Possible PBF on the Lizard

[Neil Freeman]

I am currently down on the Lizard on a family holiday with intermittent WiFi which is usually hogged by my daughter and grandkids but while they have gone swimming I have a chance to post this.

I have so far seen good numbers of fresh second brood SPBF at various locations but one individual seen on the coast path south of Poltesco on Monday stood out as being different and to me, on my small notebook screen, looks more like a worn PBF. Unfortunately, I did not manage an underside shot before it flew off down the cliff.

I am aware of occasional sightings of second brood PBF in Cornwall although unlike SPBF these are the exception rather than the rule. However, I am not aware of any PBF colonies on the Lizard.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

Full report(s) and photos of everything else will appear in my PD in due course as usual when I wm back home.

Cheers,

Neil.

[bugboy]

I'll stick my neck out and say looks like a worn SPBF to me, based mainly on the outer chevrons 'floating' in the black border for the most part.

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Bugboy. Do you mean PBF? the 'floating chevrons' are usually indicative of that species.

I am also looking at the position of the row of spots, midway between the other markings as opposed to closer to the outer markings.

If I had seen it in the Wyre Forest in May I would have put it down as a PBF without question, it is the date and location that has me questioning it.

Cheers,

Neil.

[DaveO'B]

I'm a long way from being an expert, but I'm going to say SPBF, on the basis that the outer wing chevrons are actually chevrons, rather than the solid triangles more usual in PBF. There's also the (admittedly ill-defined) 730 on the left fore wing near the leading edge which is characteristic of SPBF.

Dave

[bugboy]

Hi Bugboy. Do you mean PBF? the 'floating chevrons' are usually indicative of that species.

I am also looking at the position of the row of spots, midway between the other markings as opposed to closer to the outer markings.

If I had seen it in the Wyre Forest in May I would have put it down as a PBF without question, it is the date and location that has me questioning it.

Cheers,

Neil.

Think I may have confused you with my explanation. I did mean SPBF. What I mean is that the outermost orange marks are floating in black as opposed to black chrevrons floating in orange. I've pretty much convinced myself it's a SPBF now but happy to be proved wrong

[MrSp0ck]

Its a 2nd Brood spb Frit The Strong Black Borders give it away. Can still be seen at the bottom edge of the forewing, ie more black than orange, where the PBF is more orange than black.

[Andy Wilson]

The diagnostic I use when I can't see the underside is the alignment of the 3 spots on the bottom edge of the forewing. In the PBF, the 2nd of the spots is in the middle. In the SPBF, it is offset toward the edge of the wing. See area highlighted on the pic.

So, on that basis, this is a SPBF.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks For the comments Dave, Bugboy, MrSp0ck and Andy.

Now I am back home and looking at it on a better screen I can see it is a faded Small Pearl. In truth, I think it was always going to be, after all I photographed it in an area where I was photographing other Small Pearls, albeit the others were all fresh. Also, as far as I am aware, PBF is not known to be present on the Lizard so wishful thinking really.

Cheers,

Neil.