Dark green fritillary Scotica form? ID please

[sahikmet]

Hi these pictures were taken at the shores of Loch an Eilein near Avimore on 13th July 2011, after trying to photo them for three years. Are they Dark green fritillary, Scotica Form? Please help with ID. Cheers Sezar

[Reverdin]

They appear to be males... I don't think the scotica form is as obvious in males as it is in females, so being in Scotland I would say they were indeed scotica. Ironically the first ever DGF I saw was on the hills above Kyle of Lochalsh, and it was a female as scotica as a butterfly piping in the haggis on Burns night

[sahikmet]

Thanks for the information Cheers Sezar

[Piers]

I would be very hesitant in applying the label 'scotica' Sezar. The situation regarding the 'subspecies' is very unclear, and was originally described from a just a handful of specimens hailing from north west Scotland, where the following features were noted:

-Much heavier black markings (upper and under side) in both sexes
-Noticeably darker green colouration on the undersides
-A greater prominence of silver spots
-A greater wing expanse

It was also noted that the females were particularly heavily suffused, with the tawny ground colour only really showing on the disc of both wings, with some females being almost wholly black in appearance.

Since the original description of 'scotica' in the 1920's very little additional work or research has been carried out regarding this form/subspecies/morph, however, studies by the late prof. Heslop-Harrison on the Hebridean islands showed that considerable variation in size and colour is found between populations on different islands.

More interestingly Heslop-Harrison also discovered that much variation occurs between different populations on the same islands, with populations of the 'typical' form being separated by apparent 'scotica' populations only by a short distance and minor barriers of terrain.

There is also, between islands, much variation in size within the so called 'scotica' morph, for example those 'scotica' populations from Canna being noticeably smaller than those from Barra.

So in short, there is considerable doubt that a scotica subspecies actually exists at all, or rather, there is little or no evidence that it does.

Piers.

[sahikmet]

Thanks Piers, I did not realise it would be so confusing. Unfortunatly all pictures are of topsides, I did not manage to get a picture of undesides of the wings. Cheers Sezar

[Dave McCormick]

Excuse the bad image, but I have one image of scotica, take at a bog in Ireland. Might be a female?

DG Fritillary

Here is a scotica male upperside specimen from Ireland: http://www.habitas.org.uk/moths/set.asp?item=5565smup

-Much heavier black markings (upper and under side) in both sexes

I have noticed that too, in Irish scotica adults. Although this is a bad shot, you can see the dark markings (Jut about) on this one I took. Really have to get better photos of these next year.