The butterfly to the right is the European Swallowtale or Papilio machaon. The name comes from the potruding tips at the rear of their wings which resemble those of the swallow.  Because of the variety of naturally occurring vegetation and the wide range of plants and flowers planted by the current and previous, inhabitants of the farm, a huge range of birds, animals and insects inhabit the gardens, fields and orchards in the immediate vicinity.  We are incredibly lucky here at Poggio le Stalle to live in a largely undisturbed rural setting, full of natural beauty ideal for a rural retreat in Italy.

To the left there is an image of the the previously mentioned Silver Washed Fritillary that was taken (along with the previous image) by guests staying in the farmhouse during the summer of 2011.  There were amazed by the range of animal life immediatelly surrounding the farmhouse, and were kind enough to send a few snaps of some of the particularly pretty butterflies they saw during their stay at Poggio le Stalle.