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Meadow brown butterfly perched on a white wildflower, wings closed showing mottled brown underside against blurred green background

Meadow Brown

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Meadow brown butterfly perched on a white wildflower, wings closed showing mottled brown underside against blurred green background

Meadow Browns

The Meadow Brown butterfly is common throughout the New Forest.

It has a soft brown colour with a distinctive orange patch and black eyespot on each forewing.

It is an open grassland and meadow species which is common among the fields, hedgerows and woodlands around the edges of the New Forest.

Almost any meadow in the Forest will have Meadow Browns in and they can also be found in open grassy areas within woods.

Their caterpillars feed on a variety of grasses, making them closely tied to the Forest’s grazed meadows and open habitats.