Thank you for the welcome! Simon, you wanted tips for Swiss butterfly sites. My 'local patch' is mainly in the French-speaking part, though the Rhône Valley extends eastwards into German-speaking territory and I do visit the nearby Bernese Oberland occasionally. In general, the Alps have a far higher density of species and butterflies than the Plateau, which has gone the way of all industrialised, sprawlingly urban regions. In July and August, head up to the mountain passes - in June keep nearer to the valley floors. The Rhône valley, from Martigny eastwards (and including its tributary valleys), is one of Europe's great butterfly playgrounds - quite spectacular. I would be delighted to show you particular sites if you came out this way, but my policy is only to show, never to publish, otherwise my favourite meadows would be trampled to death. An excellent website is this:
http://lepus.unine.ch/carto/. You will find maps of the distribution of all Swiss species (watch out for some strange names - so all
Everes come under
Cupido, for example, and
Agriades under
Plebeius).
You might think we expats join UK forums just to gloat - but that is not the case. It is because, for many of us, our love of butterflies began in Britain and the British butterflies have a very special place in our hearts. I have thoroughly enjoyed browsing this forum, with a real feeling of nostalgia.
Guy