Marseilles and South of France 2018

[Chris Jackson]

Thanks Tony,

Latest news from the south of France.

The Provencal Hairstreak is 10 days late this year compared with 2017.
What a relief when I spotted my first of the year yesterday in the Var at 360 m altitude.

A male:

and a male Cleopatra

Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Latest news

I have found an egg on Biscutella laevigata.
Which species does this egg belong to ?

A clue :
in the south of France we have E. crameri, A. euphenoides and A. cardamines

Context

Plant - Biscutella laevigata (without seed pods)

[essexbuzzard]

Provence Orangetips!

[Chris Jackson]

Provence Orangetips!

Thanks Essex,
If you are interested, this is one place where I post my sightings from the south of France PACA region :

http://www.faune-paca.org/index.php?m_i ... Format=XLS

Chris

[essexbuzzard]

Thanks Chris. I see you have been seeing Provence Hairstreaks too, bit jealous of those, they are high on my wish list. Sadly they look like staying there...

[David M]

I have found an egg on Biscutella laevigata.
Which species does this egg belong to ?

I'm not sure if this is a trick question, Chris.

I would go for crameri because the other two (to my knowledge) are not yet emerged and as such are unable to lay eggs!!

That said, either of these COULD have emerged and clandestinely laid without you seeing any adults!

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Essex,
Provencal Hairstreak is a protected species in France and as such its location is a bit hush hush.
As well, the flight period is little more than 4 weeks and often we get variable weather at this time of year (it can be wet, cool and windy) so photo opportunities can be slim.

Yes David, it is a trick (tricky) question.
I congratulate you on your fine logic, you are not a butterfly guide for nothing.
(Although I must add that there have been a small number of sightings recently of A. cardamines and A. euphenoides, but this egg would indeed be early).
This is precisely the conundrum I am faced with.
Solution: This plant and this egg are not far off my daily commute and so I must go there on a near daily basis to follow its development, probably the only way to get an exact answer. I will of course post any developments as and when.
None of the Biscutella laevigata plants that I have located are fully developed yet with the seed pods, they probably need another good week or so.
Reminder, egg on Biscutella laevigata:

Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Folks - south of France, 3rd April

Today it is overcast and breezy so there were no butterflies next to my workplace at lunchtime.
However, there are plenty of flowers and plants in the scrub at the moment.
On the Plateau of Vitrolles:

Wild Tulip - Tulipe sauvage (Tulipa sylvestris) (Liliaceae)

Dwarf Iris - Iris des garrigues (Iris lutescens) (Iridaceae)

Daffodil - Narcisse douteux (Narcissus dubius) (Amaryllidaceae)

Early Spider Orchid - Ophrys araignée (Ophrys sphegodes) (Orchidaceae)

Giant Orchid - Orchis géant (Himantoglossum robertianum) (Orchidaceae)

Sedum - Orpin élevé (Sedum altissimum) (Crassulaceae)

The context:

Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Update on egg coloration.
This egg seen on Buckler's Mustard (Biscutella laevigata), in Marseilles, has changed colour over 48 hours.
It may well be A. euphenoides, but hopefully we will soon see.
Egg on Sunday evening (01Apr):

Egg on Tuesday evening (03Apr):

Photos with FZ1000.
Chris

[David M]

When do you normally expect to see your first adult euphenoides, Chris?

[Chris Jackson]

When do you normally expect to see your first adult euphenoides, Chris?

Hi David,
There have been only a handful of sightings thus far in PACA.
I have not seen one yet myself but there again I spend time at work, unfortunately.
I would say that April 5th would be a peak date for sightings, and then we can add on a chunk for this late season.
All this would point in favour of this egg being E. crameri.
I will be checking it out again this evening.

06 April :
Today in the south of France, I had my first sighting of the Southern Festoon.
Another species that is 10 days late compared to 2017.
Here seen nectaring nearby:

Although this is the natural habitat:

Chris

[Andrew555]

Interesting stuff recently Chris. I must admit I know very little of butterflies outside the UK.
Love the little Provencal Hairstreak, and the Southern Festoon.
Hope your getting on ok with the FZ1000.

Cheers

[David M]

Well done with your polyxena, Chris. A lovely butterfly.

Interesting to note that your season is 10 days or so behind. That should make my forthcoming trip to the Pyrenees quite interesting if things don't catch up!

[Chris Jackson]

Interesting stuff recently Chris. I must admit I know very little of butterflies outside the UK.
Love the little Provencal Hairstreak, and the Southern Festoon.
Hope your getting on ok with the FZ1000.

Cheers

Thanks Andrew,
As for the FZ1000, it is proving handy for distant shots of butterflies and gives results where the FZ150 is not so powerful.
And as for macro shots, see for yourself below. The results are not brilliant but good for what I'm doing.
Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Well done with your polyxena, Chris. A lovely butterfly.

Interesting to note that your season is 10 days or so behind. That should make my forthcoming trip to the Pyrenees quite interesting if things don't catch up!

David,
The 10-day lag is confirmed down my way with T. ballus and Z. polyxena.

Here is the latest in my series of early stage shots of what is probably Euchloe crameri on Biscutella laevigata. Any confirmation would be gratefully received.
(FZ1000)
03 April:

3 days later - 06 April:

3 days later - 09 April:

Context - Marseilles:

Chris

[David M]

Great shots, Chris, and the fact that the larva has already emerged makes me even more convinced that it is crameri.

[Chris Jackson]

Great shots, Chris, and the fact that the larva has already emerged makes me even more convinced that it is crameri.

Thanks David.

11 April
Recently I've been getting lucky photo-wise. Rather like shooting the proverbial rabbits in a barrel (oops for rabbit lovers ).
Yesterday lunchtime I visited the Southern Festoon site 4 days after my first sighting of the year, and in the space of half an hour I got most of the photos I was aiming for.
Near Rognac, in the Bouches du Rhône.
Female Southern Festoon laying on largish Aristoloche rotunda, although the characteristic flowers are not yet visible:

The eggs, 30 seconds later:

The context - rather damp under-foot:

FZ1000
Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Rognac, in the Bouches du Rhône, south of France
Here is another laying sequence from April 11.
We can see that the female can choose to lay her eggs on a variety of stages of growth of Aristoloche rotunda.
In this case the plant is barely visible to a standing human.
Southern Festoon laying:

The eggs on a very young, low lying Aristoloche rotunda:

Chris

[petesmith]

Great stuff Chris - I am enjoying these early stage records! I spend quite a bit of time myself looking for overwintering eggs of hairstreaks, or grovelling around seeking out fritillary larvae, so I am also used to the strange looks from passers-by!
I am contemplating the purchase of an FZ1000 myself - I currently use an FZ150 occasionally, alongside my Canon EOS700D + 100mm macro - would you recommend it? You seem to be getting some good results.

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Pete,
I choose bridge cameras because I'm not an out and out photographer, and bridges give me adequate results for what I do.
I am definitely a fan of swivel viewing screens for ground level or arms-in-the-air overhead shots.
My FZ150 takes care of depth of field all by itself with the "P" programme, although it lacks pixels when you crop right down.
If depth of field is required with the FZ1000, the "P" programme can give you out of focus areas (as you can see on the egg laying Southern Festoon underside shot above). This came as an unexpected shock for me the bridge-dependent amateur. I now must remember to use the "A" setting on 8.0 for some shots.
The FZ150 burst mode with high "S" setting can produce some clear motion stills, whereas I have not achieved this with the FZ1000.
If you are happy with your current set-up, getting the FZ1000 may be unnecessary expenditure.
Chris