The small tortoise shell caterpillar is found in the summer months in the nettles around Saltholme, recently we have been blogging about the butterflies on site this is one of the species you can still see until early autumn so they could be still around.

The caterpillar creates a cocoon, which the stage is included in my video below. This species is one of the more common garden butterflies in the UK, and the butterflies are seen between March and October. The link to the small tortoise shell butterfly RSPB page is here.

My youtube link is here if my video is not availabe -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBKvcbtJ92c&feature=youtu.be

- Josh McGowan