Orange coloured butterflies
Just now there are several orange butterflies on the wing. The really small ones are the skippers which perch with their wings only half open. The large and small skipper are widespread, the Essex skipper much less so.

Three times bigger are the fresh comma butterflies. This is the species you are most likely to see.

In addition we have two fritillary butterflies in the county:
The dark green fritillary occurs mainly on the limestone and old disused quarries provide an especially good habitat for them.
A recent incomer from the south, the stunning silver washed fritillary, can be seen at a few sites in the south of the county including Hilton Reserve. 

Thick thighs
The thick thighed flower beetle came on my radar a few years ago when I started to see them mostly feeding on hogweed. Yesterday I saw several on the hills between Wirksworth and Belper. The males really do have bizarrely bulging, metallic green thighs, a feature the females lack.

John Portwood’s excellent photo shows a male on oxeye daisy:

Now is Orchid time!
Many orchids flower in June and July so now is a great time to look for them and in the case of the fragrant orchid, to smell them too! While most orchids have no scent and rely solely on colour and design to attract day-flying insects to pollinate them, the pink-coloured fragrant orchid exudes a strong smell of vanilla at dusk which lures hawkmoths and others to visit them during the night.