Which Grizzled Skipper ?

[Chris Jackson]

Hi. I saw this Grizzled Skipped in July in the Cantal departement of the Massif Central, France, at alt. 950 m, but I can't tell if it is Oberthür or Foulquier. Can someone differentiate for me please?
Thanks. Chris Jackson.

[Padfield]

A tricky one, Chris, without an underside to help. Assuming carlinae is replaced by cirsii in your region, and assuming you are within the rather restricted range of bellieri (Foulquier's) I agree those are the only two species this might be.

I think most people would admit their experience of bellieri is both limited and uncertain, so I for one hesitate to suggest absolute diagnostic features. Tim Cowles observed that in bellieri the spots very often run outwards a little at the extrremities, as if the paint had run along the grain of the paper. This is illustrated in the picture below, which I believe is a mating pair of bellieri:



If this effect is characteristic of bellieri, though, it is not unique to it.

By default, and because there is nothing to suggest it is anything else, I suggest your butterfly is armoricanus (Oberthür's). The discal region of the hindwing is perhaps weakly marked for a male but not excessively so and the second picture in particular looks exactly like armoricanus.

Guy

[Chris Jackson]

Thanks for your analysis Guy. This has put my mind at rest and I will classify it as Oberthür's.
Chris Jackson, Marseille