CFB

[CFB]

This morning there was heavy rain with thunder. So I didn't go out. However in the afternoon the sky started to clear so I went down to the Mardaric, a stream which is currently dry.

On my way there I saw this Red Admiral, which was quite an event as the last photo of one was at the end of February.

Another event was seeing a Comma, the last one I saw being at the end of April. I didn't manage to get very close today, so this is a highly cropped photo:

And yet another event, a Small Copper, although I do see more of these than the two previous species:

On the way back, by which time the sky had cleared completely, I saw what could perhaps be a Scarlet Darter:

Apart from these, I also saw a few Heath Fritillaries, and several Spotted Fritillaries, all of which seemed to be males, and all in very good condition.
--
Colin

[CFB]

It was several degrees cooler this morning compared to the previous few days, but with a cloudless sky, as I walked towards la Roche d'Ardy.

There were two or three Tree Graylings. Although they are easily disturbed, they don't fly very far away before coming to land, which is a good thing as they are not easy to see once on the ground. Why are they named Tree Graylings? They are hardly ever seen on trees in my experience.

There were quite a few Silver-spotted Skippers around. They seemed to spend a lot of time chasing various fritillaries.

A very smart Red-underwing Skipper allowed me to get quite close,

as did this Large Skipper.

One Weaver's Fritillary, many Spotted Fritillaries, a courting couple of Knapweed Fritillaries,

and several Glanville Fritillaries were spotted.

Other butterflies seen included a Southern White Admiral, Wall Browns, Speckled Woods, and nearer home, a Common Blue.
--
Colin

[CFB]

Yesterday - Parc de la Brague
----------------------------------

Southern White Admiral:

Heath fritillary under-side:

Male Adonis Blue:

Male Common Blue:

My first Purple Hairstreak of the year. Very tatty, but what else could it be? Sorry Chris, no photo of its habitat as I didn't realise that it was a Purple Hairstreak until I saw it on my computer at home.

Today - Near la Roche d'Ardy
---------------------------------

Weaver's Fritillary:

Female Berger's Clouded Yellow:

Female Long-tailed Blue. My first of the year, a few days later than Chris.

--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

That Purple Hairstreak must have been around for a while already, Colin - perhaps a fresher one will turn up soon.
At least we have confirmed the arrival of the Long-tailed Blue.
Chris

[CFB]

With the visit of three grand-daughters I haven't taken many photos these last few days, even though on our walks we did see quite a few butterflies. But I'm not complaining - they are such delightful girls .

However I did get shots of three Fritillaries. There were one or two Spotted Fritillaries, including this one,

several Silver-washed Fritillaries, including this courting couple,

and, this morning a Knapword Fritillary on a Knapweed:

Also seen were Berger's Clouded Yellows, Silver-spotted Skippers, Meadow Browns and Adonis Blues. And when we were having lunch today there was a Two-tailed Pasha in our Arbutus tree. I dashed out with my camera, but failed to get a photo .
--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

Better luck next time with the Two-tailed Pasha, Colin.
Things are very calm butterfly-wise around Marseilles, however with the reappearance of one or two species that have been absent for a few months: Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Clouded Yellow ...
Last year in September there was a pick-up in the number of BFs when some autumn plants flowered and the buddleias flowered for the last time.
Cheers, Chris

[CFB]

Chris, yesterday near Gourdon at about 850 metres altitude we saw a few Clouded Yellows.

But the most frequently seen butterfly was easily the Meadow Brown; we must have seen hundreds of them.

Today, lower down, there were a few Adonis Blues,

Several Meadow Browns, but nothing like yesterday,

and a few Weaver's Fritillaries,

Also seen were a Southern White Admiral, Spotted and Knapweed Fritillaries, Berger's Clouded Yellows, and Large and Silver-spotted Skippers.
--
Colin

[David M]

It's great that you're still seeing plenty of species, Colin. Here in the cold and wet UK it feels more like early October. Meadow Browns have all but gone and most other species still lingering are worn and elderly.

[CFB]

It's still hot and dry here, David .

This morning during a short walk along the Piste de Darbousson, I saw my first two Woodland Graylings of the year, bringing my year count to 76. I couldn't get very close to either of them, but did at least get a photo or two:

The most frequently seen butterflies were Berger's Clouded Yellows and Silver-spotted Skippers:

Also seen were Meadow Browns, Wall Browns, Small Heaths, a Common Blue, and Spotted, Knapweed and Heath Fritillaries.

