There is a firm in the USA http://www.katzeyeoptics.com, that makes custom screens for DSLRs, which I can recommend. It does work out quite costly, but worth it in my opinion. In the case of the 7D they recommend having the screen fitted professionally, which will add further to the cost.

M

Looks good for a Persian to me. Is this from south-west Bulgaria?

M.

Steve. You did well to query my identification of Eupholidoptera . I clearly didn't look closely enough at your photo. My apologies. My revised view is that it is a female Anonconotus alpinus . I still think your fourth photo shows the Bog Bush-cricket, but not 100% certain. If you really want to ge...

Don't think it's a seed pod. Looks like the unopened flowers of Wild Carrot.

The first orthopteron is Eupholidoptera chabrieri. The fourth is difficult because partly in shadow, but I can not rule out Bog Bush-cricket (bogs not essential). Just possibly Sepiana sepium. I agree the others.

M.

I've only just seen your mystery burnet. I think it's Zygaena rhadamanthus. Try http://www.leps.it.

M.

....and the moths are the Nettle Tap Anthophila fabriciana.

M.

Tamron fans (I'm one) might like to know that Tamron have just announced a completely new 90mm macro with image stabilisation, ultrasonic motor and internal focusing. Naturally, it's a bit heavier than the current lens, but at 550g. still lighter than the Canon equivalent (625g) not to mention the e...

Nikolay. The discovery of Lycaena helle was made by a group of Dutch naturalists, who were unaware of the earlier find in Serbia, and who were not specifically looking for butterflies at the time. The place of discovery is very close to the Serbian border. See: http://forum.waarneming.nl/smf/index.p...

Looks good to me. The Eastern Wood White is a denizen of warm, even hot, dry habitats, quite unlike the other Wood Whites. I have often seen it in company with Chapman's Blue and I suspect it is using Sainfoin as a larval foodplant. Paul, I haven't commented earlier on your record of the Balkan Clou...

The Bedstraw Hawkmoth, like the Camberwell Beauty, mostly comes to us from northern Europe. It is not a southerner like the Spurge Hawkmoth. Winter temperatures should not be of concern. Possibly damp may be a greater problem for the overwintering pupae. It has been known to establish itself in GB f...

They are said to be easy to rear as larvae. They will overwinter as pupae. Just keep them in a cool place and you should be successful. I think you're right about their identity.

M.

I can't really think of any plausible alternative to the Common Blue. The False Eros Blue is more of an upland species, and certainly not to be expected in the Chuchuligovo area, which I have visited on a number of occasions.

M.

This definitely looks like typical Polyommatus orphicus, with the bold markings, the curvature of the postdiscal spot line, and the white streak on the fw uns.

Many thanks Nikolay.

I'd just like to add that the Cleopatra has been seen a couple of times on tours led by Nick Greatorex-Davies but I'm afraid I don't have details of the records. I think I may have photographed Kolev's Anomalous Blue myself this year, near Zabardo, not far from the type locality of Hvoyna. What do y...

Nikolay
Many thanks for providing a link to Kolev"s paper: I had wanted to see that. It's most illuminating.

M.

On the 23rd, while in search of orthoptera in the Christchurch area, I noticed some larvae on nettle that I at first assumed must be second generation Small Tortoiseshell. That in itself would have been noteworthy, as I haven't seen any for several years. But I was even more surprised when it turned...

What you say is true. There is no doubt there is a distinct phenotype known as the Falakron Blue, but it does seem odd that there should be two sympatric sibling species that are identical in their DNA. As a matter of interest, I note that the latest check-list used by Butterfly Conservation Europe ...

It was a case of choosing between Erhard's and the Common Wall Lizard. I am familiar with both species in Bulgaria, and your lizard just looks right for Erhard's. The conspicuous dorso-lateral stripes combined with the general colouration convince me. It's a matter of jizz as much as anything else. ...

Another thought about those clouded yellows. There is, of course, the Danube Clouded Yellow, which is very like the Balkan C.Y., and more likely to be met with in hot lowlands. There are apparently three specimens dating from the early 20th century in the (Bulgarian) Natural History Museum collectio...