Jura France 2012
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
Thanks so much Guy !!
I am vraiment chuffé to have stumbled across those lovely coppers...
Here are some more pics from this morning
Any help with IDs would be appreciated
Charles
I am vraiment chuffé to have stumbled across those lovely coppers...
Here are some more pics from this morning
Any help with IDs would be appreciated
Charles
- Padfield
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Re: Jura France 2012
The last is common blue and the first probably a female chalkhill - but the middle ones are Lang's short-tailed blues - and two different individuals by the look of it...
Again, I'm very interested to see this species in the Jura. It is a migrant from southern Europe, like the long-tailed blue, but generally penetrates less far north and in smaller numbers. I've never seen one in Switzerland but I have seen a lot of long-tailed blues this year. I'll now keep an eye out for Lang's!
Guy
Again, I'm very interested to see this species in the Jura. It is a migrant from southern Europe, like the long-tailed blue, but generally penetrates less far north and in smaller numbers. I've never seen one in Switzerland but I have seen a lot of long-tailed blues this year. I'll now keep an eye out for Lang's!
Guy
Guy's Butterflies: https://www.guypadfield.com
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The Butterflies of Villars-Gryon : https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
Thanks for the help Guy
The last set of pics is from Carcassonne... i have left the Jura now.
Am setting off for a riverside exploration today... will check location of previous year's sighting of LPE ... should be plenty of the smaller fritillaries too
Charles
The last set of pics is from Carcassonne... i have left the Jura now.
Am setting off for a riverside exploration today... will check location of previous year's sighting of LPE ... should be plenty of the smaller fritillaries too
Charles
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
The LPEs were waiting for me on the other side of the river !!
Also some skippers
See http://www.flickr.com/groups/2003712@N25/
for all the pics
Charles
Also some skippers
See http://www.flickr.com/groups/2003712@N25/
for all the pics
Charles
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
Saturday... bus to Lac de la Cavayère
Various small papillons + Swallow tail
Various small papillons + Swallow tail
Last edited by Charles Nicol on Tue Aug 28, 2012 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Padfield
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Re: Jura France 2012
I think there's a good chance you've got at least one Provence chalkhill blue in that lot, Charles! The male upperside is particularly good for this species, though no one would permit a confident identification on a photo of a second brooder. I once spent a pleasant few hours comparing hundreds of photos of chalkhill and Provence chalkhill on the web, looking for constant differences. Your upperside shot shows many of the features I discovered to be associated with PCHB.
I love the lesser purple emperors, too. Beautiful pictures.
Guy
I love the lesser purple emperors, too. Beautiful pictures.
Guy
Guy's Butterflies: https://www.guypadfield.com
The Butterflies of Villars-Gryon : https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html
The Butterflies of Villars-Gryon : https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html
Re: Jura France 2012
Yes, lovely shots of ilia, Charles.
Re: Jura France 2012
Which appears to be Aplocera plagiata in case you didn't know...Charles Nicol wrote: And an interesting moth
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
Thanks Guy, David M & JKT
I went for my last major expedition today... tomorrow will potter round the Cité... departure Thursday.
Here are two more pics to identify please...
One looks like the Lang's Short tailed Blue but was much much smaller.
Thanks in advance
Charles
I went for my last major expedition today... tomorrow will potter round the Cité... departure Thursday.
Here are two more pics to identify please...
One looks like the Lang's Short tailed Blue but was much much smaller.
Thanks in advance
Charles
Re: Jura France 2012
Aaah, how I love that spot. Happy memories.Charles Nicol wrote:... tomorrow will potter round the Cité... departure Thursday.
I bet it's in the nineties right now too?
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
Bonjour DavidDavid M wrote:Aaah, how I love that spot. Happy memories.Charles Nicol wrote:... tomorrow will potter round the Cité... departure Thursday.
I bet it's in the nineties right now too?
We had a violent electrical storm last night & it is still very overcast & hot & threatening to rain... not the best for butterfly spotting
I forgot to mention an interesting sighting on Sunday. Because there are no buses on Sunday i walked 3 miles from the hotel to the centre of town. On the way back i noticed an enormous butterfly
in the front garden of a little house by the railway crossing. It flew slowly to the next garden where i lost sight of it.
The colour scheme was similar to female purple emperor but it was much bigger... i do not think it was a mating pair or a huge moth; any ideas ? The garden had plenty of bushes etc but was not close to any woodland.
Charles
Re: Jura France 2012
The only butterfly 'much bigger' than a female Emperor would be Two Tailed Pasha, but I know you have experience of these, so one now has to wonder whether it was an escapee from a nearby 'farm' /breeder (King Shoemaker?)Charles Nicol wrote:Bonjour DavidDavid M wrote:Aaah, how I love that spot. Happy memories.Charles Nicol wrote:... tomorrow will potter round the Cité... departure Thursday.
I bet it's in the nineties right now too?
We had a violent electrical storm last night & it is still very overcast & hot & threatening to rain... not the best for butterfly spotting
I forgot to mention an interesting sighting on Sunday. Because there are no buses on Sunday i walked 3 miles from the hotel to the centre of town. On the way back i noticed an enormous butterfly
in the front garden of a little house by the railway crossing. It flew slowly to the next garden where i lost sight of it.
The colour scheme was similar to female purple emperor but it was much bigger... i do not think it was a mating pair or a huge moth; any ideas ? The garden had plenty of bushes etc but was not close to any woodland.