This afternoon while watering the garden (yes, there are some disadvantages in living down here) I saw this brand-new-looking Scarce Swallowtail on a Red valerian (Centranthus ruber) plant. It didn't seem to be bothered by my presence, perhaps because it was somewhat cloudy at the time (yes, we do have clouds down here):

--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

That's a respectable tally Colin, 76. And I must put some Red Valerian in my garden - a good idea - perhaps its no too late in the season. Do you think that Red Valerian from a garden centre would be as effective as some taken from the wild ?
Cheers, Chris

[CFB]

Chris, I don't know whether Red Valerian is sold in garden centres. My wife considers it to be a weed.

It's very hot again here. This morning I visited the Parc de la Brague. No Berger's Clouded Yellows, fewer Silver-spotted Skippers. I think there were more Wall Browns than any other species. Here's a male:

There were still the occasional Weaver's Fritillary,

the occasional Spotted Fritillary, and two Silver-washed Fritillaries, including this valesina:

Also seen were a couple of Adonis Blues, a couple of Provence Chalkhill Blues, several Wood Whites and some Small Heaths.
--
Colin

[CFB]

There was a surprising variety of butterflies around la Roche d'Ardy this morning, starting with a courting couple of Heath Fritillaries. They don't seem to be in the most comfortable of positions .

Several other Heath Fritillaries were seen, as were several Spotted Fritillaries:

There were many Wood Whites, and once again a courting couple engaged in the activity described here,

and a fresh specimen all by itself:

As usual at this time of the year and this location there were a few camouflaged Tree Graylings:

Also photographed were Adonis Blues, including this male,

and a solitary Southern White Admiral:

Also seen were very many Silver-spotted Skippers and Berger's Clouded Yellows.
--
Colin

[CFB]

Very hot. Short walk in afternoon. Not many butterflies. No photos. But I did see two male Cleopatras, which is a bit unusual for this time of the year. Well perhaps not all that unusual, I just checked photos in previous years and I found one on 3 September 2010 and one on 20 September 2013.

The European Bee-eaters seem to be getting ready to go back to where they came from in the spring.
--
Colin

[CFB]

Some photos from the last three days.

One of several Adonis Blues:

One of several Spotted Fritillaries:

Another Adonis Blue:

One of many Tree Graylings, this one with a very unmarked underwing:

One of a few Knapweed Fritillaries:

One of very few Weaver's Fritillaries:

Also seen, several Provence Chalkhill Blues, many Silver-spotted Skippers, a few Silver-washed Fritillaries, several Meadow Browns and a few Berger's Clouded Yellows.
--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

I'm amazed you see so many Adonis Blues, Colin, I've not seen one at all this year, and I saw very few in 2013.
For info, this week no more Southern Gatekeepers are flying across my way. Their season has ended 3 weeks earlier than last year.
I'm impressed by the open-wing Woodland shot you posted in my thread.
Cheers, Chris

[CFB]

There are still not many butterflies flying around here. And one which is presumably no longer mobile is the Two-tailed Pasha which lost this piece of wing found in the garden yesterday:

Today in the Parc de la Brague the most frequently seen butterflies were male Provence Chalkhill Blues. These two photos are of two different individuals. (If anyone says that these are regular Chalkhill Blues, I won't argue.)

There were several Burnet Moths (Zygaena fausta), including this very photogenic one:

Also seen were Meadow Browns, Small Heaths, a Southern White Admiral, a Speckled Wood, Wall Browns, Wood Whites, a few Berger's Clouded Yellows and a couple of Silver-washed Fritillaries.
--
Colin

[CFB]

The weather forecast had predicted rain for this morning, but it was sunny . So I walked along to la Roche d'Ardy. The Yellow Odontites (Odontites luteus or lutea) attracted, as usual, several butterflies in particular Provence Chalkhill Blues and Adonis Blues. This photo is of one of the Adonis Blues:

I only saw one Tree Grayling. It was in really bad shape, and had trouble flying . But at least I was able to see, for the first time, most of the underwing :

There are still several Berger's Clouded Yellows around, including this female:

I was pleased to see, and photograph two male Cleopatras, both in very fine condition. This is one of them:

Also seen were a few Knapweed Fritillaries, a Mallow Skipper, several Silver-spotted Skippers, Meadow Browns and Wall Browns, and a Wood White.

Perhaps the rain is for this evening, as it is now thundering.
--
Colin

[David M]

Do Cleopatras and Berger's Clouded Yellows hibernate as adults down your way, Colin?

[CFB]

David,

According to T&L, Cleopatras hibernate as adults and Berger's Clouded Yellows hibernate as small larvae.

According to Wikipedia, the adult Cleopatra hibernates in evergreen trees and shrubs.

Cheers,
Colin

[David M]

Thanks, Colin.

Not surprising that Cleopatras and Brimstones hibernate in much the same way. Must be lovely to see one in February down there.