Butterflies of Var, Southern France

[Dave McCormick]

Some great images Roger, just a niggle though the vegetation (grass, leaves) in some images that are in the front, are a little distracting. Favourites are Chestnut heath, Ripart's Anomalous Blue and Nettle Tree Butterfly

[David M]

Seconded. Those are excellent.

[Reverdin]

You're still the best Roger, IMHO.

[Lee Hurrell]

Lovely, lovely pictures, Roger.

Cheers

Lee

[Matsukaze]

Just back from a week in the Lac de St Croix area. Still many butterflies on the wing, very pleasing to see after a poor summer here. A bit of a crash course in grayling identification with many species new to me. Species seen:

Great Banded Grayling (common; I saw apparent courtship flights which were similar to that of the Silver-washed Fritillary); Wall; Silver-spotted Skipper; Common Blue (common); Adonis Blue (common); Chalkhill Blue (one faded male); Striped Grayling; Small Heath; Woodland Grayling (common; courtship flight is different to the Great Banded Grayling, being more of an outright chase); Swallowtail; Small White (common); Bath White; Clouded Yellow; Berger's/Pale Clouded Yellow (common; my guess is predominately the former); Holly Blue; Brown Argus; Spotted Fritillary; Meadow Brown; Gatekeeper (only one); Mallow Skipper; Purple Hairstreak (surprising for September); Geranium Bronze (common in village, also one resting on the fuel tank of a moped in central Nice); Tree Grayling (common); Lang's Short-tailed Blue; False Grayling; Cleopatra; also 2 species of Argynnis, perhaps High Brown (in September!) and Cardinal, one unidentified Boloria, one Melitaea/Mellicta and one Pyrgus.

31 species - and surprisingly not a single vanessid nor a single Large White.

[Matsukaze]

A few ID requests - first up, the graylings:

Tree Graylings? (separate insects)

Woodland Grayling? (not convinced of the wisdom of having a Tree Grayling and a Woodland Grayling. I found the latter more closely associated with shade from trees, in the sorts of places I would normally expect to find Speckled Woods at home).

[Padfield]

I can confirm the tree graylings, Matsukaze - I've just spent the day with about 1000 of them (my realistic estimate, not hyperbole). The woodland grayling looks very good for that, too, based on the width and whiteness of the band on the hindwing, but only size really distinguishes wood from rock with any certainty.

Guy

[Matsukaze]

A few others:

Aberrant Common Blue female - observed egg-laying, so the aberration will continue in the population...

Which Clouded Yellow? (same insect)

Puzzled by this blue, which appeared to be too small and the wrong shade of blue for icarus (and also lacks the unf cell spot, although that wouldn't be definitive) but I'm at a loss as to what else it is:

This was definitely Argynnis, from size and behaviour, and looks like either High Brown or Niobe, perhaps the former...but on 15 September?

[Matsukaze]

Thanks Guy - lots of tree graylings about in Haut-Var a couple of weeks ago too. The possible woodland graylings I saw were all big insects.

[Padfield]

The clouded yellow is a female Berger's. Apart from the appearance, which is spot on for Berger's, pale clouded yellow is rare down south, I believe. Berger's is the default. The wing shape and upperside markings rule out helice.

The next blue is common blue, icarinus. The detail of the markings, particularly on the hindwing, rule out Chapman's, and there isn't really anything else it could be.

I think the Argynnis frit is good for niobe. The markings are right and that species remains on the wing later in the year than adippe, here in CH at least.

Guy

[Matsukaze]

Thanks Guy. High Brown continues to get away from me, I have got soaked in Wales and frazzled in Provence looking.

[Roger Gibbons]

I have just completed an update of the Butterflies of France web site with the photos from 2011. There are quite a few areas of uncertainty, so any comments are welcome.

Roger

[The Annoying Czech]

Thanks for your butterfly tour over the France, Roger.

I see there a very strong Alpine aspect that I generally have to spare.

