Get set for a painted lady summer: big year for orange butterflies in Britain

In five or six weeks, a large British-born generation of painted ladies is likely to emerge. Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Rex/Shutterstock

If you’ve spotted a pale orange butterfly dashing at frenetic pace through streets, fields or gardens, you’ve noticed the new migrants that will add colour to the summer in record-breaking numbers.

What is expected to be the largest arrival of painted lady butterflies in Britain for 17 years is under way after heatwaves and favourable winds ushered thousands if not millions of the insects northwards.