SPORTING ANSWERS
Pride of Exmoor
BUTTERFLIES
Q Can you identify the butterfly in my photograph, please? I photographed it on Exmoor in late June.
A Your butterfly is a heath fritillary, one of Britain’s most rare species, restricted to a few woods in Kent and Essex, and a number of sites in the West Country. Curiously, the Exmoor colonies were not discovered until the 1980s, suggesting that they must have been overlooked until then. These butterflies favour sheltered valleys or coombes on the moor, flying from late May through to the end of Tune.
Despite their rarity in England, at the sites where they do occur they can be abundant, sometimes emerging in hundreds or even thousands. The favoured food plant of the caterpillars is cow wheat, but on Exmoor they can be found feeding on foxgloves. They are attractive butterflies, flitting and gliding on flat wings, frequently pausing to feed on flowers. Like most fritillaries they are sun lovers, only flying when the sun shines and the temperature rises above 18 ¡ C. DT
How to keep a dog cool
VETERINARY CARE
Q With a young dog in training this summer, have you some advice on the best ways to keep dogs cool in hot weather?
A I know this question has been asked before, but the advice is so important that it will do no harm to reiterate.
a cool bed to lie
