I would also be interested to know the external features to differentiate hyale from alfacariensis . It’s easy in Var because hyale doesn’t fly there. The degree of curvature of the alfacariensis forewing margin and the degree of pointedness of the forewing apex are quite variable in the Var alfacar...

It is almost certainly rapae (Small) rather than mannii (Southern Small). Several reasons: The upf apical mark is quite square in mannii . The fw black spot of mannii is either flat or concave, rapae not. The unh colour is pale yellow for mannii , more distinctly yellow for rapae . The famed fork – ...

In Var it flies regularly in September. The latest recordings I have are from 29 September from several locations, and we leave each year at the end of September, so it is quite probably continuing into October.
Roger

Very hard to be sure with that degree of wear but Silver-washed looks a strong favourite to me. When fresh, Cardinal female has a very strong bronze tinge. The markings are rather different, especially the hindwing, even allowing for natural variation. Not sure what books you have been reading, Davi...

King George V clearly didn’t appreciate Long-tailed Blues else his (alleged) last words would have been different.
Roger

From memory, didn't Short-tailed Blues once occur in Dorset in the late 1800s, when it was known as the Bloxworth Blue. I did have a mooch around Bloxworth some 50 years ago, but I didn't find any.

Good to see "normal Padfield" resumed.

Roger

I find this a fascinating thread/diary, especially when it relates to Long-tailed Blue, an intriguing species from many perspectives. It’s a great read and very informative, so thank you Neil for posting in such detail. It is a species whose ecology generates so many questions, some of which I raise...

petesmith wrote: ↑Wed Aug 24, 2022 7:36 am Whereas we had lefebvrei and sthennyo, you got gorgone and pronoe - I can think of a certain UKB French butterfly veteran who is probably even more envious than me of you finding the latter!

Indeed. When 237 becomes 238, deep joy...
Roger

I recall that 2014/15/16 we had around 120 species each year, and not just the same species - the species total for the three years was around 138. That was just the Mercantour and Cayolle and only the first week in July. I have recorded 87 species from the Col de la Cayolle and 95 from Isola (from ...

Agree, John.
If it's not, I have this one wrong as well:
https://www.butterfliesoffrance.com/htm ... es_18Jul19_
Roger

I would say thersites is a strong contender.
Roger

That's what I call dedication.
Spend most of the spring and summer in some of the most species-rich locations in Europe, a tick-list of several hundred, and then come back to England and go looking for Essex Skippers.
Roger

I hadn't realised teleius was out in mid-July. It's high on my 'hit list' so I will park that information for future reference. At this particular but highly secret site these two species are out much later than elsewhere, even locally. I was informed by the local experts that the flight period var...

They may bask like that early in the morning, but I wouldn't be there to see them :) It was taken some time ago (2009) and more likely to have been in a cloudy or overcast spell when they sit on rocks for the warmth. A male nearby did the same, as below. Just a lucky moment, as I've never seen them ...

I think they are in range for females. It is perhaps the species with the greatest variation in the underside, the females more so than the males, so probably no reason why the uppersides should not be variable as well. Here is a female upperside. Satyrus ferula_17009W.JPG Ocelli are also hugely var...

I guess if you lived in the area your count would be approaching 70 during a whole year. Or if you go there almost every year at slightly different times, you could get to the 111 species I have recorded from there. It is undoubtedly the most prolific location in terms of species diversity I have e...

I think the best way to illustrate the description I gave in the narrative is with these two images of aethiops , male above. The post-discal band is marked, more so in the female, as is usual for Erebia , and the basal band is quite clear too. The white-centred ocelli are also indicative. My experi...

I am the wrong person to ask on this one. Of the 238 mainland France species, I have seen 237 and the missing one is pronoe . Having said that, I don’t think it is aethiops . If it is a female, I would expect the post-discal band to be much more marked and the basal band to be clear as well. If it i...

I can see where you’re coming from, David, but I would say it is serratulae , with some degree of confidence. The roundish basal s6 mark, the marginal white band (which serratulae sometimes has, and causes confusion with carthami which some people think is the only Pyrgus to have this band), and the...

I would think this is almost certainly lycaon.
Roger