It was a great trip but if I went back I think May would be a good time to go to check out what flies earlier in the year. Maybe you could do a recky for Greenwings? I wouldn't have minded those extra three days. I would've certainly got a bit more zapateri footage and maybe added a few more species...

Great trip report David and an excellent holiday, my first guided group butterfly holiday. I booked it with a little trepidation but found the whole experience fantastic. Well lead, good company and plenty of butterflies at known sites so no hunting around for days to find particular species. As usu...

Hi Paul Is the fritillary a female in which case I would go for Shepherds as Mountain females are normally oddly coloured. If its a male I would still go for Shepherds as the black lines going at right angles to the veins on the upper forewing are quite thick. These are normally thinner in Mountain ...

Still hoping someone will pass comment on this Pyrgus.

Many thanks

Hello Guy Many thanks for your comments which are extremely helpful. I've looked at image 1 several times and couldn't be certain between nevadensis and deione . As you say nevadensis is extremely variable and with my limited knowledge of this species it was difficult to make any sort of a decision ...

I managed to find some video footage of the butterfly in image 1 that my dad took and it shows the upper hindwing to have a discal line completely across it ruling out parthenoides (Meadow Fritillary) therefore Rogers suggestion of deione (Provencal) is the most likely suspect.

Any ideas please

Hi Guy

If you have a minute could you take a peek at the two pieces of video footage in this link please.

Many thanks

Here is the first of my Pyrgus problems. This individual was found mud puddling with Marbled Skippers at an altitude of around 1500 metres close to a river. It was the size of Large / Oberthur's / Foulquier's. I originally thought Oberthur's as it appeared to have two white arcs near the anal angle ...

I have some video clips of two interesting looking Melitaea fritillaries from the first day. One had very dark markings on around the orange lunules on the underside of the hindwing shown below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db3NU4O9f9c The second was quite dark on the upperside with a possible cl...

Thanks Guy
Some individuals were much easier than others to identify. I' have a few more that I'm less certain of plus some tricky Pyrgus I'm very uncertain of.

Thanks again
Paul

Hi Guy Many thanks for taking a look and passing on your thoughts on these photos. I think nevadensis was pretty common in various habitats. I'm still not sure about Image 1 as it did appear quite different to all the others, was found alone whereas the others seemed to congregate together and it wa...

Hello Guy
Would you be able to cast your eye over these for me when you have a minute before I add any more photos to this link.

Many thanks

Hi Colin Your first dragonfly looks like a female Large Pincertail (Blue-eyed Hooktail) - Onychogomphus uncatus with the blue eyes. The second is a darter and has blue on the lower half of the eyes so possibly a Red-veined Darter - Sympetrum fonscolombii No real idea on the bug except it may be some...

I've looked at lots of internet photos of female parthenoides and many of them show Spanish butterflies to have some lines and markings in the discal area of the upper hindwing similar to on Image 1. I'll await an opinion from Guy as well as he has good experience of forms found in Spain. On the Lep...

Hi Roger
Many thanks for your input. I did see deione on this holiday with females showing a more contrasting hindwing but as you say there is a lot of variability.
Thanks again
Paul

Hi David
I started off fairly confidently then the more I looked at the images the more unsure I became, so hopefully a more expert opinion will put my mind at rest.
Thanks
Paul

Photos taken at an altitude of approx. 500 metres in the Picos de Europa. Any help with IDs greatly appreciated. My initial thoughts were Image 1 was a female Meadow Fritillary - Mellicta parthenoides the remainder may all be Heath Fritillary - Mellicta athalia although I was informed there is now a...

Your first and third photos both look like Chalkhill Blue and the second photo may be a small and worn female Silver-studded Blue but I would wait for more expert opinion than mine before writing anything down. Nice photos by the way.

Thanks to Guy Roger and Pete for adding more to this thread and giving some ID help on these. I think I'll just have to post some pictures of the Fritillaries I saw in the Picos de Europa and ask for ID help as well.

Thanks All