A few from Corfu

[Old Wolf]

Hello all.
I had a good few days of butterflying up mount Pantokrator whilst on holiday in Corfu back in May. Most of the butterflies I saw are fairly easy to ID, although Mallow and Oriental Marbled Skippers caused me some grief until I realised they have different shaped antennae. There are a few which I am unsure and was hoping to throw them to the experts to positively ID them. Any help will be greatly appreciated as always.

Exhibit A.
I have stared at these record shots of a rather distant and tatty blue for ages and having been umming and ahing over whether it could be Eastern Baton Blue or not It was the only one I saw and it was a fleeting visit he made.

Exhibit B & C
Once again, I have wrestled with these two wondering whether they are Southern Small White or not. If anyone can confirm or correctly ID them would allow me to put them to bed once and for all

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Lastly, a little Skipper that I was wondering could be a Lulworth or not? It was very small and seemed darker than a normal Small Skipper but could be that the Corfu version could be slightly darker anyway like the Small Copper seemed to be. Is it a Lulworth or a Small?

Exhibit D

Thanks for looking and hopefully I can put all IDs to rest apart from the Sloe Hairstreak I think I saw but was too fast for a pic!

[Padfield]

Hi Old Wolf. I have now doubt about your southern small whites - they are that. I have little doubt about your eastern batons either, though it is interesting how much the wing shape appears different between the two photos. The first one is 'obviously' Scolitantides. The second actually looks wrong. But if it is the same individual as the first, I'm fairly confident it is vicrama. As for the skipper: I can't say for certain from this picture. Late season small skippers can be very dark. Nevertheless, in the absence of an underside photo, I think this probably is Lulworth. So the Swiss judge awards you three out of three. As for the bonus point - no idea. Sloe hairstreak in flight is a push!

Guy

[Old Wolf]

Guy,
Thanks for taking the time to reply and thanks for the ID's.

I am glad that my ID's were correct for the Southern Smalls. This gives me another lifer

In regard to the blue, it is the same butterfly. It landed for a few moments which gave me enough time to grab a record shot and then try to get a bit closer and grab another, so the only thing that changes was my position in relation to him as I don't think he even moved before taking flight again. As far as I am aware only Vicrama flies in Corfu and Scolitandes does not, according to Corfu Butterfly Conservation website. Either would be a lifer to be honest but I am glad that the ID is now confirmed. It would have been great to see a newer model than him but that's how it goes sometimes!

Lastly, the Skipper. Unfortunately no undersides were seen as they were super charged and rarely landed for very long. I only managed a few record shots of the only two individuals I saw (this was the clearer pic) which were on different parts of the path up the mountain.They just looked drabber (is this a word? If not, I am claiming it ) than a normal small skipper but I could be wrong

[Padfield]

Hi Old Wolf. Scolitantides is the genus - which includes vicrama. Some older books, and even some new books, retain the genus Pseudophilotes for vicrama, baton et al., reserving Scolitantides for orion, and I'm guessing this is what your book does. So in short, I was agreeing with you that it is vicrama. Sorry for the confusion!

Guy

[Wurzel]

Great to see some Corfiot butterflies Old Wolf Having seen a bucketload of Lulworth this season I'm with Guy that's it's T.acteon . To my eyes they tend to wear to a darker colour than Smalls, which always take on a faded orange look I'd be interested in the gen about the Mallow/Oriental Marbled antennae

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Old Wolf]

Hi Old Wolf. Scolitantides is the genus - which includes vicrama. Some older books, and even some new books, retain the genus Pseudophilotes for vicrama, baton et al., reserving Scolitantides for orion, and I'm guessing this is what your book does. So in short, I was agreeing with you that it is vicrama. Sorry for the confusion!

Guy

Guy,
The confusion is mine. My Latin Kung Fu is awful which is why I tend to stick with the general name. In this case I was using the guide you can download from the Corfu BC website. Most books tie me up in knots of indecision anyway, so I took the lazy approach

I appreciate your help and clarifying for me

[Old Wolf]

Great to see some Corfiot butterflies Old Wolf Having seen a bucketload of Lulworth this season I'm with Guy that's it's T.acteon . To my eyes they tend to wear to a darker colour than Smalls, which always take on a faded orange look I'd be interested in the gen about the Mallow/Oriental Marbled antennae

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hello Wurzel, thanks for your advice. I appreciate any, and all input given

Once again using the Corfu BC downloadable butterfly guide, it states the antennae are clubbed on the Oriental Marbled and hooked on the Mallow which once I learned, made separating the two far easier than by markings alone (which I failed at miserably). If this is incorrect then it looks like I may need some more ID help

Incidentally, now all three of the above are Id'd takes the trip total to 47 species with 19 lifers seen. I am well chuffed with that