Which species are you going to chase now? What about that Dusky Large Blue?

[Roger Gibbons]

Yes, Dusky Large Blue is top of my list. A couple of years ago I visited a site in Switzerland but was about a week too late, and this year on 24 July I visited a site in France but again was about a week too late, although it did not help that the temperature was about 6C (mid-afternoon) and almost constant rain. Even then, I wondered if they might just sit on the sanguisorba flowerheads even in poor weather. So next year I am planning to revisit that site in the second week in July.

Other targets include Alpine Grayling and Dewy Ringlet, neither of which are particularly rare. Our six days in Switzerland in July this year were accompanied by almost constant rain and temperatures rarely getting above 15C.

I have seen 214 of the 240 French species, getting a few life-ticks every year. This year's life-ticks were Warren's Skipper, Iolas Blue and Oriental Meadow Brown (although the last one is somewhat debatable). Maybe Pigmy Skipper is now extinct in France (I searched an area in September recommended by Tristan Lafranchis is ideal terrain) so maybe that the total is only 239. I have this vision of myself wandering around the Pyrenees aged 92 still searching for the life-tick 239, probably False Dewy Ringlet. I have a feeling Mountain Small White is also going to be difficult.

Roger

[Padfield]

Hi Roger,

Like dewy ringlet, false dewy ringlet can be locally abundant and I doubt it will be your last French species! However, the sites I know it from (all on the Spanish side, but one literally 200m from the French border) involve pretty serious climbs and if you're up there searching them out when you're 92 a lot of people will want to know your secret!! I'd go for that one while you're still young and agile...

And yes - in poor weather, dusky large blues do hang below sanguisorbe heads and can be found by scanning the meadow with binoculars.

I haven't had time to go through all your new stuff but what I have browsed is very, very impressive!

Guy

[Reverdin]

Second that.... I always look forward to your updates Roger, and you still post spectacular images... slowly going through, starting with ones I've never seen... dreams of future holidays welling up

[Roger Gibbons]

A few recent photos from Var (I have given the scientific names as UKB seems to have a lot of non-UK visitors these days):

A male Chapman's Blue (Polyommatus thersites) taking salts. It can usually be distinguished from Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) by the absence of the forewing cell spot, which icarus has.

A (probably female) Chapman's Green Hairstreak (Callophrys avis). This is really quite a rarity, despite the fact that much of Var is covered by its larval hostplant Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), a hostplant that – curiously – it shares with the rather larger Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius). Avis is very similar to the ubiquitous Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) with which it often flies, avis being distinctly redder.

A male Iolas Blue (Iolana iolas), another rarity in Var, or anywhere else in western Europe for that matter. It is the largest European blue, significantly larger than a Large Blue (Maculinea arion), and nectars almost exclusively on it larval hostplant Bladder Senna (Colutea arborescens) which it is on here.

A (male?) Chequered Blue (Scolitantides orion), also quite rare in Var.

A male Twin-spot Fritillary (Brenthis hecate), a close relative of the Marbled Fritillary (Brenthis daphne). It is quite localised in south-eastern France but can usually be seen where the larval hostplant Filipendula vulgaris, grows.

A female Provence Orange Tip (Anthocharis euphenoides). The male is very similar to Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) except that euphenoides is yellow where cardamines is white. The female euphenoides has a delicate smattering of orange scales at the apex. The two species often fly together.

[Reverdin]

That is quite simply the best image of avis I have ever seen!- bravo I would love to see hecate, never been in the right place at the right time so far. well done indeed Roger!! you must have had some great days, I know avis was relatively elusive for you. I always envy your results, in the nicest possible way

[Padfield]

I agree with Rev, on all counts. It's a wonderful picture of avis, as of the other species. It's nice to see you are finding iolas regularly now - I remember not very long ago when you had never seen one...

Post some more!

Guy

[David M]

How is one to distinguish between this species and rubi?