We went to Lake Garda in 2006 for a few days. We found the area around Ferraro de Monte Baldo quite good for butterflies as the east side of the lake was generally more touristy, as compared to the west side which seemed rather industrialised. On the west side we found a few good spots north of Cost...

The requirements for that would be that you looked at a sufficient number of specimens of each species (say 100) and for each feature noted the percentage observed with and without that feature. I imagine you intended to do that anyway. That's the plan, the first stage being to define/describe the ...

I am not sure how many Pyrgus enthusiasts frequent these forums, but for any that are, here is my first shot at the identification of Pyrgus species (http://www.butterfliesoffrance.com/Pyrgus_identification.htm), which I hope is reasonably navigable. This is the first draft, as I thought it better t...

I preface any comments with the fact that I have never been there in mid-June. But in mid-July it is probably one of the richest areas in terms of both species and densities. So it is likely to be very good in June as well. Head south into the Parc National des Ecrins. The D530 through Venosc and be...

I would have expected to see more of the cell spot for icarus . To me, it does not have the feel of icarus . Those marginal black studs look very rounded, whereas I would expect them to be more elongated in icarus and touching the orange along more of the length. The sharp black chevrons in s4 and s...

I came across this Provence Chalk-hill Blue ( Lysandra hispana ) a couple of years ago with quite copious silver in several of the marginal lunules. It is quite like the Chalk-hill Blue ( L. coridon ) in nearly all respects. I have never seen any Lysandra species anything like this before or since. ...

I also believe there are practical reasons though. For instance, in July I will be going to France for a week to an area I am unfamiliar with. I will be simply taking off into the hills alone every day armed only with water, camera and notebook. Now, I daresay most women would be rather more wary o...

Not Deb Lister, Susie, the female mirror image of Lister?

Probably the best Red Dwarf episode ever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Pr7dSw ... re=related

Now that the heat has gone out of this debate, I wonder what species occur at 2700m. Maybe Glandon and Alpine Blues, also Small Blues which seem to be the most highly adaptive of species, Clouded Yellow and an Erebia ringlet or two, maybe Sooty Ringlet. I visited three locations at over 2300m (Col d...

This topic often seems to lead to a heated debate (Mrs Merton would be proud) and views expressed are often more extreme than on any other subject. On the subject of netting and examination of the genitalia for identification purposes, my view on this is that only accredited scientists and entomolog...

A very impressive haul of species!

Your Esper's Marbled White (21 June) looks rather more like an Iberian Marbled White to me. Might be worth getting another opinion.

Roger

In my copy of British Butterflies by W S Coleman 1893, it describes the Colias hyale larva as “of a sea-green colour, with four yellow lines, two along the back and one on each side… feeding on lucerne and other plants of the same natural order.” The description seems to fit alfacariensis much more ...

Hi Liz, I possibly know more than most UKB members just how much work you take on. I don’t know how you fit in being Secretary and chief organiser of the Herts & Middx BC branch, the branch website manager, the PE and WLH research among others, not to mention a family and a career. Regarding the...

I trust you celebrated this find with a nice Chianti.

Roger

At the end of April you will probably need to be somewhere at lower altitudes in order to see a greater range of species. Var (my patch) is very good then and I have usually seen 50 species by the end of April and 60 in good years. Both Festoons are probably the highlights. If you decide to fly to N...

If Bittytoffee had really wanted to make an unambiguous Wagnerian reference surely he (or she) would have called it Siegfried. Sadly, to most people in this country Wagner is a contestant from the X-Factor and Wagner’s overtures are his chat-up lines. But then I was disappointed to find out that the...

On the subject of amusing signs, this is one from a campsite near Isola. Unfortunately it is just what my French sounds like to a Frenchman.

That's a good name for a butterfly. I strongly suspect you have never heard of Tristan Lafranchis, one of Europe's leading butterfly experts and the author of two of the leading books on the subject.

Roger

Pete: I just run a website This must be close to the understatement of the year. Anyone who has run a website will realise just how much work is involved, and UKB must entail far more work than others. UKB has done a phenomenal amount to foster interest, knowledge and appreciation of butterflies. I ...

Is it not the case that for bryoniae the unh veins are heavily suffused grey reaching right to the margins, but not for napi?

Whether this is always true and whether 1377 qualifies, are another matter.

Roger