Padfield

[ChrisC]

what makes me laugh is the usual high quality of the "wind compromised" photographs

[NickB]

Just when we think our (poor) season is warming up, you come in and show us why you choose to live in Switzerland.....(b******)
Great report and pics again, Guy
N
(I am trying to avoid any emotional attachment to our PE caterpillar, which I regard as UKB's now, by refraining from using Guy's pet name for him....)

[Reverdin]

Glad to see your iolas site is still flourishing... any signs of human encroachment yet??? - and three shots to die for, iolas female, carthami underside, and trappi underside of brilliance.... wish I could have been there.... bought back happy memories (again).

[Padfield]

Thank you again for all your kind comments. I do agree, Nick, that allowing emotional attachment to something with a 1% chance of survival is a bit risky - but I don't mind taking the risk. I'm constitutionally incapable of adopting a purely scientific, distinterested approach to a living creature, as you know.

Rev, my iolas site continues to change but it is still very productive, it seems. The bladder sennas have been overrun by other trees and plants at the top of the site but remain perfect for iolas at the lower edge, where they are creeping down the slope ahead of other bushes. I don't know to what extent the site is monitored and managed. There is an interesting document here (http://www.cb.iee.unibe.ch/content/e711 ... Sc2011.pdf), produced in 2011, giving a good idea of the current status of the species in Switzerland, but the data refers to plantations seeded specifically for the butterfly. I discovered my site in 2004 and reported it in 2005 to Gilles Carron, the naturalist who had set himself the task of reversing the blue's Swiss fortunes (and who sadly died under tragic circumstances a couple of years ago). He told me that those bladder sennas had not been planted specially for Iolas blues. I know one of the co-authors of the document quite well and so will ask him if my site is under active supervision. It should be - it is remarkable for the way any visit in season is guaranteed to produce a sighting of this magnificent butterfly.

Guy

[Reverdin]

that's a fascinating little study, and it should include your site, given it's strength over time.... but wow.... they are threatened are'nt they! I consider myself even more fortunate for having been shown them now, and I have treasured photos
Isn't there a local "council" group you could get to plant more? on the other hand.... I know it's not as easy as that!
hot day here.... and all of 3 species in the garden
Paul

[Padfield]

Yes - Iolas blue is a great Swiss rarity, Rev. In a truly caring world, 10 centimes would be added to the price of every bottle of Swiss wine sold and used to further the protection of this butterfly. Because ultimately, its greatest competition is the vine...

I have very little time for fun today but did sprint down to the woods after lunch. As I suspected, Aurelian has laid himself up for his final skin change. This is the last time he will do this and emerge a caterpillar on the other side. He was right in the shade and I didn't want to touch his branch, so I played around with these pictures afterwards to bring out the features. The colours are not entirely natural:





That hunched, 'rabbit-eared' look is a sure sign the caterpillar is between instars.

For the record, Augustus made his last moult on 28th May 2010 and I last saw him on 30th May. Julius changed some time between 21st and 25th May and I last saw him on 1st June. Nero, on the other hand, who I later believed was probably a female, did his/her last moult on 21st June - so about a month later. I never saw Nero again. That is why I expect to lose track of Aurelian pretty soon. But I know what I'm looking for and will do my utmost to locate his pupa, assuming he survives long enough to pupate.

Guy

[Padfield]

I proudly present Aurelian in his final instar, beside his old skin:







He will feed up and grow much longer over the next weeks and then pupate.

Guy

[Padfield]

An interesting coincidence was brought to my attention yesterday. In May 2005 I photographed the first cardinal (Argynnis pandora) to have been recorded in Switzerland since 1947. A second was seen, but not photographed, a couple of days ago, about 200m from where I saw mine. Curiously, the 1947 one was not far away either ... It will be interesting to discover where they hail from.

