Haute Pyrenees 11-19 July 2022

[David M]

This is an area of France I've wanted to explore for many years, and this summer I got the chance to do just that.

We walked into a cauldron-like heatwave, with temperatures reaching 39c at their peak, meaning that once 3pm arrived, even at altitude conditions were becoming difficult.

That said, the scenery was stunning, albeit very overgrazed in many parts:

[David M]

The main targets during this visit were False Dewy Ringlet, Lefebvre's Ringlet, Gavarnie Blue, Gavarnie Ringlet, Pyrenean Brassy Ringlet, Yellow Spotted Ringlet & Water Ringlet.

However, within a couple of days, it was clear that the early season had thrown things out of sync and it was going to be a challenge to find them all.

One Erebia we had no problem finding was Piedmont Ringlet, which caused us no end of issues during the week in our attempts to identify the rarer stuff:

[David M]

The first of our target species that we caught up with was Pyrenean Brassy Ringlet. These were initially found in the steep combes below Col du Tourmalet which are carved out by the streams that run down the mountainsides.

Sadly, the general landscape is depressingly overgrazed by both sheep and cattle, but these semi-ravines are fairly inaccessible and still have a decent carpet of flora.

It is quite a striking Erebia, especially the females, with a lovely brassy tinge and broad orange upperside flushes:

[David M]

The next target successfully hunted down was Gavarnie Ringlet. We probably saw no more than two dozen or so, and epiphron was flying at the sites where we encountered it so we couldn't be sure unless we saw it come to rest.

It's quite an attractive Erebia, but not especially photogenic. The dull, red bands on the uppersides seem to soak up the light and, of course, they rarely pose unobstructed by grasses which makes things even more difficult.

This, the solitary female we saw, was very striking, but sadly she would not settle away from the grass:

[John Vergo]

David the last two photos look like a Erebia montana

[David M]

David the last two photos look like a Erebia montana

Not the uppersides, John.

[petesmith]

Gavarnie Ringlet - the one that eluded us...

[David M]

Gavarnie Ringlet - the one that eluded us...

As you've rightly said elsewhere, Pete...it gives one the opportunity to return another time.

[David M]

Another butterfly we hoped to see turned up quite regularly during the trip and was occasionally seen in good numbers.

It is Yellow-Spotted Ringlet, Erebia manto f. constans. This local form wouldn't win any beauty contests, but over time we'd get the odd one popping up which had a partial band of yellow spots on the underside.

They are obsessed with scabious and thistles and spend most of their time nectaring from these types of flowers, but when doing so they are quite approachable.

[David M]

Whilst the early season presented a major problem in our quest to find False Dewy Ringlet, the silver lining was that it brought forward the emergence time of Water Ringlet, another highly localised Erebia.

We managed to find half a dozen in a damp, grassy meadow close to a river. Once again, this is a butterfly that seems to make a bee-line for scabious flowers, and as soon as I realised that, finding more became rather easier merely by strolling around where this plant grows and checking each flowerhead:

[petesmith]

More from me here! Lovely undersides.

[David M]

Yes, very striking, Pete, and fairly noticeable even in flight. Quite well behaved for an Erebia too, which made life a bit easier.

[David M]

Given the main interest was Erebia on this trip, I didn't take many photos of other species. Here is a selection of a few of them:

The Geranium Bronze was taken with my mobile phone, hence the particularly awful quality!

[David M]

A chance meeting at Vallé d'Ossoue with fellow UKB member and European butterfly aficionado Pete S and his wife gave us some closure regarding False Dewy Ringlet, which had been our #1 target species. Pete had seen them the previous week at a site further east, but reported that they had been worn. This explained our lack of sightings as clearly the early season had led to their demise by mid month - one for another time.

I'm not sure if the same can be said of Lefebvre's Ringlet. We saw quite a few contenders in flight around the steep scree slopes, but any that settled turned out to be Piedmont Ringlet. I shall have to return next year to track this one down.

A handful of lifers was a satisfactory return. I didn't count all the species but I suspect it was somewhere between 80 and 90. The following were butterflies seen on this trip that I haven't seen elsewhere in 2022:

1. Pyrenean Brassy Ringlet
2. Gavarnie Ringlet
3. Gavarnie Blue
4. Yellow Spotted Ringlet
5. Water Ringlet
6. Geranium Bronze

[petesmith]

Looks like we both missed out on 2 different key Erebia during our time in the Pyrenees, David.

Whereas we had lefebvrei and sthennyo, you got gorgone and pronoe - I can think of a certain UKB French butterfly veteran who is probably even more envious than me of you finding the latter!

Simply a case of going back for another go, as you say. I am pencilling in July 2024. The diary for next year is full already...

[Roger Gibbons]

Whereas we had lefebvrei and sthennyo, you got gorgone and pronoe - I can think of a certain UKB French butterfly veteran who is probably even more envious than me of you finding the latter!

Indeed. When 237 becomes 238, deep joy...
Roger

[David M]

Surely that'll be next year, Roger? I assume you know the site where I saw them? I figure that the last 3 or 4 days of July should do the trick.

[selbypaul]

You beat me to the write up in the end David. Other work and life priorities have got in the way sadly. Hopefully I'll find some time over the Bank Holiday weekend.

[David M]

Shame about that, Paul, but I'll look forward to reading your views on the trip all the same.