ID for a Pyrgus please

[Chris Jackson]

Hello,
Would someone like to have a bash at ID-ing this Pyrgus ?
Seen today in the South of France at 650 m alt.
Largish and placid (the Pyrgus, not me !).
Thanks,
Chris

[Chris Jackson]

So,
Upperside fwd : widespread 'golden' scales
Upperside hind : no white markings
Underside fwd : dark post discal area
Underside hind : basal white heart-shape mark
= P. foulquieri ? Any objections ?
Thanks,
Chris

[Charles Nicol]

the upperside looks like this P.bellieri:

http://www.pyrgus.de/bilder1/hesperiida ... 8f2010.jpg

[bugboy]

the upperside looks like this P.bellieri:

http://www.pyrgus.de/bilder1/hesperiida ... 8f2010.jpg

they are synonyms for the same species

[Chris Jackson]

Thanks for your pertinent link Charles. It looks good. And you are quite right Bugboy, we are on the right track.
Chris.

[Charles Nicol]

the upperside looks like this P.bellieri:

http://www.pyrgus.de/bilder1/hesperiida ... 8f2010.jpg

they are synonyms for the same species

hehehe grrrrrr

[Padfield]

Sorry - I thought I'd replied to this. I must have forgotten to click 'submit'.

In brief, I agree with bellieri as a strong candidate. This is a species I have very little experience of, as it doesn't fly in Switzerland, and in addition the books tend to offer less help for identifying females. But the one female I have photographed matches this individual well in most respects. She has golden hairs on the upperside, though less extensive than in this insect (and it should be remembered that females of many species can show this), a similarly reddish hue on the underside (more so than the male) and very comparable markings on both surfaces. I can't see any reasons for excluding bellieri - and I can find reasons, though not 100% conclusive, for thinking it is not one of the other candidates (onopordi, cirsii, armoricanus, alveus).

Guy

[Kip]

sorry in advance for being thick, but why not serratulae ?

[Padfield]

The underside excludes serratulae definitively. I'm in a crammed bus on the way to christi country right now, so more details later! It's an odd-numbered year, something that only comes round every two years

Guy

[Roger Gibbons]

If it is a male (and I can't see the end of the abdomen clearly enough) then it isn't bellieri as it doesn't have the white hair tuft.

I'm also travelling, in the Pyrenees, trying to work out if I've just seen Erebia sthennyo (it would be a life tick, so ultra caution indicated).
Roger

[Padfield]

I'm working on the assumption it's a female - which it appears to be. If it's a male, it's a new species!

Guy

[Chris Jackson]

Hello All,
I should have started by listing the Pyrgus charted in this place on the border between the Var and the Bouches du Rhone : P. malvoides, armoricanus, cirsii, bellieri (foulquieri), onopordi, sidae and serratulae.

Thank you Kip,
I think the last 2 can be eliminated due to the undersides only.

Thank you Guy and Roger,
I'll put this down for the moment then as female P. bellieri.
Good hunting to both of you.

Chris