RON Freethy's mention of butterflies (LET, August 21) prompts me to write of several hundreds of butterflies my wife and I saw the previous Sunday when visiting friends at a farm at Summerbridge, near Harrogate.

Three overgrown buddleia bushes at the side of their farm lane were attracting literally hundreds of peacocks, red admirals, tortoise-shells and several of an orange colour among others we couldn't identify.

Ron writes that the 1996 summer could become a "wasp year" but I don't think it will as there are fewer wasps about and also fewer bumble-bees due to a cold front end of the year, making them both late in starting nest-building.

There were earlier, however, many more swarms of honey bees about than in an average year and the general public always confuses them with wasps as they are roughly the same size and shape and, like wasps, they sting when threatened.

Their coloration, however, is totally different - wasps are yellow with black markings and never form swarms while honey-bees, which do form swarms, are darkish-brown.

A J MORRIS (Mr), Clement View, Nelson.

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