A harbinger of spring if ever we saw one – the orange-tip butterfly is often one of the first Lancashire butterfly sightings of the year. Males are white with orange tips to their wings, while females are white with black wing-tips, and both butterflies have the most gorgeous mottled green underwings. Orange-tip butterflies lay their eggs on cuckooflower and garlic mustard in damp meadows and woodland glades – even their eggs are orange!

On the wing: April – July

The brimstone butterfly is another spring classic, it’s angular, citrus-yellow wings unmistakeable as it flutters across grassland and woodland. In fact, these butterflies appear so yellow (males in particular) that it’s thought this is where the ‘butter’ in ‘butterfly’ originated from. A brimstone’s underwings have strong veins that make them look like leaves – clever!

On the wing: Generally April – July, though adults hibernate so may emerge on warm days throughout the year.

The golden-yellow splotches on the speckled wood’s deep brown wings mimic light and shade; the perfect camouflage for dappled woodland clearings. However, it’s quite rare to see one feeding from flowers as they prefer the honeydew (sap) found in the tree tops.

Speckled wood butterflies are often used as an indicator of climate change because of the surge in their numbers up north. Their range shrunk drastically during the late 19th and early 20th centuries but has since risen with the mercury – in fact, according to Butterfly Conservation, speckled woods have seen a 71 per cent increase in distribution and an 84 per cent increase in abundance over the past 40 years!

On the wing: April – September

Large and flamboyant, you can’t miss the spectacular peacock butterfly. Large eyespots flash blue to confuse and startle predators, and contrast beautifully with its bright red wings. Spiky black peacock butterfly caterpillars are the type you’re most likely to see devouring nettles in big groups, their white speckles making it look as though you’re staring into a rippling, starry night sky.

On the wing: March – September

The small tortoiseshell is one of our most common butterflies – look out for its orange wings with black splotches, and a border of bright blue crescents along the bottom edge of each wing. This butterfly is one of the easiest to see, flitting between flowers (especially buddleia) in both urban and rural spots.

Small tortoiseshells have a weird, kind of romantic mating ritual. The male drums his antennae on the hindwings of a female before she flits to another spot. He follows her before repeating the whole process again. This can go on for hours, until the female leads the male into vegetation where the mating itself takes place away from prying eyes and lasts until the following morning.

On the wing: Generally March – October, though adults hibernate so may emerge on warm days throughout the year.

The comma might look battered and bruised at first glance, but its scalloped wings offer clever camouflage, concealing the hibernating butterfly against dead leaves. Its name comes from the small white comma mark on its underwings.

You’re most likely to spot this butterfly species in woodland clearings, but keep an eye out in your garden as winter hibernation approaches and hungry commas search more widely for nectar and rotting fruit.

On the wing: Generally March – October, though adults hibernate so may emerge on warm days throughout the year.

Though it be but little, it is fierce! The small copper is incredibly territorial, basking on a patch of bare ground or stone until an interloping insect strays too near. It doesn’t take this tiny butterfly long to chase the intruder away!

Adult small coppers have bright orange wings with black spots and black borders, and they like feeding from ragwort and thistles in a range of dry, sunny habitats. Keep your eyes peeled on heathland, unimproved grassland, woodland clearings and even waste ground.

On the wing: April – October

There’s no mistaking this tiny green butterfly as it shimmers in the sunshine like a precious emerald. In fact, the green hairstreak is the UK’s only green butterfly! To spot one in our region, go for a scenic stroll across moors, mosslands or heaths, and keep your eyes peeled around patches of bilberry and gorse: two of its favourite nectar sources.

On the wing: April – June

The best way to tell a green-veined white apart from other white butterflies is to look at its underwings, where it has a series of thick, green, vein-like markings that make it stand out from the crowd. It’s common across Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, especially in damp areas with lush vegetation like damp meadows, riverbanks and woodland rides.

On the wing: April – September

The large skipper is one of my summer favourites, feeding from flowers like bramble, knapweeds and thistles. It loves areas with long grasses, such as pastures, roadside verges, parks, churchyards, woodland rides and even urban habitats. Male large skippers can be differentiated from small skippers by the black line running through the centre of their upperwings. Both sexes have faint pale spots on their underwings.

On the wing: June – August

Did you know that the common blue is the most widespread of all British butterflies? You could see one everywhere from the coastal sand dunes of St Anne’s and the cliffs of Heysham, to the woodland clearings of Mere Sands Wood and the grassland of Brockholes Nature Reserve, where we have a particularly abundant population.

Male common blue butterflies have bright blue wings, while females have brown wings with a dusting of blue either side of their body, plus orange spots along the bottom edge of each wing. Both sexes have orange spots on their underwings, while the similar-looking holly blue butterfly has very small black spots.

On the wing: May – October