Thank you Guy, Paul and Bugboy for your replies, I've just realised how stupid it was of me not to check the fringes.... I was too hasty with my conclusion. I am glad to have found Russian Heath (or maybe it found me), it was a very hot day and as there was a damp patch along the path, I stopped to ...

Hello, I am having problems with the identification of the following butterflies and would be grateful if any specialists could help : Chestnut heath or Russian Heath? I have seen chestnut heaths many times in the French Alps and took the picture of this one thinking it was a chestnut but I am now h...

Hi Owen, Guy, This is interesting as I have had the same experience a couple of years ago when I was in the Jura (1100m), I was really surprised to see a female Mountain Alcon blue laying eggs on Gentiana Lutea (giant yellow gentian). They could be using different kinds of gentiana when cruciata is ...

Hi David, Puddles are great especially when the weather is hot. Every time I came across one, I spent many hours just observing the butterflies and their interaction between one another. They seem very tolerant of one another. However, I always wondered why so many species of 'Blues' tend to congreg...

Nice one Colin ! I bet you wish you were there earlier to see it emerging !
Sylvie

Hello Sonam, Fantastic butterflies and I am looking forward to see more. I particularly like your Dusty Diadem (stricking contrasts). I've just read a book about Bhutan and learned that a lot of efforts were made to preserve the ecological diversity of the country (including tigers), makes me want t...

Nice find Russ, Volucella Inflata is quite localised. Other volucella you may find is the volucella Zonaria which is equally beautiful and more widespread.
Sylvie

Hi Chris, Ah oui la Ste Baume, when I looked at your photograph, I recognized the place immediately having been there 13 years ago.... That was the summer of 2003 with high heatwave and fires (I remember the one in the Massif des Maures as one of my favourite spots had been badly hit) and some paths...

Hi David, A very good report, thanks for sharing. At which altitude were you staying ? From experience with the northern Alps, I am indeed surprised that your visit yielded so many species at this time of year when the weather in the mountains can be unpredictable and therefore can delay the emergen...

Hi David, I particularly like your short tailed blue, it is a very fresh specimen and I have never seen them in this condition. Your chequered blue is also very 'cute' and likewise I have not seen it for a long time, not having been to France in May since many years because of work constraint :(... ...

Thank you Guy for your reply.
Sylvie

Hi Chris, Thank you for this ! I think you're right about the clouded yellow being a female f. Helice, this is what I had assumed first but knowing that Pale clouded yellow and Berger's clouded yellow are in the area, I was not sure, your description is useful and I will remember this for next time,...

Hi Chris, The new species for me were the Sooty Orange Tip, Common Tiger Blue and Spanish Gatekeeper. I found the Common Tiger Blue to be very similar to the Little Tiger Blue which I had seen in Greece and Turkey, it is hard to see the difference. Although it is also recorded in France, I had never...

Spanish Gatekeepers were seen in good numbers but near the coast only. The butterflies are difficult to photograph, they seem to rest low on the ground in the cover of rocks or vegetation with their wings closed and very often in the shade. SGatekeeper.JPG Spanish Marbled Whites were flying but very...

Thank you Chris, Guy and David for your comments . I am not sure whether it was luck or the right time of the year to find the SOT. We did not expect to find it because we were not looking for it.... Common Tiger blue was locally abundant near the coast. Always found on or to the close proximity of ...

10 days in the South East corner of Spain in early April yielded a good number of butterflies and some I had never expected to find. Weather was sunny for most days and the best time to photograph was in the morning as the wind picked up from noon making photography practically impossible after lunc...

Image re-test / SWAdmiral

SW Admiral testing image size

Thank you all for your suggestions and help. I've just returned from South East Spain where it was very dusty (and windy)- I had to decide which lens to use for the day before going out. I would not take the chance of damaging the sensor in such an environment. This is the best option for me at the ...

Thank you for your reply. The best thing to avoid having to clean the sensor would be to leave the same lens attached to the body all the time but this would not be convenient as depending on what subject I photograph, I need a different lens. I have not had any problems yet with sensor dust as my c...