What's flying in Marseilles 2015

[Chris Jackson]

January 9th

Hi folks,
I'm reporting in from the Marseilles area to let you know that some butterflies are up and flying already down here this year.
Sightings today in Vitrolles, near Marseilles:
3+ Red Admirals
1 Painted Lady (worn - no photo)
1 Clouded Yellow (worn)

As in the UK, a few Red Admirals have been seen this week, particularly if the lunch-time temperature manages to reach 15°C.
I've even seen 3 of them battling together.
Today was my biggest surprise of all when, in addition to the usual RAs, I spotted a Painted Lady (worn) and a Clouded Yellow (worn).

This is the escarpment where the Red Admirals were hill-topping

This is Globularia growing on the plateau of Vitrolles.

These sightings may just be a flash in the pan, however the forecast is up to 18°C this coming Saturday so ... fingers crossed.
There has been no really hard cold spell yet down here, although overnight the temperatures can drop to around 0°C.
Will keep you informed as and when.
Cheers, Chris

[NickMorgan]

Fantastic. Lucky you! I think it will be a while before we see anything flying here. Blizzards forecast for tomorrow! I look forward to reading about what you see down there!

[David M]

Great start, Chris. I daresay you'll see a few more if temperatures do indeed reach 18c this weekend!

[Charles Nicol]

Lovely to hear more from France. Apparently there was a big bang in Marseilles today ?

[LancsRover]

Hi Chris and Happy New Year to you, good to see you are up and running.

I've just arrived in Spain(again) and I will be putting a report in soon.

Cheers Russ

[Chris Jackson]

Thanks Guys, here's a bit more:

January 14th
Today in my usual lunch-break haunt in the scrub on the plateau of Vitrolles, I confirmed a suspected (and expected) sighting of a Lang's Short-tailed Blue. This one looks to be a female. We barely scraped 13°C at lunch-time today which is probably why it was above head height, up in a pine tree; in warmer conditions I'd expect to see it on top of the scrub bushes, below head height.

Is this an aberrant individual, the hind underside white patches seem slightly extended ?
Hang on in there with that bad weather you're getting at the moment in the UK - I ought to consider 13°C relatively warm I suppose
Chris

[Padfield]

There is more white than usual on the underside of that pirithous but it's within the 'normal' range of variation in this species (and indeed in the genus, which shows more varation within than between species).

Nothing flying in CH yet, despite unseasonably warm weather for much of January so far. Return to snow today, though.

Guy

[Chris Jackson]

There is more white than usual on the underside of that pirithous but it's within the 'normal' range of variation in this species ... Guy

Thanks Guy, I will return to the same spot in the coming days (this species seems quite sedentary), and will try and get a better shot from closer up.
Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Wednesday, February 11th

Hi folks,
Things warmed up today slightly with 14 °C this afternoon in the Marseilles area.
My lunchtime walk in the scrub produced at least 3 Red Admirals and then, surprisingly, a Small Tortoiseshell.
Here is one of the Red Admirals warming itself on the rocky soil:

A couple of context shots with yellow Genista scorpius (Broom) in flower:

This Broom is attracting many bee-like insects at the moment.
This Small Tortoiseshell is quite embarassing for me

In another recent thread I tried to convince myself (and David M ) that Small Torts don't exist down my way (South of France), but then I saw one again today,
(I won't be rewriting the natural history books, just correcting my own records !! )
Chris

PS : Hi Charles, sorry I forgot to salute you !! Thanks for looking in further up .

[David M]

LOL! Just when you think you know a species....

Pleased to see the venerable Tortie is alive and kicking in the environs of Marseilles.

[Roger Gibbons]

The last time I saw a Small Tortoisehell in Var was in 2010 (and I am there April-October each year). I generally consider this to be an altitude species in south-eastern France where I see it above 1500m and often a lot higher. Large T no problem, at least five each year in the early spring as they emerge from hibernation (looking very tatty), and the same with Camberwell Beauties, which is the commonest of this group. Where do the CBs go? I assume they give rise to the second generation in Var which immediately aestivate or maybe the hibernating generation or their offspring head north for cooler climes. Peacocks and Red Admirals are scarce too, maybe a few Peacocks but usually only a Red Admiral or two in September. No Brimstones, White Admirals or Purple Emperors either in the far south. It is the converse of the UK.

