Natural History Summer Butterflies in Gunnersbury Triangle 15 July 2019 Ian Alexander Ringlet, a handsome species we’ve hardly seen here, increasing A Peacock butterfly on Buddleia: once a common sight in every suburban garden, now a special treat. We used to call the Buddleia the “butterfly bush”; it would be covered in Nymphalids – Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady, sometimes dozens at once. Red Admiral sunning on Birch by the small meadow Definitely not a butterfly: a newly-emerged Southern Hawker dragonfly stretching its wings just above the main pond amongst the Fool’s Water-cress Water-Plantain beside the boardwalk: the water table is really low for this early in the summer. Netty failed to find any new-season toadlets around the pond where she’d expect them to be. The leaves are slightly heart-shaped, but nowhere near as arrowhead-like as its cousin the Arrowhead. Water-Plantain’s 3-petalled flower