I always come across this butterfly when out filming, as it can be found in many different habitats, easily identified from its relatives, like the larger meadow brown as when its wings are closed it always rests with a eye spot showing on the underside of the fore-wing, which like many butterflies and moths with similar markings act as a decoy to any predator. Butterflies are on the wing from late May to mid-September and weather permitting can have up to three generations a year, especially in the south of England. the caterpillars hibernate through the winter and  resume feeding in the spring on food plants such as Meadow-grasses, Fescues and Bents.