Padfield

[Padfield]

Hi Benjamin. I'm pretty sure it is a male. Even that can be deceptive sometimes, when you are only going from photos. I should go up my mountain with a net occasionally, to do a proper répertoire of the Erebia. I always carry a net for Erebia missions further afield but on my local patch I have a different mental setup!

Hi David. We all have a species that eludes us! In my part of Switzerland, dryads are widespread and common, though they come on the wing late - no earlier than mid-July - which might explain why you haven't come across them so far. They are big fans of nectar, especially pink flowers like hemp agrimony, field scabious and - it appears - crocuses. I find them typically from the Rhône Valley up to about 1400m. I often cycle from Montreux or Villeneuve to Aigle along the Rhône and invariably see this big, floppy, dark butterfly along the way when it is in season. They fly in Leysin, where I live now, and in my old home of Cheisères/Huémoz. I also see them regularly in the stretch of Rhône Valley from Martigny to Leuk. Once you've seen your first, you'll start seeing them everywhere!

Guy

[Wurzel]

Great to see the Dryad Guy took me right back to the Dordogne This big and dull brown plopped down in front of me and then those eye spots Cheers for kindling the memory

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

...We all have a species that eludes us! In my part of Switzerland, dryads are widespread and common, though they come on the wing late - no earlier than mid-July - which might explain why you haven't come across them so far...

That's exactly the reason, Guy. I'm never in the right place at the best time for them. Same with a few other relatively commonplace (albeit sometimes localised) species - Autumn Ringlet, Catalonian Furry Blue and Portuguese Dappled White spring to mind.

I'll catch up with them all sooner or later. Often, a long wait makes the eventual encounter all the more enjoyable.