I used to have the same issue with Chapman's until I became properly aquainted. This image may help, showed the androconial patch quite well as it happened....

This was Behr's Metalmark near San Diego in 2010...

Sorry, been out of touch for a few days... thank you both for your views, I always learn much from what you both say.. I will have a look for undersides but I fear there will be nothing to post.

I have this annotated alveus , from the Midi Pyrenees on 3rd August, at 1800m. Reading further, I see andromedae is also to be found in the Pyrenees, and I'm not sure it couldn't be onopordi . Sadly, no underside view.... I would be grateful for any comment on the accuracy of my attempted ID.... IMG...

Ah, I've just seen Guy's comments here.. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9066 so I guess it's a typo. The dull dead specimens shown do indeed highlight R.L's splendid achievements elsewhere imho.

I just obtained my copy of Leraut with which I am very pleased. Am I correct in that there is a typo, naming phoebe as Freyer's in the text and plates, or has there been a name change?. I assumed the latter until I came across another text named Freyer's, where I would have previously expected it. H...

Thank you both. amoricanus is fine by me, thanks again.

This butterfly was photographed on 30th July just west of Luchon in the Midi Pyrenees - having read Nigel Kiteley's request for ID and the bellieri answer, I am wondering if this could be a male bellieri ?? I had it down as amoricanus ... IMG_4616_edited-1.jpg IMG_4636_edited-1.jpg I rather expect i...

Looks good for Lulworth to me... ? in UK or overseas

Sorry David, missed your post. You really must pencil in a trip to see them... they are very elegant and very photogenic, in an understated way. It has taken me many years to see them for the first time and I was delighted they were there. Still chewing on about the erebia, beginning to think epiphr...

Ok.... there were several similar looking erebiae to the one(s) I posted at the site I saw them. It was quite high for the area, but only 1600m, on a south facing grass/ heather/ bilberry hillside where they sheltered rather than shot around. The size was that of a meolans which I did see at other s...

It's a wise man who doesn't want to end up with Olympic level biking accidents, (poor lass!)

Guy, sorry but will you have another look at my errant erebia??

Here is a selection of Blue seen over the week, from 800m in Northern Spain, to 1800m in France..... Firstly argus , in the higher Pyrenees in France where they were very frequently encountered... IMG_6424.jpg IMG_4941.jpg then in the Val d'Aran, baton ... IMG_6106.jpg then coridon ... IMG_6056.jpg ...

Above, there is a rather odd looking and so far unidentified erebia. I have found another image from the same place which may help someone better than me to identify...
maybe it's meolans ???

Well.... skippers were not a great feature of my trip, but there were a few, and my ID attempts may not be fault free, but I saw... at 1400m near Luchon, what I now think are all (different) amoricanus , but serratulae had crossed my mind, and I still don't think I've seen cirsii .... IMG_4743_edite...

aaarrrgggh... now I'm on tenterhooks until tomorrow... can't wait to see what you think!!

I have a number of ripartii, fabressei, agenjoi, ainsae I want to swirl around your grey cells as well, but all in good time

Fascinating area to visit and at last a few new species for me, as well as some distinguished local variants of previously encountered species. We stayed in Luchon, just the French side of the border to the Val d'Aran in Spain. Every direction yielded suitable sites, and the walks, though long and h...

Erebias were relatively mundane as well, but I did want another try with oeme , the Bright Eyed Ringlet, which offered up two versions.... IMG_4200_edited-1.jpg IMG_4378_edited-1.jpg and... lugens IMG_4387_edited-4.jpg As well as those, were ligea , Arran Brown... IMG_4118_edited-1.jpg and galathea ...

Hi
No 6 looks like osiris to me... rather than semiargus.... check the unh spotting, Guy explained the differences once to me when I had confused the same two species.