Thanks for your encouragement, Charles. We're up and running. ... Large & Small White can't be far away? ... Well predicted, David. Small White #8 seen today. Feeding on White rocket. rapae18 male Vitrolles olive grove 07Mar18 (2).JPG rapae18 male Vitrolles olive grove 07Mar18 (1).JPG Down in th...

Hi Mikhail,
Wow, that was quick.
I've just cross checked and I believe you're right.
Thanks a lot.
Chris

Hello caterpillar experts, I have a friend in France who saw this caterpillar. Length = 1 cm. I'm am currently trying to extract more detailed information about the sighting and will update where possible. Does anyone have a pointer regarding its identity ? Moth or Butterfly ? Zygaena ? Family ? Tha...

Hi Ian,
I'll have a bash, just to relieve me from my boredom at work.

Top to bottom:
Common blue
Abberrant Lysandra sp. (look at the fringes)
Brown argus (basal displacement of one of the underside spots).

By the way, a great photo

Chris

Good work Bugboy.
You really have your 'nose to the ground'.
An example to be followed.
Chris

Hi Folks, The 'beast from the east' (in French "le Moscou -> Paris", which I would translate as the "Moscow-to-Paris express") which touched the South of France, has gone and températures have jumped back up to their seasonal norms in Marseilles for the start of March: 10°C in th...

We're only slightly better off in the South of France, David, at the moment, with the last of the snow and wind today (1st of March). It is only a question of days now. By the 2nd March, it will suddenly be milder down here, with 8°C in the morning and up to 15°C in Perpignan in the afternoon. These...

I hope these aren't detrimental to the health of TTP larvae using the same foodplant! Hi David, On this particular Strawberry Tree, there are no TTP cats. I was intrigued by this nest and the (possibly) Brown-tail cats because someone had already pointed out a more mature Brown-tail cat nest on Bla...

Charles Nicol wrote:they look similar to this Euproctis chrysorrhoea caterpillar:

http://www.pyrgus.de/bilder1/lymantriid ... pe2010.jpg

Thank you Charles. Yes, they do look similar.

Thanks Bugboy,
I didn't know whether the Brown Tail existed in the UK.
Chris

Hello moth experts, I presume these are moth caterpillars. I feel that I would know if they were rhopalocera cats. This nest of cats was seen today, 25 February, on a Strawberry Tree ( Arbutus unedo ) on the outskirts of Marseille. They are about 8 mm long. I really am out of my depth, but are those...

A great video, Roger.
And even more exciting when I think that in less than 36 days I should be living some of that myself.
But as I look out the office window in Vitrolles, Bouches du Rhône, it is currently snowing (9.30 am local time)
Chris

Hi,
My Wood White is from the south of France on 08 May.
It is not necessarily my favourite, it is the only one I have, having inadvertently deleted all this year's photos. Chris

Thanks Charles and David. And yes, David, the sun being not too intense in February probably makes the Western Dappled White a little more lethargic. Sunday 18 February, about 11°C. In the south of France on the outskirts of Marseilles yesterday, I had my first distant glimpse this year of a female ...

Welcome Ian.
No embarassment on this site - all enthusiastic participants regardless of level.
Guy's excellent advice sounds very logical to me.
We look forward to hearing more of your butterflying experiences.
Chris

Friday 16 February, South of France Today the temperatures rose to 14 or 15°C and made for a fruitful lunch break considering it is mid February. Up on the plateau of Vitrolles I confirmed the presence of Western Dappled White (an improvement on my photos from a couple of days ago) : crameri27 Vitro...

Just a quick question, Chris....do you get Peacocks, Brimstones, Commas and Small Tortoiseshells regularly in your part of southern France? You have precisely listed those butterflies David that do not fly regularly within a radius of about 30 km around Marseilles. I have seen a Small Tort vagrant ...

Only 10c in Marseilles, Chris? Are you having an abnormally cold start to spring? Indeed, David. We are having a chilly spell down south. Hopefully the usual last cold snap before things start warming up. Next weekend, one year ago, temperatures reached 17°C in Marseilles. Today there is a chilly b...

Wow! Early February and you're seeing crameri !!! You sure live in an enviable part of Europe, Chris. I saw 2 of them, David, and a Clouded Yellow, and the temperature was barely 8°C. Today it should rise to 11°C, and it will be sunny, so I will definitely be out in the field at lunchtime. My speci...

Thanks Guy. That's reassuring. So the 2018 season is officially launched in the South of France and is now making its way north.
Chris