Today one of my classes was away on expedition in the mountains so I had a couple of free lessons to catch up on some of the local species. I decided to look for woodland ringlets (Erebia medusa), a single-brooded species that flies in some of the local meadows. I thought it should have been the middle of the flight season but surprisingly I saw just two individuals, both drifting around the meadows incessantly. One did stop briefly just in camera distance:



Meadow fritillaries (Melitaea parthenoides) were common, with males and females both present in good numbers. The males were mostly chasing females (it was the middle of the day) but I caught this one nectaring for a moment:



This is a female:



Chequered skippers are still very visible:



Here is a green hairstreak sheltering from the midday heat:



20 minutes in the meadow then I had to cycle back to school.

After school I dropped down to my nearest short-tailed blue site for a last chance to see the spring generation of this species. I was too late. A single, very tatty, female put in a brief appearance. Much commoner were common blues and Adonis blues. Here is an Adonis blue:



Guy

[Pete Eeles]

I'm constitutionally incapable of adopting a purely scientific, distinterested approach to a living creature, as you know.

I think your tutelage Guy, having spent a chunk of time with you, is definitely rubbing off. The Grizzled Skipper ovum I rescued from trampling (as I recall), resulted in "Gerald", who turned out to be "Geraldine" . Nevertheless, she was released from whence she came a few days ago (and I'll post something in my diary shortly). I must admit, I do become rather attached to the critters I help get through their early life - and was so relieved when she emerged in sync with the colony she came from. But knowing that Geraldine is out there procreating is really very uplifting!

BTW - I'm determined to get last year's Switzerland report out before I scoot off to Hungary (again!) this year. Will definitely be in touch on that

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

I had a friend who knew a Geraldine in Thailand who turned out to be a Gerald. That was far more disturbing.

Teaching is full of rather more pleasant surprises. Today, mine was that grade 11 were out of lessons all day doing a science project. That meant that after invigilating an IGCSE I was able to cycle up the mountain and look for violet coppers in the late afternoon sun.

Last year I found them on 27th April, including plenty of females. This year the whole area was under snow then and today there were only males on offer. Most of them were pristine though one showed evidence of having lived through more than one adventure. I began exploring at a little under 1800m, where I found no coppers at all. At 1650m they were easy to find and in about an hour on the hillside I saw a dozen males. As I climbed back up the hill I lost them again, though just before I left I saw a male defending a territory at 1750m.

They are really gorgeous little butterflies. Here are a few photos from today:












(That was the single battle-scarred one...)

I shall pop up in June to look for females.

The other species common at that altitude were small tortoiseshell, little blue, dingy skipper and green hairstreak. There are no marsh fritillaries yet but I did find this marsh frit cat making as if to pupate (though it does look a little awkward and I wondered if it was parasitised):



Here is a green hairstreak dwarfed by a globeflower. He was nectaring on gentians, which I thought would make a great picture, but he changed his preferences when he saw me coming.



Guy

[David M]

I'm off to the Pyrenees-Orientales in 3 weeks, Guy, and Violet Copper is one species I'd love to see (undersides to rival Brown Hairstreak).

Have you ever seen any in the Spanish Pyrenees?

[Padfield]

I've always been in the Pyrenees too late, David. In three weeks' time there should still be violet coppers on the wing, though. I have seen them in early July in Switzerland and as late as 29th June in the French Jura at relatively low altitude. Because you are going to be that much further south I suspect it would be better to look at higher altitudes. The species flies happily up to 1800m.

There may be ecological differences across its range, but in the Alps the things to look for are wet ground (often near streams) with copious bistort and aconite-leaved buttercup (a conspicuously white, not yellow, buttercup). Males disport themselves in the region of the buttercup (so long as it is flowering in association with bistort) while females may be seen in nectar-free expanses of bistort, depositing goody-bags on the undersides of the leaves. By the time you are there the bistort will be in full flower and the females might well nectar on that between bouts of egg-laying.

Guy

[David M]

Thanks for the info, Guy. I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for the kind of locations you describe.

[Roger Gibbons]

There is an interesting article on Violet Copper in the Pyrenees in the BC EIG issue 10 just published. The site is highly sensitive so you may encounter reluctance to reveal it.

