seems to run from its wings, through shadows that reveal the spider and morsels of its prey.  Here's an arachnid  hunting-ground.  Hemp Agrimony is in full bloom and attracts various insects seeking nectar.  
The wood is full of surprises and it's best to go there ready for anything.  

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Coming to the wood in search of butterflies, we have target species: Silver Washed Fritillary, Holly Blue and  Gatekeeper. Hemp Agrimony grows thickest at a distance from the path, so I'm watching the shadows beneath the trees for a flash of orange.  Sunlight is strong and can blaze-out colour, and some of the butterflies are faded and rather worn. There's a fluttering of butterflies through the flowers and this is the life of the wood,  the whole picture.   There are ways of seeing and I'm reminded to let the wood breathe and show what it is,  not to impose my own agenda and  a methodology it doesn't recognise. 

The fritillary which gave the best photo opportunity had damaged wings which  sometimes gave it a confusing appearance. Thanks to Chris Winnick, Chairman of Cumbria Branch Butterfly Conservation, who identifies it as a female Silver Washed Fritillary.
Home again, editing images, I'm surprised by detail I did not see at the time. And I'm reminded of the biodiversity of this lovely place.  It's about far more than target-species.