Mayenne, France

[admiral halsey]

I'm going to the Mayenne region of France in April. Any suggestions as to what species of Butterfly to look for, and where. Thanks

Rich

[admiral halsey]

I returned from Mayenne yesterday. If I had tried to visit somewhere with an abundance of Butterflies I would probably of failed. As a newcomer to this hobby I was pleasantly surprised. I saw 20-30 species of Butterfly and Moth. The lovely weather seems to have brought out some species early. This Cinnabar was trapped in our covered swimming pool.

Other species (many in abundance) I managed to identify were, Orange tip, Brimstone, Comma, Large White, Red Admiral, Small Heath, and peacock. I have some more I'm trying to Identify, and hope to post them in the coming days.

Perhaps controversially, I visited a Butterfly house in Honfleur (Near Le harve). This offered an opportunity to see many tropical species which I couldn't dream of seeing in their natural habitat. The species were "farmed" as opposed to taken from the wild. I was enchanted by their beauty and size. I'll add some of these too.

AH

[admiral halsey]

Can anyone help identify this Butterfly? It looks a little like a Wall Brown. Not sure if it is a non-UK species, or perhaps a variant.

AH

[Pete Eeles]

Can anyone help identify this Butterfly? It looks a little like a Wall Brown. Not sure if it is a non-UK species, or perhaps a variant.

P1030431.JPGcrop1.jpg

AH

It's a Speckled Wood. The further south you go, the browner they get

Cheers,

- Pete

[admiral halsey]

Thanks. I originally wrote Speckled wood and deleted it after checking the three books I have as none clearly looked like it.

[admiral halsey]

Now, turning to the exotic, here's one from the "Naturospace" Butterfly house in Honfleur. It's a Tiger Longwing (Heliconius Hecale) from Costa Rica.

Rich

[Lee Hurrell]

I visited a Butterfly house in Honfleur (Near Le harve). AH

I've been to that butterfly house, 2 or 3 years ago while staying near Honfleur. I remember one the insects flapping about outside the entrance doors and the staff were trying to catch it with a net.

Still, we had some lovely close up interaction with some Morphos.

Cheers

Lee

[admiral halsey]

I wasn't sure how Butterfly houses were viewed on this website. Obviously purists would like to see the Butterflies in the wild, but such exotic species are beyond most of our means. If supporting such ventures encourages their conservation, I guess it must be for the good.

Anyway, here's another close encounter. This is a Glasswing (Greta Oto) from Mexico/Brazil, taken with a Panasonic DMC-FS7.

Rich

[Lee Hurrell]

Hi Rich,

My own view is that I don't feel they are particularly frowned upon although there's nothing like being in the wild seeing things flying freely.

See: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4831

Cheers

Lee

[admiral halsey]

Hi Lee

I have to say there is certainly the "thrill of the chase" in the wild, though it was still lovely to see the exotic species and have a chance of catching them on camera!

Here's (I think) a Map Butterfly. This one I literally caught sight of, took one picture and it was gone. I didn't see another during my holiday. Unfortunately, it's not as sharp as I would like, but at least I got it. Taken along the Mayenne River. I was pleasantly surprised to find a large strip of land along the riverbank designated as Butterfly reserve. Also, in Fougeres (Loire/Brittany border) there were other conservation areas specifically for Butterflies. My Collins guide suggests that it should be more Red than Brown this early in the year, unless the brightness of the picture is deceptive (though I do remember it to have been more brown)

Rich

[Lee Hurrell]

Hi Rich,

That was the best thing about Wisley, right in the heart of winter at least you can see some butterflies!

I understand there is a butterfly house at the Natural History Museum again this year, open now.

That's good to hear about the reserves.

That is indeed a Map butterfly, showing the spring brood. The summer brood looks completely different, more like a small White Admiral!

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species. ... ies=levana

Cheers

Lee

[admiral halsey]

Thanks for the confirmation Lee.
I'm working my way through a batch of photo's at the moment, so here's another from Honfleur. This one's a Red lacewing (Cethosia Biblis) found in India and Nepal.

Rich

[admiral halsey]

All week I was chasing the Butterfly below in the belief that it was a White. I may be be wrong, so please step in and correct me, but I now think it is a female orange tip. It would make sense as the little beauties would not sit still for more than a second or two, but kept darting up and around the meadow, which was heavily populated by orange tips.

Rich

[Pete Eeles]

All week I was chasing the Butterfly below in the belief that it was a White. I may be be wrong, so please step in and correct me, but I now think it is a female orange tip. It would make sense as the little beauties would not sit still for more than a second or two, but kept darting up and around the meadow, which was heavily populated by orange tips.

Rich

possible male orange tip.jpg

Definitely a female Orange-tip.

Cheers,

- Pete

[admiral halsey]

Thanks for the confirmation Pete. Being a newbie here, I still have much to learn.

Rich

[admiral halsey]

This Beautiful Comma obliged me by sunning itself on a horse Chestnut tree on the bank of the Mayenne river.

And this one was found resting in a Butterfly reserve "Parc" in Fougeres. Before cropping the picture it was easy to see how well it's camouflaged at rest.

Rich