I have been observing the development of the caterpillar of the scarce swallowtail for the last weeks (Rhone valley, France). To my surprise yesterday and in the space of 2 days, the caterpillar had developped some black spots to look like the leaves of prunus on which it feeds (I assume anyway). He...

Hi Guy,

I am glad you mention this, i see a lot of darters in the Rhone valley in France which i assume are Ruddy darters. I will look closer now....
Sylvie.

Hi David, Having moved back in France ( as you know) and now living in the Rhone valley, I can only agree with you. Although the diversity of species is there, the numbers are not impressive like it used to be a few years ago. I am involved in a butterfly transect with the Ligue pour la protection d...

Hi Pete, How do you find all these lovely pupa ? Is this just instinct or chance ? I've myself been looking for pupa but have been unlucky so far even if I am sure they are somewhere... very frustrating. The worst bit is to see a butterfly laying eggs, I make a mental mark of where the eggs are, the...

Sunday 25th July - Oxwich Nature Reserve - South Gower - There was quite a diversity of species when I visited Oxwich on Sunday but not a great number of butterflies (sadly): Purple hairstreak x 10 Small heath x 1 Red admiral x 1 Comma x1 Small blue x 3 Meadow brown x 5 Marbled white x1 Small copper...

I have contacted the local recorder and he has confirmed that it is NOT Cryptocephalus primarius unfortunately but it is the larvae of one of the Galerucini (family Crysomelidae).

Thank you All for your help with ID. I would have never guessed it was a Ringlet (looking at the website that you have provided Guy, I did not know there were so many forms of Ringlet), so I have learned something. Thank you. I will go with Scotch Argus for the second one, I don't understand why I d...

Sorry something went wrong,

Here is the second picture … The one I think is Large ringlet.

Hi, Can anybody help me with the identification of these 2 butterflies ? img201_1 (2).JPG img201_1 (2).JPG Sorry about the quality of the photos, I had to do a lot of cropping to be able to add them to this thread. Both pictures are from a scan of a slide. First image 201 taken in Haute Savoie - 180...

Hi Mikhail, Alan

Thank you for your reply. I thought they were beetle larvae but wasn't sure. I have contacted the local recorder for Coleoptera and will let you know once I got his reply.
Sylvie

Thanks Mikhail, I will make a search for Depressaria radiella, it is a good start I think.
Thanks Alan, I thought it was one of the Arches at first but gave up on this trail as the food plant was not right for Arches.
Sylvie

I was searching for the larvae of the Brown argus on common rock roses along the cliffs of South Gower when I came across those very tiny black larvae. Date 5th September
Anybody knows what they are ?

I forgot to mention that it was found on 26th July.
Sylvie

I am having problems with the identification of this caterpillar found feeding on Umbellifers (Pant Y Sais fen NR near Swansea).
Thanks a lot for your help with this.
Sylvie

A sunny morning here in Swansea and on my ivy in the front garden, I counted 6 Red admirals, 1 small tortoiseshell, 1 small white. Lots of Ivy bees also (Colletes hederae). I also saw one speckled wood in my back garden at lunch time !

Very sad to hear the news indeed. Listening to RTL this morning, these bad storms happen every 15-20 years in the region. I also know the area for having lived there, and when it rains, rains can be very heavy, floods happen very quickly especially when the ground is dry from the lack of rain during...

Pant Y Sais Nature Reserve on 30th August : Comma x1 Small tortoiseshell x2 (both in beautiful condition) Red admiral x 2 Holly blue x1 female Common blue x 1 male Small copper x 2 Meadow brown x 4 There were a lot of devil's bit scabious (attracting a lot of insects) along the canal which makes me ...

De rien , ton Français est vraiment impeccable !
Sylvie

Hi Chris, Very nice picture. The Robberfly is Stenopogon Sabaudus (male). They are vicious predators and can also catch dragonflies. If you are interested, there is a very good identification guide : Field guide to the Robberflies of the Netherlands and Belgium (it covers Northern France also). Rein...

Hi David, Now you tell me, I've had another good look again at my picture and I mistook it for a small skipper because the markings are hardly visible on the specimen I saw, but looking at an enlarged level you are right it is a large skipper. Thank you for questioning this otherwise I would not hav...