Thanks, Trevor, it's a long wait until next June
Thanks, Wurzel, you may well be right regarding the ants as the male didn't seem to be very settled
Thanks, David, I appreciate that spiders aren't everyone's cup of tea
Returning through France after our week in the Pyrenees we decided to stop for a couple of days in the Dordogne. We stayed near the town of Lalinde which is right on the Dordogne river.
Due to our late arrival the previous evening we were not out early the next morning. Not knowing exactly where to head for, we set off driving east along the lanes parallel to the river. Soon the road became steeper and after a bit of a climb we finally emerged onto a plateau high above the Dordogne river. We parked next to an old water tower as there seemed to be some good looking habitat nearby. It wasn’t long before we saw our first butterflies, Scarce Swallowtails, soaring around the hilltop. They’re so gracefull, just like paper darts gliding around, with hardly a wingbeat. We watched as several Common Swallowtails hove into view and the inevitable battle commenced. Two pairs locked together, spiralled high above us in combat before finally separating and swooping rapidly earthward. This is where I saw my chance of a photo as one of the Scarce Swallowtails swooped down and landed on a small shrub twenty metres down the hillside. Fortunately it was well settled and I managed to reach the spot without mishap and was rewarded with several shots.
![P1020149Resize.JPG (1.16 MiB) Viewed 2543 times High point above the Dordogne River.](./files/thumb_11970_4bd6a07a4a78fcab883d0a31fa970859)
- High point above the Dordogne River.
![P1020153Resize.JPG (1.46 MiB) Viewed 2543 times Scarce Swallowtail.](./files/thumb_11970_676fedff0ec7df39f9fa484ee85eb4dc)
- Scarce Swallowtail.
The Common Swallowtails tended to land quite high up.
![P1020243Resize.JPG (1003.86 KiB) Viewed 2543 times Common Swallowtail.](./files/thumb_11970_537059b16b273163444c50f4f53ac690)
- Common Swallowtail.
Near where we were parked was a small lane which we followed for a while. The heat was a searing 30 degrees plus, but we spotted a couple of Dryads, a new species for us. One of them took a liking to me and landed on my leg. I persuaded it to climb onto my finger where I got a shot, before relocating it onto a twig.
![P1020191Resize.JPG (988.17 KiB) Viewed 2543 times Dryad.](./files/thumb_11970_f3bb0d69ff5a5be9416c1c1d28718581)
- Dryad.
![P1020186Resize.JPG (1.09 MiB) Viewed 2543 times Dryad.](./files/thumb_11970_bb2b91f1c4a4b58c949cdfdecca5f2fc)
- Dryad.
We also found this Woodland Grayling sitting on a tree trunk.
![P1020246Resize.JPG (1.35 MiB) Viewed 2543 times Woodland Grayling](./files/thumb_11970_4d5969ee7c2beae8e9d19867fbd41fbc)
- Woodland Grayling
And this amazing looking Cricket which I have not been able to ID.
![P1020223Resize.JPG (1.09 MiB) Viewed 2543 times Unknown Cricket.](./files/thumb_11970_233f328c8cb69cecb37f2fadb17ec055)
- Unknown Cricket.
Back at the car for a much needed drink, I noticed a grey-blue butterfly in the small roadside meadow. On closer inspection I found it to be a Large Blue and managed a couple of shots.
![P1020248Resize.JPG (1.51 MiB) Viewed 2543 times The roadside meadow](./files/thumb_11970_25ea24188de90b493c45bc69737b92fd)
- The roadside meadow
![P1020250Resize.JPG (1.18 MiB) Viewed 2543 times Large Blue.](./files/thumb_11970_25bdb47399b4e298c43403a50db55ebb)
- Large Blue.
There was also a Clouded Yellow which was stopping to nectar on clover flowers. My first thoughts were helice, but remembering where I was, realised that this was a female Berger's Clouded Yellow.
![P1020202Resize.JPG (1.1 MiB) Viewed 2543 times Berger's Clouded Yellow female.](./files/thumb_11970_a9218cc31a4b80850caa0c3a42523519)
- Berger's Clouded Yellow female.