The clouds were low. Water dripped from every bent grass head. Each flower was bowed with raindrops. So when I reached the fallow land by the woods, I was amazed to find the thick, sodden vegetation shimmering with butterflies. I knew bumblebees fly in quite heavy rain, but here were butterflies doing the same. The dusky, almost black butterflies were ringlets. Their dark velvety wings, framed with a white border, caught what little light there was. Passing me, they seemed to flash. Ringlets don’t need direct sun; their sombre colouring allows them to warm up more quickly than brighter-coloured insects. The same is true of the slightly lighter-coloured, meadow brown. Their habit of flying on cheerless days has earned both a reputation for sorrow. Maniola, the Latin name for meadow b