Brown Angus

[rioja]

I have just discovered the pleasure and frustration of photographing Butterflies ! I know nothing of them so found this site by googling.The identification photographs don't have a female Brown Angus.
Are the photo's posted a male and female ?

[Pete Eeles]

Hi rioja!

Based purely on the size of the abdomen, I'd say the first is a female and the second a male. As far as I'm aware, the actual colour (and extent of the orange spots) is not something that can be used to differentiate the sexes.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Where do you live, Rioja?

I agree with Pete's sexing but I'm very interested in the markings and wing shape too. The second one looks like a male northern brown argus, Aricia artaxerxes, from some mountainous region of Europe rather than a brown argus. The first is definitely brown argus but has very well-developed markings, like the Spanish and Canary subspecies.

Guy

[rioja]

I live in North Wales Guy. I know absolutely nothing about Butterflies but looking at the pictures on the web I wondered if it was a Northern Brown Angus because it was a bit darker. I hadn't realised that there was important identification markings to be gleaned from the underside of the wing either so I returned a couple of days later to take some more pictures.

This one appears to have had a chunk of it's wing removed


I was surprised to find that the sames species I had seen a couple of days earlier had remained in the same places. Butterflies appear very territorial.

[Martin]

The first is definitely brown argus but has very well-developed markings, like the Spanish and Canary subspecies.

Like these...





Martin.

[Padfield]

Interesting. I think they must all be brown arguses, even that very dark individual (which seems to me to have quite pointy wings too!!). What an extreme range of markings in one population. It shows how difficult this group can be (except for the white spotty race of northern brown argus, of course).

Here's a northern brown argus I photographed on Saturday (in Switzerland):



It's very similar to yours, isn't it!

Nice pics, Martin - yes, tha^t's just what I had in mind!

Guy