Small Tortoiseshell butterflies are found in every European country except Iceland. They flock to garden flowers like buddleia, but will also visit forests and mountains.
They remain in gold-tinted chrysalises for twelve days. Nettles are the only plant on which they will lay eggs.
Above, they feed on Ground Elder. You can tell them apart from other species by the blue spots bordering their wings.
Tortoiseshells are in the same taxonomic genus (Aglais) as Peacock butterflies (Aglais io). Hibernating for around 5 months, they are among the longer-lived British butterflies.
The similar but faded Large Tortoiseshell is probably extinct in the UK. Dutch Elm disease killed off one of its favourite habitats.
Sources
Lewington, Richard, Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland, 2nd ed. (London: Bloomsbury Wildlife, 2015) p 101, 149
Dennis, Roger L H, A Resource-Based Habitat View for Conservation: Butterflies in the British Landscape (West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons, 2010) p 43
wildwildweb.org 
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