... Is this species 'marginal' due to available habitat in your wider region? ... Hi David, I can find Filipendula vulgaris in many places, however B. hecate is not present. I don't know why this small colony is so localised. One suspicion is that in this calcarious location there are many undergro...

End of March, south of France, A quick update with my latest sighting Here is the context in the Var département at 650 metres altitude (Roger G knows this place :wink: ) 1 (1).JPG 1 (2).JPG For the moment I am considering this to be a vagrant, unless a new colony is forming in this place. What do y...

Well done for finding the Provence Hairstreak.
I think they are more common in Spain than in the south of France.
In the south of France they are at the top of the protected species list and their locations are very hush-hush.
Great report.
Chris

Hi Folks, We are now 9 days into the Southern Festoon season at the site near my workplace. It is not surprising therefore that some individuals are starting to look worn. See the wings on this one: 1.JPG Over a week ago the host plant was barely visible. Now it is quite a bit easier to find - Arist...

Nice to see the habitat shots, Chris. Is this '50m strip' the only place you know for hecate ? This is the only site I know of David for B. hecate. The regional sightings website never shows anything closer to Marseilles. I will return in a couple of weeks to see if I can find a later instar of the...

Hi Bugboy,

Pending any other advice, it looks like a Red-underwing Skipper to me.
There are 4 aligned white apical spots (therefore not Pyrgus sp.) and a series of white marginal markings which point towards this.
And probably male (tuft of hairs on the abdomen).

Any other takers ?
Chris

I'm glad you got your Festoon, Bugboy, and it was a nice touch to get a Festoon cat as well. The colours look right for Cleopatra male and female. Out of interest, I was in Malaga end of February, and the Spanish Festoon was already flying in numbers on the 23rd, whereas in the south of France we ha...

If you have found hecate in your backyard, Chris, that is quite a find. The PACA Atlas shows no sighting in that region and only a limited number of sightings in western Var ..... Hi Roger, 'Backyard' is 40 kms from Marseilles. This very small colony is a short walk from where we had lunch together...

... You over estimated my skills with continental species :lol: ..... Hi Bugboy, I've got you down as an all-rounder but I suppose this species is a bit specific. Hey we're all learning. Thanks for looking in :D . A reminder of the subject --> Brenthis hecate caterpillar, 8 mm long hecate8 caterpil...

David M wrote:Now you're teasing us, Chris - both Festoons within 15 minutes of each other! ....

I am lucky David. This is a very precious time of year and when it is over, I have to wait another 11 months for it to come round again!!
Chris

I’ve yet to see a Southern Festoon and it’s high on my wish list so, through gritted teeth, you get a :mrgreen: ! The time slot for Festoons is quite tight, Essex. Book an early spring holiday. The emergence dates can be variable - this year near my workplace it was the 21th March, last year it was...

The colour range and shape of the markings on the Southern Festoon are stunning Chris :shock: 8) For me they are one of those species that I don't know how I will get to see them - all of my foreign jaunts for the foreseeable future will have to coincide with the school summer break and that's too ...

Charles Nicol wrote:Melitaea ornata

Try Brenthis sp., Charles.

Thank you David, Essex, Charles and Wurzel for showing so much interest in my thread. I don't deserve it. I must reply to each of you individually. Meanwhile, and just to keep you simmering, here is the challenge. Please tell me what are we seeing here with this series of photos. A small colony. The...

Thanks for your comments Charles. Yes Wurzel, I think you're right about the 2nd and 3rd years after burning being productive. Subsequently, I wonder if there is then a decline as the vegetation starts getting dense again? I will pay attention to that. And for both of you, here is today's latest sig...

Thanks for your comments Mr Sp0ck, Wurzel and David. Down here on the south coast of France we have escaped the bad weather affecting the north of France and the British isles. It has been quite windy recently which has stopped temperatures from climbing. At the moment we are typically getting 7°C i...

Hi Folks - 14th of March 2019 Update on Red Admiral early stages from the south of France. After confirmation with Vince, this is a freshly moulted 5th instar caterpillar. It is 18 mm long. atalanta50 caterpillar 5th instar 18 mm long on Urtica sp. Parc du Griffon 14Mar19 (4).JPG Here is the same 5t...

Saturday 09 March I'm not sure what the weather is like in Blighty at the moment, but if it is like the north of France it can't be too good. However, here on the south coast we seem to be protected for the moment. Today in the lowlands the temperature reached 18°C but I went upland to 440 m altitud...

Your Glanville larvae are well ahead of ours in the UK ..... the ones in your photos look like they are around their last skin change or just into the last instar. Thanks for the info Mr Sp0ck. I must monitor this site closely in the coming days (during my lunchbreaks). I would like photos of pupae...

07 March - south of France With temperatures up to 17°C in the south and with intermittent cloud, during my lunch break I wandered down into the olive grove behind work. Although this place was burned to a cinder 3 years ago, the vegetation has slowly come back, and so have the Glanville Fritillarie...