Today was an alpine trip - to a site near Zermatt where I have found Warren's skippers,
Pyrgus warrenensis. I found them again today, but as always with Pyrgus it was not straightforward. In principle,
carlinae,
cacaliae and
serratulae also fly in the region and all of these have forms which are similar to
warrenensis. I was above 2200m the whole time, so
alveus was probably not a problem - but small
alveus can be very similar to
warrenensis.
Some
carlinae were unmistakable, from the uppersides alone:
This one is less well marked but still clear-cut:
This is
warrenensis:
And here is another:
This is a female
warrenensis:
Here are some undersides:
This one looks a bit different but I think it is
warrenensis all the same:
This one has the feel of
cacaliae but the underside precludes that species:
The
warrenensis slopes are difficult to negotiate and I concentrated mostly on
Pyrgus skippers.
But there were other species to be seen too. Here is a small selection:
(female purple-shot copper)
(male scarce copper - this individual photographed at a lower altitude, after the clouds came, though they were flying higher up too)
(Grisons fritillary)
(yes - it's that time of year - the silver-spotted skippers are out)
(large blue)
(almond-eyed ringlet)
And lower down, again after the clouds had come, an Eros blue:
Minnie sat under a tree most of the time. I had to attach her on a long lead because there were marmots everywhere and she knew it!
The red thing is her water bowl. It wasn't possible to work the slopes and manage Minnie on a lead. But in the heat she is happy in the shade.
Finally, a view of the Matterhorn on the way up:
Guy
