Greenwings: Alpes Maritimes and Queyras regions, June 27th to July 13th 2018

[David M]

Satyrids - Browns

79. Ringlet 20-30
80. Great Banded Grayling 60-100
81. Woodland Grayling 40-60
82. Large Wall 50-80
83. Wall 20-30
84. Meadow Brown 100-200
85. Marbled White 500-1,000
86. Speckled Wood <10
87. Great Sooty Satyr 30-50
88. Northern Wall Brown 2
89. Alpine Grayling 2
90. Grayling 1

Metalmarks

A handful of Dukes of Burgundy (faded but still lively) were seen during the first week.

91. Duke of Burgundy <10

[Roger Gibbons]

I am just about to go out, but a first glance suggests your Woodland Grayling is a Rock Grayling and the next one is a Grayling (H. semele) - not on your list?

Roger

[David M]

Just proves that you can be so blind you can't see the wood for the trees, Roger!

You're right. Why did I not think of semele?

It was behaving just like this species and was smaller and more 'stonewashed' on the unh.

I'm not confident enough to venture into fagi/alcyone/genava territory, so I'll leave the first specimen alone for this year, but may well spend more time in future studying these butterflies more closely.

[David M]

Satyrids - Erebia

A bit disappointing but that's probably not a surprise given how the cold spring adversely affected higher altitudes.

Once again, Almond Eyed Ringlet was the commonest, but far less numerous than in 2017:

A nice, new addition to this group came in the form of Blind Ringlet, and many thanks to Roger for pointing out where they were likely to be found:

A species seldom seen in the past on these trips is Dewy Ringlet, but this year, at one site at around 2,400m, they were everywhere:

Commoner everywhere were Large Ringlets, although they were around in the dozens only towards the end of the trip:

Just three Sooty Ringlets were seen. This high altitude specialist flies in treacherous terrain and getting close would only have been possible at risk to health:

One Piedmont Ringlet was also seen:

[petesmith]

Well done with Blind Ringlet David! That's a nice addition - I have never seen it in PACA, although I did see it many years ago (2001) in Haute Savoie. It is a species of which I really need to get a decent photo.

I am waiting with bated breath for your Pyrgus selection - did he/didn't he see warrenensis???

[David M]

I am waiting with bated breath for your Pyrgus selection - did he/didn't he see warrenensis???

I think I gave that away indirectly, Pete, when I commented that Alpine Grayling was my only 'lifer' of the trip!

This year was probably not the best to expect such rarities to turn up. Never mind, it'll give me something to aim for next time!

Satyrids - Erebia

92. Almond-Eyed Ringlet 100-150
93. Common Brassy Ringlet 10-20
94. Mountain Ringlet <10
95. Large Ringlet 80-120
96. Piedmont Ringlet 1
97. Sooty Ringlet 3
98. Blind Ringlet 1 (maybe more had I spent time chasing them)
99. Dewy Ringlet 50-100
100. De Prunner's Ringlet <10

[Roger Gibbons]

Good that you found Blind Ringlet at the location, David. I think it is almost certain to see them there, on the basis that every time over the past fifteen years that I have been at that location, I have always seen them.

It is amusing enough that the scientific name is Erebia pharte, but it gets better when you know that the high altitude subspecies (i.e. what you were seeing there) is.... phartina.

Roger

[David M]

It is amusing enough that the scientific name is Erebia pharte, but it gets better when you know that the high altitude subspecies (i.e. what you were seeing there) is.... phartina.

I guess the spots are reduced in phartina, Roger?

The only other time I've seen this species was in the Austrian Alps and the markings were far, far bolder, on both ups and uns.

[David M]

Hesperids

As ever, lots of small, chunky skippers to see. Small, Essex & Large were ubiquitous, and you need to constantly remind yourself that there are a few Lulworths out there:

Pleased to say there were plenty of Marbled Skippers this year:

Towards the end of my trip, Tufted Marbled Skippers also became quite regular:

Red Underwing Skippers were also prominent, with well over 100 seen:

[David M]

Hesperids - pyrgus

The notable feature of this trip came in the form of large numbers of Dusky Grizzled Skippers at a site near the Italian border in week 2. They were particularly common in this area, allowing me to study them properly for the first time.