[FISHiEE]

When I have been to southern France (Luberon area) Nettles are non-existent. I did find a small patch ones, and amongst it was a nest of ST caterpillars, but don't recall seeing the butterfly. Also never seen a Peacock either, but a few Red Admirals. On the drive up to Mount Ventoux there are a few tight bends where I see nettles, and there is almost always a peacock or ST or two nearby. I have always assumed therefore that further south there is little food plant to support them. Don't recall seeing a Comma either.

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Roger,
Thanks for your observations, which are encouraging. I guess we can say then that any Small Torts around Marseilles are vagrants, as would be the one-off sighting I once had of a Queen of Spain.
I agree that Large Torts are fairly reliable, I had sporadic sightings last Spring over a 4-week period. No Peacocks down here either - now that would be a jaw-dropper .
However, Red Admirals are very common down here over the winter (80 meters above sea level) - shouldn't they be reliant on the same LHP as Small Torts though ?
As you say, no White Admirals, but rather Southern White Admirals.

Because you mentioned Camberwell Beauty, do you think that you would be able to pinpoint for me, a location, in the Var, where I could get a sighting of a CB this year ?, and what would the likely flight period be ?
Températures have very recently just climbed back up to around 14°C after a month of "wintery" weather. Spring is only a matter of days away now, or 2 weeks at the most.
Thanks. Chris

Hi FISHiEE,
You pipped me to the post concerning nettles - they are very few and far between - and the Luberon is barely lusher than the Marseille area. Paddock areas with horses or donkeys may encourage nettles. Peacocks and STs then may require a little more altitude than chez moi (80 m ASL).
I had 4 or 5 sightings last year of Comma around Marseilles, from end of May to end of June, but these were quite isolated - not very common.
Cheers, Chris

[Roger Gibbons]

Hi Chris,

Camberwell Beauties overwinter in the oak forests of the Esterel, right across Var and I see them from mid-April to mid-May. I tend to find them by accident as they are usually on the ground and fly up into the canopy when I (not seeing them) disturb them. They are usually singles, very rarely two together.

I checked my records and find that I have seen them in 32 separate locations. There’s not really anywhere that I could say I would have more than a 50% chance of seeing one. The area around the Col de Babaou north of Bormes-les-Mimosa was about as good as anywhere and the region around Collobrières had a few in 2011. There’s only one place I saw them with any regularity and that was near Bagnols-en-Fôret but that is some way from you (I can give you the location if you wish). There’s also a good spot near la Roquebrussanne, a little nearer you, but good for many other species (LOTSW II may recall this place – Southern Festoon and Black-eyed Blue here as well). I am located south of Roquebrune-sur-Argens and I walk the track by the river each week and see a CB maybe once in three times. If you visit these areas, look on the ground ahead of you – if you do disturb one, be patient as they will usually come back in about 20 minutes if not to the same spot, but maybe a little further along the track.

At the Bagnols location, there were two that spent many hours on the ground, whizzing back into the canopy and settling on an old fence post and on an electrified fence(!). I stood very still observing them, and one landed on my head. As my wife very helpfully pointed out, I must look like a gnarled old fence post viewed from above. Very funny.

Queen of Spain are not uncommon on my patch, again usually on the ground.

Hi John,

Commas don’t seem to be as scarce as Small Torts in southern Var, and I see them fairly regularly. They use a variety of foodplants, including Elms. Lafranchis says they are rare in the Midi, but that isn’t my experience and I have seen them near the coast.

[Mikhail]

Chris

Bear in mind that Red Admirals also feed on Parietaria species (Pellitory). It's in the nettle family, and at least one species is sure to be present in your area. I often find the cats on Pellitory-of- the-Wall in the Bournemouth area.

M.

