Thanks Dave, Buggy, Wurzel and David. I agree, small tortoiseshells are tough, though in most years, the Queens are on the wing before them, in the valley, at least. Both species seem to know that even if the ambient temperature is low, it is worth getting up and out if the sun is shining.
Last Saturday the sun was indeed shining, but not in Switzerland. The forecast showed clear skies south of the Simplon Pass and thick cloud over the rest of the country. So I went on my now regular trip to Domodossola for nettle tree butterflies.
(the village of Masera, where the church clock chimed 'This old man ...' the week Peter Falk died)
(Minnie up in the hills)
(the river valley)
As expected, the nettle tree butterflies were on the wing:
They're not easy to photograph at this site but they're very numerous.
At one point, Minnie started getting very excited, and assuming there was a fox in the vicinity, I put her on the lead. Then I had to pick her up, as the ground was covered in chestnut husks and these get in her paws. This was a lucky break, as it turned out what she had been excited about was a troop of wild boar, with babies. They broke cover about twenty metres from us and I could have got wonderful shots if I hadn't been carrying my little furry friend. On the other hand, they could have turned nasty if she'd been on the ground, shouting obscenities at them! When they were a little distant, I put her down and tried to get a shot, but just caught one youngster as they disappeared through the trees:
Despite the lovely weather, there were fewer butterflies flying than I had expected. All the hibernators, of course (except no Camberwell beauty), but no chequered blues and no green hairstreaks. I saw just one holly blue, in flight, and no orange tips. Small coppers were about in reasonable numbers:
Down by the river, in the usual place, there were plenty of Queens, including this tussling threesome:
There were a few walls flying:
This last week has been mostly very cloudy, with occasional sunny spells but some very cold spells too. Today Minnie wanted to head up to the snows:
We were going to go right to the top, but one of the ski runs we had to traverse was pure ice and without crampons I decided not to go any further. There was a real risk of Minnie or me unintentionally ending up 200m further down the mountain. So back home it was, to Minnie's disappointment:
Guy
Interesting seeing the Small Tort courting the affections of the Rec Admiral, mind you they're a bit like that the Aristocracy 
Also love the Bath White - I've seen one before but it didn't stop for a photo and it might have been the western variety (if there is such a thing). The Lizard line-up put a smile on my face 
