Padfield

[Padfield]

Those Tree Graylings are alcoholics!!

I bet by late afternoon they can hardly fly!

There was a very heady aroma coming from those grapes! I was tempted to taste them myself.

Guy

[Padfield]

Sarasvatī has changed colour, ready for hibernation:



Nearby, Brahmā, older than her by a few hours, is still green but looks subtly different from a week ago - I think the process has begun:



Last week I had a free afternoon while kids were on expedition, so nipped off to the Papiliorama for some exotica (weekends are far too crowded). Here are a few piccies.

The first is not a plain tiger but its mimic, the female of Hypolimnas misippus:



This is the equally well disguised underside of another individual - wonderful mimicry!



This was a new species for me - Ideopsis juventa - the grey glassy tiger from India:



Another new species was Charaxes brutus, an African species closely related to the two-tailed pasha:



Monarchs were breeding ...



... fruitfully:



I still get excited to see Monarchs, even though I've seen them on three continents and close relatives on a fourth - as well as plenty on every trip to the Papiliorama. This one was in perfect condition:



I get less excited about Heliconids (or genus Heliconius, anyway) partly because without knowing where they come from it is almost impossible to identify some individuals. But I enjoy watching them all the same. This is Heliconius cydno, a rather large and striking species:



From a distance, this Colobura dirce looked as if it had two heads - the fake one on the right actually being more prominent. The eye is also guided there by the underside pattern:



Next, a striking instance of sexual dimorphism - a male and female respectively of Catonephele numilia, from South America:





And finally, a personal favourite, that I have seen in the wild in Kolkata and Mumbai but never got brilliant photos of - Junonia atlites, the grey pansy:



I'm looking forward to the next time a weekday opens up! I've now photographed 96 species at the Papiliorama and there are some I'm sure they sometimes have that I haven't seen yet - like birdwings, for example.

Guy

[David M]

Nice images, Guy. Yes, that Catonephele numilia makes you think. I'd never have guessed they were the same species.

[Padfield]

Yes, that Catonephele numilia makes you think. I'd never have guessed they were the same species.

Weird isn't it? The two sexes must be subject to quite independent selection pressures.

There is still butterfly interest in the Rhône Valley, and even a few surprises today.

Today's first surprises were two marbled ringlets - surprising not so much for the date as because I've never seen the species at this site before, which is right down at valley level (c. 600m here). Both were well into their dotage:





The other surprise was a single marbled white. I don't remember seeing marbled white in October before, but I will have to check to be certain.



The full list: small white, green-veined white, brimstone, Berger's clouded yellow, common blue, Chapman's blue, Adonis blue, chalkhill blue, brown argus, northern brown argus, small copper, grayling, tree grayling, small heath, marbled white, marbled ringlet, wall, speckled wood. No swallowtails or skippers.

And a few piccies:


(Adonis blues still numerous)


(Chalkhill blues few and far between - I saw only two or three today)


(Still plenty of Queens about but I doubt I'll be seeing them into December this year - everything just seems to be closing down)


(Lots of wall - this is one of the last to disappear)


(Brown argus)


(Northern brown argus)


(Common blue)


(Green-veined white)


(Minnie)

Guy

[Padfield]

Every day I do a routine check on my iris cats. I don't always photograph them, especially as I can't always do the circuit in good light - I just note where they are and whether anything significant has happened. I was disappointed last week to find that the leaf Śiva had been on since I first found him had gone. He and the leaf were there the day before. His neighbour and consort, Durgā, was still in evidence, on a nearby leaf. I suspected foul play by human hands, as iris cats secure their leaves with silk at this time of year and they don't just fall. I also looked under the sapling and couldn't find his leaf. There were no signs of grazing by deer, nor of a cyclist having spun off and damaged the tree (many of my cats are on a mountain bike track). SO, with some sadness I marked Śiva's demise - no one who knew how to look after him would have removed him from the tree at this time of year.

Then, tonight, noticing that more leaves had disappeared, I did a thorough search and found him again, on a nearby leaf. This is not just a sentimental story - I find it quite remarkable. He lived on the same leaf for weeks (I found him there as a third grader but the leaf had the feeding signs of a second-grader, so he must have been there long before I found him), then somehow managed to get off and find another leaf the very same day his leaf dropped.