Charles
Can't see it being a moth really. I've seen Emperor moths and they are grey rather than brown and pretty unmistakeable.
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
Thanks for those suggestions David... it was definitely not a 2TP ... some kind of UFO butterflyDavid M wrote:
The only butterfly 'much bigger' than a female Emperor would be Two Tailed Pasha, but I know you have experience of these, so one now has to wonder whether it was an escapee from a nearby 'farm' /breeder (King Shoemaker?)
Can't see it being a moth really. I've seen Emperor moths and they are grey rather than brown and pretty unmistakeable.
Anyway i am back in Cambridgeshire until next July... lots of great memories & photos to keep me going til then
Charles
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
SPECIES LIST JURA/AUDE JULY/AUGUST 2012
*J = Jura
*A = Aude
High Brown Fritillary J
Spotted Fritillary A
Queen of Spain Fritillary A
Silver Washed Fritillary J,A
Large Copper J
Purple Emperor J
Lesser Purple Emperor A
Large White J,A
Small White J,A
Wood White J,A
Clouded Yellow J,A
Red Admiral J,A
White Admiral J,A
Brimstone J,A
Cleopatra A
Comma J
Short-tailed Blue J
Lang's Short-tailed Blue A
Common Blue J,A
Holly Blue J,A
Adonis Blue J
Chalkhill Blue A
Peacock J
Small Tortoiseshell J
Small Heath J,A
Gatekeeper J
Ringlet J
Meadow Brown J,A
Speckled Wood J,A
Wall A
Map J
Dingy Skipper J
Large Skipper J
Small or Essex Skipper J,A
Silver-spotted Skipper A
Grizzled Skipper A
Great Banded Grayling J,A
Scarce Swallowtail J,A
The other Swallowtail A
Possibles:
Black-veined White J
Purple Hairstreak J,A
i will update the list as necessary
*J = Jura
*A = Aude
High Brown Fritillary J
Spotted Fritillary A
Queen of Spain Fritillary A
Silver Washed Fritillary J,A
Large Copper J
Purple Emperor J
Lesser Purple Emperor A
Large White J,A
Small White J,A
Wood White J,A
Clouded Yellow J,A
Red Admiral J,A
White Admiral J,A
Brimstone J,A
Cleopatra A
Comma J
Short-tailed Blue J
Lang's Short-tailed Blue A
Common Blue J,A
Holly Blue J,A
Adonis Blue J
Chalkhill Blue A
Peacock J
Small Tortoiseshell J
Small Heath J,A
Gatekeeper J
Ringlet J
Meadow Brown J,A
Speckled Wood J,A
Wall A
Map J
Dingy Skipper J
Large Skipper J
Small or Essex Skipper J,A
Silver-spotted Skipper A
Grizzled Skipper A
Great Banded Grayling J,A
Scarce Swallowtail J,A
The other Swallowtail A
Possibles:
Black-veined White J
Purple Hairstreak J,A
i will update the list as necessary
- Paul Wetton
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Re: Jura France 2012
Hi Charles
Sounds like a possible female Poplar Admiral sighting. They have similar white and brown markings to a female Emperor and are definitely bigger.
All the best.
Sounds like a possible female Poplar Admiral sighting. They have similar white and brown markings to a female Emperor and are definitely bigger.
All the best.
Cheers Paul
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- Roger Gibbons
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Re: Jura France 2012
The description seems to match that for Poplar Admiral (Limenitis populi), but according to Lafranchis’ book, it does not occur anywhere in south-western France and is (in my limited experience) not a butterfly likely to be seen in a garden. In addition, its flight is very powerful, sometimes soaring very rapidly.
There are populi photos on sites such as Guy’s and Matt’s and mine that you can have a look at to see if it matches what you saw. It is a species that is so different and so magnificent, it leaves no doubt.
Of course, one can never say it isn’t populi, just that the geographic factors make it very unlikely.
There are populi photos on sites such as Guy’s and Matt’s and mine that you can have a look at to see if it matches what you saw. It is a species that is so different and so magnificent, it leaves no doubt.
Of course, one can never say it isn’t populi, just that the geographic factors make it very unlikely.
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
Thanks for that interesting suggestion Paul... the underside colours seem about right. I read that the flying season is July so my sighting in late August does not match.Paul Wetton wrote:Hi Charles
Sounds like a possible female Poplar Admiral sighting. They have similar white and brown markings to a female Emperor and are definitely bigger.
All the best.
Charles
- Charles Nicol
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Re: Jura France 2012
Thanks for that input Roger... it was certainly the biggest butterfly i have seen in France but it took me by surprise and by the time i got my act together it had vanished. Also since it was in a private garden i was unable to investigate furtherRoger Gibbons wrote:The description seems to match that for Poplar Admiral (Limenitis populi), but according to Lafranchis’ book, it does not occur anywhere in south-western France and is (in my limited experience) not a butterfly likely to be seen in a garden. In addition, its flight is very powerful, sometimes soaring very rapidly.
There are populi photos on sites such as Guy’s and Matt’s and mine that you can have a look at to see if it matches what you saw. It is a species that is so different and so magnificent, it leaves no doubt.
Of course, one can never say it isn’t populi, just that the geographic factors make it very unlikely.
I enjoyed your photos. I kept an eye out around the sanitary block at the campsite in the Jura but did not see any interesting specimens ( of butterflies )
Charles