[CFB]

Here is some data concerning my sightings since 2010 of the above-mentioned butterflies around Valbonne in the Alpes-Maritimes at around 200 metres altitude.

Few = less than five
Several = between five and ten
Many = more than ten

Brimstone: Many each year.
Lesser Purple Emperor: One in 2010 and one in 2011.
Southern White Admiral: Many each year.
Camberwell Beauty: One or two in each of 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Large Tortoiseshell: Several each year.
Peacock: Two in 2012 and one in 2014.
Small Tortoiseshell: One in 2012 and one in 2014.
Red Admiral: Several each year.
Painted Lady: Many each year.
Comma: A few each year.
Queen of Spain Fritillary: Several each year.

Roger, I'm surprised that there are so few Brimstones in the Var compared to the number I see.
Also do you see any Lesser Purple Emperors in the Var?
--
Colin

[Padfield]

Re Camberwell beauty: In Switzerland these invariably overwinter in the proximity of sallow, near water (typically but not always flowing streams or even rushing torrents) - i.e., at what will be their breeding sites. In the summer they are more often not seen at these sites, as those that stay there hibernate soon after emergence. The ones you see then are are dispersers. It may work differently in the South of France, but here the same breeding sites are used year after year and if you know where they are you can be pretty much 100% certain of seeing one on any sunny day in April. Look for suitable arenas for territories to be set up (usually lengths of ride or river), copious sallow and water.

Guy

[Roger Gibbons]

The very much rarer Southern Comma also uses Parietaria officinalis. The absence of Nettles also explains why we don’t get Map butterfly in this part of the world (I say “this part of the world” in the context of where my mind is, there being no Maps in cold wet Hatfield either).

Brimstones do occur in Var, but nearly always north of the A8 autoroute. Cleopatra is its “replacement twin” in the south of Var, and really very common, very much in evidence as it is so easy to spot. This is in keeping with the distributions of both as shown in the PACA Atlas. Presumably, Colin, you are knee-deep in Cleopatras as well?

Lesser PE does occur in Var but it is quite sparse. It is, like Guy says for CB, always found very near water. I have found it in three locations in Var, including on my local patch where I have only seen it once. I have only ever seen it at one spot in the Alpes-Maritimes, at a spot which was being guarded at the time by a tethered llama which seemed naturally suited to its guard-dog role. The site is now severely fenced off so I haven’t seen it there since. There are only about five records since 1998 of LPE in each of these départements.

[CFB]

Presumably, Colin, you are knee-deep in Cleopatras as well?

Well not at the moment but it won't be long. The first Cleopatra I saw last year was on February 22, and the first Brimstone was on January 26!

There are only about five records since 1998 of LPE in each of these départements.

So I feel quite privileged to have seen two, one of them being f. clytie. One of them was in the dry bed of an intermittent stream, the Mardaric, and the other near another dried-up stream not far away.

--
Colin

[Chris Jackson]

Hello All,
Thanks for the interest you're showing in this thread.

Roger,
I've checked out the locations you've mentioned in the Var for Camberwell Beauty, via Google maps, and it has made me realise just how wide (extensive - west / east) the Var is . I'm hoping to pop over though in April.

Mikhaïl,
For the Red Admiral, I'll keep my eyes open for the Parietaria genus of LHP. I'm informed that down here we have Parietaria judaica and Parietaria officinalis.

Colin,
Glad to see you're around. Thanks for your data, and great photos of the LPE, no chance of me seeing any across my way. Our season (Alpes Maritimes, Var, Bouches du Rhone) should be starting very soon. I'll be keeping a close eye on your sightings. à bientôt.

Guy,
I hope I get over into the Var this Spring to look for Camberwell Beauty. At the end of last year, I watched one of the YouTube videos promoted by Roger concerning the CB, and noted that a stream was never far away. All I have to do now is learn how to identify the different varieties of Sallow, compared with Willow ? . Butterflying is a hobby which unites complementary activities. Never a dull moment, except perhaps in the depths of winter, which hopefully is drawing to a close

Thanks, Chris