BEFORE (actually, quite a long time before):



TONIGHT (the arrow indicates where Śiva's leaf was - note that several other leaves have fallen too):



If you look carefully, you can see a caterpillar on Durgā's leaf. I believe that is Śiva. Durgā has changed leaves almost every day until recently and never returned to that one. Here are the two of them, if I have them the right way round:


(Śiva)


(Durgā)

I never thought I would see Śiva again.

Elsewhere, Sarasvatī is now looking a very funny colour. I hope this is just preparation for hibernation, not anything more sinister:



Guy

[Padfield]

A few more rather colourful iris cat piccies, from a rainy lunchtime walk ...


(Sarasvatī)


(Brahmā)


(Varuṇa)


(Durgā)


(Indra)

Guy

[David M]

Wow! I doubt if Switzerland is going to suffer from drought any time soon.

Seems like almost every image you've posted over the past few weeks has had water as a major theme.

How bad has it been on the Swiss weather 'Richter Scale'?

[Padfield]

How bad has it been on the Swiss weather 'Richter Scale'?

Averaging over the whole of Switzerland, I'm told it's been the wettest summer since 1965. In places, all-time records have been broken - but this is a country of many microclimates. As I write it is absolutely tipping outside, making me wonder whether I will be able to cycle to work tomorrow morning ... Or perhaps more importantly, whether Minnie will agree to go for a walk. She'd much rather cross her legs and clench her bottom than venture outside in the rain! At lunchtime I had to wait until it stopped for a few minutes but we got caught again later on.

Guy

[NickMorgan]

Hi Guy,
A lot of interesting posts on your blog. I am impressed with the number of species that the butterfly house has. I don't go to Butterfly World in Edinburgh very often, but I am sure they don't have such a variety or rotation of species.
I am also impressed with the number of species you have seen in one day in October. Almost as many species as I have seen all year in Scotland! Great to see some of them still in good shape. It is warm and sunny here today, but sady no butterflies were seen on my lunch-time walk.
So glad to see that Siva has survived the loss of the leaf!

[Padfield]

Hi Nick. As you can suggest, the Papiliorama doesn't have everything at once, though some species are constant. There always seem to be monarchs around, usually near their breeding site. I try to take pictures that minimise the effect of other people wandering around, so probably also give a slightly false impression. But it's a nice place to go and I feel much more familiar with a range of tropical species after a year's worth of visits.

I did the usual iris cat round at lunchtime today - all still on their leaves and apparently well, though Sarasvatī does seem extremely dark now. I also came across this cat, on the path, which I immediately took to be a Lycaenid, on its way to hibernate somewhere, but am not so sure now, as it doesn't seem to be at all hairy. Maybe they change before hibernation, as iris cats do (but in the opposite direction).







If it is a Lycaenid, I suppose sooty copper is a possibility. There are also a few spring blues that hibernate as caterpillars and are found in or around these woods. But despite the shape it doesn't really look like a Lycaenid from close up. Any suggestions would be welcome.

The evenings are drawing in so I take Minnie for a different, flatter, early evening walk. It is beautiful and wonderfully peaceful. This picture, looking down to Monthey, in the valley, was taken with my iPhone. I might take my camera and tripod tomorrow, if the weather is fine, to get a higher resolution picture.



Guy

[Mikhail]

Are you quite sure your cat is lepidopterous? It looks very like a hoverfly larva illustrated in Britain's Hoverflies by Stuart Ball and Roger Morris p.16. It's a larva of Epistrophe in all probability.

M.

[Jack Harrison]

Guy said:

The evenings are drawing in...

Haven't they been doing that since the summer solstice (give or take a day or take allowing for equation of time)?

I realise"drawing in" is just a turn of phrase but it always irritates when used in the autumn. The evenings have been "drawing in" for the many weeks.

At least Guy, it does show that I actually read your postings!

Jack

[Padfield]

Thanks Misha. That explains a lot. As I said, I immediately thought 'Lycaenid' from the shape and pattern, seen from above, but have never seen a hairless butterfly cat - or any Lepidopterous cat for that matter. I'm quite certain you're right, after looking at some Epistrophe larvae online. This one, for example, shows nicely the organ at what I presume is the caudal end:

http://www.tomtamsnaturephotography.com ... Hoverflies

Because I was concentrating on getting adequate shots in very poor light I didn't notice that at the time, and thought it was just something the cat had picked up when I looked at the photos. But now I see it is that organ.

