The rare Grizzled Skipper butterfly seen on Kerswell Down, Kingskerswell

Spring is always a great time to visit the countryside. The local birds are joined by many summer visitors to add variety to the sights and sounds around us. Trees are growing new leaves giving a fresh green look to streets and woods and all this new growth together with the spring flowers bring out a new generation of insects.

These insects come in many forms, many are welcome but others are less so. Aphids, houseflies, clothes moths and wasps perhaps colour our view and many similar creatures are unfairly tarred with the same brush.

To some people I'm sure the "cabbage" white butterflies are a pest and in places they certainly are, but can we distinguish the very similar green-veined white which is often more common in the countryside and innocent of eating crops? Thankfully many other butterflies such as peacock, red admiral, comma and small tortoiseshell are welcome visitors to most gardens. The majority of British butterflies are, however, unknown to most people. Unknown and sadly disappearing from our countryside. One such butterfly is the Grizzled Skipper. Once this tiny butterfly would have been found widely in Devon but gradually they've been reduced to isolated colonies and now one by one these last pockets are dying out. It's still possible to find one or two on Kerswell Down but without suitable management they will soon disappear from here as well as the few others places they can still be found in the Newton Abbot area. Enjoy these things while they last because unfortunately despite the talk and the plans, biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate.