In case anyone should think that the butterflies in Provence are all exotic, most are, in fact, the common species encountered in the UK, although Var does have an extra 100 or so species. Orange Tip, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Heath are all very common here, and for the most part look identical to their UK counterparts. Wood White, and Heath, Marsh and Glanville Fritillaries are quite common and widespread, though.
We sat (we are about three miles from the south coast near Frejus) and watched a vast influx of Painted Ladies last week, about one every five seconds pinging across the sky, for a couple of hours, and this was happening everywhere around here. The numbers must have been in tens of thousands here alone.
Here are some photos from this year:
Small Heath (15044), a very underrated butterfly.
Brown Argus (14846): overheard in the snail household: “there seems to be something interfering with our TV reception…”
Wood White (14480), less common in the UK but ubiquitous in southern Europe.
Swallowtail (15140): OK, maybe this a less frequent sight in the UK (it’s the first time I’ve seen it here).