Where have all the butterflies come from today?

[SpikeyBush]

As they have had such a dreadful year so far it was such a joy to have over 40 butterflies in my rather modest back garden all day today. My shrubs and wildflowers were covered with them, they were even lading on me when I was sat by the pond reading the paper.

Was it just my butterfly friendly garden or was this a nationwide happening?

I've uploaded some photos here:
http://butterflygalore.weebly.com/

[Pea Pod]

My daughter does the butterfly count, you can see the results for your area.
http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/results/

[maggiebee]

Lovely photos. You're so lucky, I've only had a few butterflies this year; wondered if it was because of the very wet summer we've had.

[SpikeyBush]

I've shared the link with the Northern Ireland branch of Butterfly Conservation. I took part in the big butterfly count last year but wasn't around for it this year.