I don't know if you are a member of the EIG, David, but if not, you may want to join (the additional fee is nominal) as it is a rich source of information.

[David M]

There is an interesting article on Violet Copper in the Pyrenees in the BC EIG issue 10 just published. The site is highly sensitive so you may encounter reluctance to reveal it.

I don't know if you are a member of the EIG, David, but if not, you may want to join (the additional fee is nominal) as it is a rich source of information.

Is it the same site as Bog Fritillary?

I'd love more information regarding EIG, Roger. You can PM me details to save cluttering Guy's diary.

Many thanks.

[Roger Gibbons]

A quick reply - yes it is the same site and here are the EIG details http://www.bc-eig.org.uk/

[Padfield]

A few more photos of you-know-who. He is now a fully mature caterpillar, like the one crawling over the UK Butterflies header, above! I'm guessing he's an inch-and-a-half long but when he's vacated his leaf I'll be able to measure that more precisely by measuring the leaf.



In that picture and the next two he is taking a cheeky daytime snack. In my experience, this is something that iris cats start doing after they enter the final instar. In previous instars they only eat at night.





Here, he is back on his resting leaf:



And here's the picture I'll use to measure him:



Guy

EDIT: And here's a reminder of what he looked like on 21st April, just before he began feeding again:

[Padfield]

Spent the day cycling around the countryside in the Canton de Genève. The target was black hairstreaks, which I found at three different sites. At the first, I estimated a dozen males were in the canopy of a single large Prunus tree (not spinosa, I think) and I saw other singles and pairs on other parts of the site. At the main tree I watched sometimes five at a time tumbling and chasing, then settling way out of reach of camera or usually eyesight. I reached this site at about 9.30am and watched until 10.30am, during which time quite a few hairstreaks came down to eye level and checked out some privet flowers but none stopped to nectar or even pause at accessible levels. I think they were in the first flush of youth and it was all about sex and showing off, not having a peaceful drink. It was a great pleasure, though - in fact, almost humbling - to watch this amazing little butterfly going about its business with such energy and purpose.

I got just one picture from that site, when one did perch very briefly on some bramble:



By the time I reached my second site it was very hot indeed and all butterflies were sheltering from the sun. A few black hairstreaks were spinning between trees but the activity was much less. Here is one I saw dive for cover. I used flash because it was far too dark where it finished up to get a good picture but it looks surprisingly natural:



I think that one is also a male. If so, I didn't see any females today - suggesting that it is the very beginning of the season. The wings do look rather rounded for a male, I must admit. But if this is a female she is an unmated female because as she moved I saw the abdomen and it looked very male.

Other species new for the year included heath fritillary, knapweed fritillary, pearly heath and brown argus. Here is a brown argus resting on kidney vetch:



Another target for the day was Reverdin's blue. This proved more difficult than I expected. I did find one male and one female, both of which were rather worn, but I had expected to see more, and over a wider area. Here is the male. I didn't attempt to get better photographs because the species breeds in a very precious area of grassland and I didn't want to trample it.



At another site I found this male Plebejus sp., which I have difficulty placing. In many ways it has the air of a very worn Reverdin's blue but the hindwing submarginal spotting is not right and nor is the upperside. Any views on this individual would be gratefully received!





And while we're doing bad photos, I also saw my first ever Swiss large copper. It flew across a meadow where I was looking for blues, settled for about 10 seconds on some vetch and then continued on its way, over a bank and towards some inaccessible wetland. During the 10 seconds I got this proof shot:



A long and hot day, during which I cycled about 40 km (not counting the 10km down to the valley at 6.00am, because that was just fun). But it was definitely worth it.

Guy

[NickB]

And, nice to hear, that for you too, there are first's

I can be of no help on the Plebejus, as you know

[David M]

Bet you're exhausted, Guy, but as you say, it was well worth it.

Large Copper as a first in the country in which you reside.

I'd call that a landmark day. Hopefully now you know they're present you'll be able to do more research.