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27 May

As the past days were marked by a heat wave, the overall vegetation saw a big boost which mostly benefitted grasses and mosquitos, hoever some butterflies seem to have appreciated the unsually hot weather, as well. With temperatures around 22.8°C (10:51 AM), sunny conditions and weak to strong winds, the overall amount of insects (minus mosquitos) paradoxically was lower than expected.

Most parts of Zone I had to be skipped due to the ground still being too wet and slippery, and meadow grasses dominating the paths at the foot of the hill. Most of Zone III had to be skipped for the same reasons.

+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
| Species                 | Location                        | Status |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+
| Aglais urticae          | Mixed Field                     | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Anthocharis cardamines  | Zone II                         | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Araschnia levana        | Zone II                         | Adult  |
|–------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Coenonympha pamphilus   | Zone I / III                    | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Colias sp.              | Mixed Field                     | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Polyommatus bellargus   | Zone I                          | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Polyommatus icarus      | Mixed Field                     | Adult  |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+

Obviously the biggest surprise turned out to be two Colias sp. individuals which usually do not make an appearance until June ("Bog Hill") or July ("Mixed Field"). A. urticae also finally made its first appearance and thus nearly a month later than usual.

A very slight change in weather has been forecast for my region, with temperatures set to drop below 25°C for two days, followed by another heat peak around this weekend and a bigger drop next week.

NOTE: Although I was unable to confirm those sightings, my mother reported to me that she has seen three V. cardui the day prior. As those already had been observed around the same time before, this species has been included in the yearly summary table.