CFB

[CFB]

After a few days of seeing very few butterflies, this morning in the Parc de la Brague there was quite a choice. The most frequently seen were probably Provence Chalkhill Blues, including a courting couple:

There were also many Meadow Browns and Wall Browns, but no photos of these. There were several Common Blues, and I managed to photograph a male and a female:

I saw one or two Tree Graylings and three Woodland Graylings. This is one of the Woodland Graylings:

Also seen were one or two Small Heaths, two male Berger's Clouded Yellows and an unidentified White.
--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

Good upperside shot of the Provence Chalkhill Blue pair, Colin. I wish I had a few of your species across my way, including the Woodland Grayling.
Cheers, Chris

[CFB]

Chris, I could swap a couple of mine for a couple of your Striped Graylings and Dusky Heaths if you like .
--
Colin

[CFB]

There are fewer and fewer butterflies around as we approach autumn, the most common still being Provence Chalkhill Blues:

Several Common Blues were also seen:

And each day I seem to find one or two Burnet Moths (Zygaena fausta):

That's about it except for one male Berger's Clouded Yellow, and one or two Wall Browns.
--
Colin

[David M]

I was wondering why you weren't seeing many butterflies, Colin, but then you don't seem to encounter too many of the UK vanessids in your part of the world. At the moment over here, Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals are very common sights.

[CFB]

Even though it was cloudy all this morning, there was quite a good selection of butterflies to be found. Once again, Provence Chalkhill Blues were the most plentiful:

There were several Common Blues:

and several Adonis Blues:

The surprise of the morning was to see two or three Green-veined Whites. It's the first time I've seen any in September. In fact I don't think I've seen any later than June before:

There were three or four Silver-washed Fritillaries:

several Meadow Browns, this one perhaps being ssp. hispulla:

and one or two Tree Graylings:

Apart from that I saw several Wall Browns (elusive), two or three Berger's Clouded Yellows (very elusive!) and yet again some Burnet Moths (Zygaena fausta).
--
Colin

[CFB]

This morning I walked along to la Roche d'Ardy. It was mainly sunny with a few clouds, and cooler than the last couple of days.

There were still many Provence Chalkhill Blues, but fewer Common Blues. This one was drying out after yesterday's rain. You can still see some drops of rain on the edge of the wing nearest the top of the plant. It was still on the same plant when I came back twenty minutes later:

I was watching some Lang's Short-tailed Blues on some Odontites luteus plants ...

when I realised that one of them wasn't a Lang's Short-tailed Blue but was a Long-tailed Blue. This was the best photo I managed to take of it ...

Another surprise was seeing Bath Whites ...

and Green-veined Whites ...

on Fleabane (Dittrichia viscosa) (thanks, Chris) together with Common Blues, an Adonis Blue and a Mallow Skipper.

Also seen were a couple of Silver-spotted Skippers, several Wall Browns, one or two Tree Graylings, a couple of Berger's Clouded Yellows and some Meadow Browns.
--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Colin,
I agree over my way with your sightings of Lang's STB, Long-tailed Blue, Bath White, Wall Brown and Yellow Cloudies all going crazy over those yellow flowers coming into bloom right now - what I believe to be Dittrichia viscosa or Fleabane in English, or Inule visqueuse in French. (Check that plant out on the Web !!)
Cheers, Chris

[CFB]

Thanks Chris for the plant identification. I wasn't really happy with it being Jacobaea erucifolia.

An interesting quote from Wikipedia:

It is an important plant in Catalan tradition, often mentioned in adages and proverbs. One adage says that: "els raïms són madurs quan floreixen les olivardes.", the grapes are ripe when the Yellow Fleabane blooms.

A few photos from the last couple of days, but none this morning which was cool and cloudy:

Quite a lot of Small Heaths ...

Still many Provence Chalkhill Blues around. I think that this female is a Provence Chalkhill Blue, not an Adonis Blue, but I could be wrong ...

A solitary female Bath White ...

And a Meadow Brown ...

Also seen were Common Blues, Berger's Clouded Yellows, a Small Copper, Silver-washed Fritillaries, a Wood White, a Woodland Grayling, some Tree Graylings, Lang's Short-tailed Blues and a Silver-spotted Skipper.
--
Colin

[CFB]

Some photos from the last three days.

Several Lang's Short-tailed Blues were flying even though the Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) plants they seem to like so much are not yet in flower. So this one had to make do with Odontites lutea...