It is a large and 'chunky' pyrgus, with weak upperside markings:

[David M]

Hesperids - pyrgus cont...

Given that it was a late year, I was surprised to see a handful of Foulquier's Skippers:

Safflower Skippers, usually plentiful, were in relatively short supply:

Probably the commonest amongst this group was Olive Skipper, which I often don't see at all in a 'normal' year. Being largely unfamiliar with them, I struggle a bit with identification although this improves with time

[David M]

Hesperids

101. Mallow Skipper <10
102. Tufted Marbled Skipper <6
103. Marbled Skipper 30-50
104. Dingy Skipper 50-100
105. Large Skipper 20-30
106. Foulquier's Grizzled Skipper <6
107. Large Grizzled Skipper 10-20
108. Alpine Grizzled Skipper 1
109. Safflower Skipper 30-50
110. Olive Skipper 50-100
111. Red Underwing Skipper 20-40
112. Lulworth Skipper 10-20
113. Essex Skipper 30-50
114. Small Skipper 200-400
115. Dusky Grizzled Skipper 50-100
116. Southern Grizzled Skipper 40-60

[David M]

Papilionidae

As in the Pyrenees in May, numbers of Apollo were scant. I doubt if we hit a dozen which is an extremely disappointing return.

There were no more than 50 or so Scarce Swallowtails either and Common Swallowtail was seen in even smaller numbers, with many of them seen puddling at a single site:

To compensate, a handful of Clouded Apollos were seen during the first week:

Similarly, Small Apollo was not seen in Week 1, and just a handful turned up in the latter stages of the trip:

[essexbuzzard]

Don’t get disheartened, David. I doubt many people have captured three Swallowtails in one picture! A good selection of Grizzled Skippers, too.

[David M]

Don’t get disheartened, David. I doubt many people have captured three Swallowtails in one picture! A good selection of Grizzled Skippers, too.

There were FIVE at one point, Mark!!! I think Roger G got them.

Yes, the range of butterflies was pretty decent, but numbers were rather disappointing.

I won't get disheartened. I've now been through the best of things and the worst of things. Hopefully 2019 will be merely 'normal'.

[David M]

Papilionidae

117. Swallowtail 30-40
118. Scarce Swallowtail 30-50
119. Apollo 8-12
120. Clouded Apollo 5-10
121. Small Apollo 10-20

[David M]

Pieridae

All the usual suspects turned up, although most were in numbers well down on 2017, continuing the depressing theme.

The best sighting was one that eluded me, when one of the others in the group snapped a Moorland Clouded Yellow, much to my envy.

It's close relative, Mountain Clouded Yellow, was about in decent quantities however:

[David M]

Pieridae - cont...

Particularly small in number were Berger's Clouded Yellow and Black Veined White. These two species are often into the multi-hundreds at this time of year.

Black Veined White did occasionally stop to have its photo taken:

Clouded Yellows were fairly frequent, albeit seen individually rather than collectively:

Cleopatras were one of the few butterflies to be seen in strong numbers:

Similarly, Mountain Dappled Whites were commoner than they are usually at this time of year, although that was clearly because of the late season. Unusually, a few actually came down to take nectar, allowing us to get reasonably close:

[David M]

Pierids

122. Orange Tip 30-50
123. Black Veined White 40-60
124. Berger's Clouded Yellow 20-40
125. Clouded Yellow 50-100
126. Mountain Clouded Yellow 300-500
127. Mountain Dappled White 10-20
128. Cleopatra 300-500
129. Brimstone 50-100
130. Wood White 50-100
131. Large White 10-20
132. Mountain Green Veined White 20-40
133. Green Veined White 10-20
134. Small White 100-200
135. Peak White <10
136. Bath White 10-20
137. Southern Small White 10-20

[David M]

Whilst butterfly numbers were generally rather poor, there was still an impressive species range.

I saw 137 different types of butterfly, and there were a few that others saw that I missed out on:

Oberthur's Grizzled Skipper, Geranium Bronze, False Mnestra Ringlet, Rosy Grizzled Skipper, Silver Spotted Skipper, Long Tailed Blue & Moorland Clouded Yellow.

That would have made it 144 species, which is some going for a 'bad' year, and gives an indication as to just how rich in butterflies this lovely part of France is.