This morning, with a very mixed forecast, I set off again for cardinals and Iolas blues, two of Switzeland's rarest butterflies. I know two sites where cardinals nectar in spring, and with cloud building up by the minute it was not obvious I would be able to reach and explore both under clear skies. But by a great stroke of luck, I almost immediately spotted a male at my first site. He didn't hang around, and no others were evident, but I got a few record shots before he zoomed off:
So, they have survived another year!! I was a bit concerned that the very strange weather this year, with an exceptionally warm March followed by an exceptionally cold April and a cloudy, cold May, might have finished them off.They're obviously tougher than that.
I then headed off to my second site, where they are generally more numerous. By the time I got there it had clouded over completely. A swallowtail was happily nectaring on their clovers but there were no cardinals to be seen:
I checked the bladder senna for roosting Iolas blues but there were none of these either, and the bladder senna was still not much in flower. But by another great chance I stumbled across a female Iolas blue just sitting on a leaf, taking in the world:
The poor light made photography difficult but she herself was very obliging. She eventually left her leaf and sat around on rocks before I left her to her own devices:
What a butterfly! Indeed, what a pair of butterflies! You can't beat cardinal and Iolas blue ...
I visited two more sites before heading home again. For a while in the afternoon the sun shone and while I didn't see a huge amount of stuff I did get some enjoyable moments.
There are still plenty of Camberwell beauties around. This one was relatively intact:
This one was more battle-scarred, but in his day he must have been among the most magnificent creatures in the air. How many of us can say that?
A few other piccies:
(Adonis blue)
(turquoise blue)
(safflower skipper)
(first geranium argus of the year)
(dog
)
I returned home to thunderstorms and heavy rain.
Guy