Going to Brittany in July

[Paulcrook]

Going to Huelgoat in Brittany in July. Can anyone (Elaine?) give me any idea what might be seen then and give any suggestions as to good places to go to whilst we are there. I notice from Elaine's topic that Large Tortoiseshells are there - are they likely in July and what are the chances of Camberwell Beauties?

Any helpand guidance would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Paul

[Padfield]

I'll leave it to Elaine to give specific details. For the two species you mention, July (mid-to-late) is the best summer month, but in general it's always a bit of a gamble in the summer. The reason is that they either hibernate quickly or go into dispersal mode, meaning that the active density at known breeding sites is always relatively low. In fact, you are almost more likely to see Camberwell beauty away from a known breeding site. I often see them cruising through the mountains in July (I saw one at 2400m in the Pyrenees a few years ago). Large tortoiseshells hang around longer, and can be found nectaring (bramble is good) in late July, in preparation for hibernation; but both species are much, much easier in the spring, when they are active and usually conspicuous at breeding=hibernation sites.

Guy

[Elaine]

Hi Paulcrook,

In my experience locally, the Large Tortoishell (Grande Tortue) are a species that I see very locally (within walking distance from home and in a small village called Bovenant) mostly at this time of year, although we have recorded them in summer. However, this is probably due to the fact that I tend to stay very close to home when I'm not at work! Ninety percent of my wildlife sightings logged on my website since we arrived here in 2004 have been made during our daily walks with our dogs.

The Camberwell Beauties (Morio) are most easily found in the Grande Brière in April. They have been recorded in our garden in April (sporadically) and also in summer. They are also to be found in the Brière in summer - but I have to admit we rarely go there ourselves at that time of year. This is purely down to the fact that we are more and more taken up with dog training and agility competitions these days, not the lack of wildlife interest!

For more in-depth info please visit my Nature Notes on our website, where you can read my monthly reports back as far as the end of 2005.

Hope this very amateur reply helps.

[Lee Hurrell]

Elaine, you do yourself an injustice

PS - your nature notes are lovely, and a good read!

Cheers

Lee