Queen Anne's Lace this end is Anthriscus sylvestris, a pretty harmless umbellifer that flowers from April to early June. Monarchs occasionally cross the Atlantic, quite likely by accident. I have some lovely photos of one I spotted in Madeira in late 2017. About fifteen years ago one appeared in my friends' garden in Bude. I got a rather hazy photo of it that I submitted to our regional newspaper, and they printed it!

Not been a great year so far and I've seen very few small tortoiseshells, but there's still time. I try to grow butterfly-friendly plants such as buddleias and Sedum "Brilliant" and there are plenty of nettles for caterpillar food around the edge of my garden. Maybe the late-summer surge is yet to come.