Point taken, Jack! But you must admit, they draw in a jolly site faster around the autumnal equinox - which was not so long ago. For some reason, I just had a vision of you spluttering your indignation through a mouthful of fine single malt and it makes me realise I haven't got any in the house. Nothing like a smokey malt when the evenings start drawing in ... Whoops - done it again.

Guy

[David M]

But you must admit, they draw in a jolly site faster around the autumnal equinox - which was not so long ago...

They sure do! Isn't it something to do with the elliptical orbit of the earth? Around the equinoxes we gain/lose 4 minutes per day but around the solstices we only lose a minute or so.

[Padfield]

Your quoting of me has highlighted an embarrassing spelling mistake, David! This is indeed a jolly site but that was not what I meant!! To your point - the difference in the rate of change of daylight hours at solstice and equinox is actually nothing to do with the elliptical orbit . It would be the same if the earth's orbit were perfectly circular (though the asymmetry of evening and morning around the solstices is to do with the elliptical orbit). For the same reason that a pendulum moves faster in mid-swing than at either maximum, the sun's altitude in the sky at noon changes fastest midway between highest (summer solstice) and lowest (winter solstice).

Back to butterflies! Only red admirals are in evidence at my altitude now. The leaves are falling and on the sallows those that remain are browning and curling. I couldn't see if Sarasvatī was there or not but Brahmā is nicely coloured up ...



... and all the others in the 'gods' part of the woods are getting that way too. This is Śiva:



In the lower woods, where the monkeys and demons live, the cats are still greener than this. All the humans (Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sīta) are dead, I believe, though it is possible Lakṣmaṇa and Sīta have simply moved off and I can't find them.

Guy

[Padfield]

I was able to see Sarasvatī today - the leaves had shifted. She looks very strange but I think all is still well:



Śiva is showing the same, blotchy pattern:



This is Durgā:



The only one still green is Trijaṭā, who is also the youngest, if I remember correctly:



Most of the camilla cats that I can still find are sitting out on their leaf ribs:



This one, however, has settled on a smaller leaf, from which I hope he is going to construct his hibernaculum:

[Pauline]

Your photos are looking very autumnal now Guy. I have been very surprised that the WA cats there are still very visible - mine has disappeared yet again I am hoping slugs are not to blame as there are many around and the plant has had no protection. I was very concerned to see what I believe to be slug eggs on/in the soil of the pot. Tried to remove most but not really sure what to do.

[Padfield]

Fewer and fewer white admiral cats are visible, Pauline - I think many have gone into hibernation now. But if it reassures you, some are still very small - barely 4mm. Here is one such:



The big fat one that was sitting on its projecting midrib yesterday was off in search of a suitable hibernating leaf today. When I passed on my way out, he was already en route and moving quite fast:



On my return, an hour or so later (maybe more) he was still looking. In this picture he is on his way back from checking out some leaves:



The one that was beginning its hibernaculum yesterday was a little further on with the process today:



Elsewhere I found this one all zipped up:



It was just possible to see the caterpillar inside, by looking down between the folded leaf edges:



I found a nice patch of Hydnum mushrooms - so I know what's going in tonight's curry!



The iris cats are still waiting it out on their leaf tips. This is Brahmā:



Guy

[Pauline]

Thank you for that reassurance Guy. It has been interesting to see the progress of 'your' cats, their behaviour seemingly markedly different from 'my' ones, who disappeared into their hibernaculum weeks and weeks ago. I am not sure if 'my' ones will make a new shelter as their ones appear to have been destroyed. I am watching with renewed interest.

[Padfield]

Again, I don't know the answers to your questions, Pauline. This is my first year tracking camilla cats so I'm learning. What I learnt today, on an early evening walk in fading light, was that they probably wander some distance to hibernate. I say this because I couldn't find yesterday's wandering cat on any nearby twigs or leaves. I'll search more thoroughly in better light and when I have more time.

Two of the iris cats, Sarasvatī, and Brahmā, have begun moving - both were still on the same leaves as yesterday but further towards the petiole. At least it confirms Sarasvatī is still alive. Here they are:


(Sarasvatī)



They are almost all that grey colour now, with a dark saddle and whitish blotches. This is Śiva:



Only Trijaṭā is still green:



Apologies that my diary has become a little one-tracked! I'm trying to record as much as possible of the lives of these amazing little creatures.

Guy