It was bitterly cold this morning and the sun didn't clear the mountains on the south of the valley until about 10.00am. The first tree graylings (Neohipparchia statilinus) didn't fly until after 11.00am.
Pint of cider and a straw, please! Before long, the tree graylings resumed their usual dipso habits (that's a fermenting apple).
A grayling (Hipparchia semele)
Everything is bare and autumnal, but this field had a few dandelions in it and plenty of butterflies, like this Adonis blue (Lysandra bellargus)...
... and this common blue (Polyommatus icarus).
Almost every dandelion had a butterfly or two on it. Behind this Adonis blue are a wall brown (Lasiommata megera) and a female common blue.
Walls are common.
There were one or two fresh large walls (Lasiommata maera) among them.
Clouded yellow (Colias croceus).
Berger's pale clouded yellow (Colias alfacariensis).
Probable pale clouded yellow (Colias hyale).
Fresh small copper (Lycaena phlaeas).
Queen of Spain (Issoria lathonia).
There was just an hour and a half of continuous sun today and atrocious weather is forecast for tomorrow, so these might be my last butterflies for a bit.
Guy