In a couple of places I saw Long-tailed Blues in the company of Lang's Short-tailed Blues. But still no upper-sides of either...

One or two Bath Whites...

This afternoon (I didn't go out this morning as I had two rugby matches to watch on the television ) I took this photo of the back-lit underside of a Mallow (?) Skipper...

There are still a few Berger's Clouded Yellows around, including this male...

I was however surprised to see a Clouded Yellow, as I hadn't seen any since mid-August...

Also seen: one Red Admiral , Green-veined Whites, Small Whites, Silver-spotted Skippers, Common Blues, Provence Chalkhill Blues, Wall Browns, a Speckled Wood, Meadow Browns, Silver-washed Fritillaries (including form valesina) and two Great Banded Graylings.
--
Colin

[CFB]

Today was a really nice day: sunny, no wind, not too hot, and a surprising number of butterflies.

I was pleased to see some more Bath Whites. I don't think I've seen as many in previous years. This female in enjoying the Fleabane (Dittrichia viscosa), as are the butterflies in all the following photos...

There were once again more Provence Chalkhill Blues (no photos) than any other species, closely followed by Berger's Clouded Yellows. I managed to get a photo of the upper-side of a female...

And of course there was a male not very far away...

This female was very helpful, allowing me to get a couple of nice photos...

I only managed one photo of this Large (???) Wall Brown...

I saw just one Clouded Yellow, a female, just before getting back to my car...

Also seen were many Wall Browns, a Speckled Wood, several Lang's Short-tailed Blues, some Adonis Blues, a very damaged male Silver-washed Fritillary and a Southern Small White. But no Meadow Browns or Skippers.
--
Colin

[David M]

Great images, Colin. I'm still yet to see a female Bath White. They're so much more attractive than the males.

[CFB]

Thanks, David. I agree, they are really beautiful.
--
Colin

[CFB]

This morning I went to la Roche d'Ardy. It was nice and sunny, but now there are a few clouds.

There were many Lang's Short-tailed Blues in and around the Odontite plants. This one is a male...

I'm pretty sure that this one is also a male...

I saw a couple of Small Heaths...

and one male Cleopatra...

I also saw many Provence Chalkhill Blues, a few Adonis Blues, one (or perhaps two) Red Admirals, several Wall Browns, a few Berger's Clouded Yellows and one Clouded Yellow.
--
Colin

[CFB]

Three more October butterflies from Saturday:

A Small Copper (I saw them as late as November 20 two years ago)...

a male Wall Brown...

and a male Common Blue...

--
Colin

[CFB]

Yesterday there were two Red Admirals on and around our Arbutus tree, taking advantage of the numerous flowers on it. But no photos.

This morning in the Parc de la Brague I thought that I was never going to see any butterflies. But then I found a couple of Fleabane plants still in flower. On one such plant at the same time there was a female Bath White...

and a female Clouded Yellow...

A Small Copper put in a brief appearance, but didn't want to be photographed.

Not far away were several Lang's Short-tailed Blues. They all seemed to be males...

When I got home there were some more Lang's Short-tailed Blues on the Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) plants just outside our front gate.

I also saw some male Provence Chalkhill Blues. And that was all
--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Colin,
My sightings over in Marseilles agree with what you're seeing at the moment: Red Admiral, Clouded Yellow, Lang's STB, Bath White. There is also a surprising presence of Berger's CY, or it is probably just that I never noticed them before, and my eyes are better tuned with experience to spotting them
The Sticky Fleabane is beoming fewer and far between.
Cheers, Chris

[CFB]

This morning I walked up the Piste des Tamarins along which is my main Lang's Short-tailed Blue colony. And they were there in their dozens . But they were very active and difficult to photograph . However I did manage to get a couple of shots. This is a very damaged male...

and this a female in much better condition...

There were a few Speckled Woods, including this one taking advantage of the sun to do a bit of sunbathing...

There were also several Wall Browns flying, but nothing else.
--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

It does feel like the end of the season Colin.
I too am seeing relatively large numbers of active Lang's STBs whereas the other species are dwindling.
Chris

[CFB]

There is however still some activity going on. Together with a Berger's Clouded Yellow that I didn't manage to photograph, I saw the following butterflies:

Several Lang's Short-tailed Blues, including this male...

one Speckled Wood...

several Wall Browns...

and a solitary Red Admiral...

Today was sunny, cold in the shade but warm enough in the sun to be in a t-shirt. A nice way to start the month of November .
--
Colin