European Blues

[Roger Gibbons]

I plan to post something on this later today. The problem is that I got the short list down to 16 but have agonized for two days as to what to leave out.

Severe feelings of guilt at having to cross out another six...

Guy's photo of the male Osiris Blue was one of the best blues photos I have ever seen. Captured it perfectly.

Roger

[Roger Gibbons]

Here are my top ten, very hard to whittle down with so many great species to choose from, even just the forty or so French species.

Some have been posted already, so apologies for repeating.

In reverse order:
No. 10 Geranium Argus (Eumedonia/Aricia eumendon)
This is a female, both are the same butterfly. The female uns markings are generally stronger, and the ups has a few orange lunules where the males usually has none. The clear white uns streak is characteristic. It is always glued to a plant of the Geranium family, usually in PACA Wood Crane's-bill (Geranium sylvaticum).

No. 9 Osiris Blue (Cupido Osiris)
A male, both shots. It is very similar on the uns to a Small Blue (C. minimus) but there are clues from an uns view alone. The ups is a pure blue with rather thicker black edging than a Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus).

No. 8 Escher’s Blue (P. escheri)
The uns is a female, the most spectacular blue uns I think, beautiful bold clear markings. The ups is a male, usually identifiable from the slightly chequered uph fringes.

No. 7 Silvery Argus (Aricia Nicias)
A very cute and delicate high altitude blue. These are both males. It is easy to identify from the uns (white streak, characteristic shape) and from the ups (very broad black borders).

No. 6 Short-tailed Blue (Cupido argiades)
Both shots are of females. The uns shot is showing egg-laying on Yellow Sweet Clover (Melilotus officinalis), although it uses other plants as well. Lovely clean markings on a clean silvery white background. The ups shows the usual female blue upperside, dark with a smattering of blue scales.

Nos 1-5 to follow.
Roger

[David M]

..And David, you have thankfully picked five species that caused me real heart-ache to leave out of my choices! I actually think that if I revisited this, I would probably post ten different blues on any given day, but my first place would remain the same...

Seems like we're all suffering 'the blues' in choosing, Pete.

Yes, it's a funny thing how some of us go for certain species whilst others omit them. For me, it's sometimes because I don't really have a decent enough image. Had I photographed Reverdin's like you did I'm sure I'd have found it hard to leave it out of my top ten.

Same goes for Large Blue. I haven't ever really nailed one of those dusky, continental females with the oversized black forewing markings so although they are amongst my favourite forms of lycaenid, my memories largely consist of flighty individuals refusing to settle on a sunny, warm day!

[David M]

..The problem is that I got the short list down to 16 but have agonized for two days as to what to leave out.

Severe feelings of guilt at having to cross out another six...

This must have been near impossible for you, Roger, given the zillions you have seen.

I look forward to your top five (I reckon I can name three) and enjoyed your #10-#6. Must admit, I'd completely forgotten about eumedon (that's the price you pay for not being blue!)

[Roger Gibbons]

David M wrote

I look forward to your top five (I reckon I can name three)

David - have a guess - they might not be what you would expect (clue: only one Maculinea)

Roger

[David M]

David - have a guess - they might not be what you would expect (clue: only one Maculinea)

I reckon your maculinea/phengaris is teleius.

I know you're fond of orion so I'd expect to see that too.

I also think iolas will prove irresistible!

For what it's worth, I'll also throw orbitulus and daphnis in as well.

[David M]

#5 - Amanda's Blue

Surprised this species hasn't been selected by others. It's one of the largest Blues and is very striking both in the air and when it settles, with its iridescence reflecting the light of the sun so that it shines brightly from some angles and takes on a rich, deep blue colour from others:

[bugboy]

Since I've only had the one foreign trip specifically for butterflies, I can only manage a top 3, one of which is a maybe anyway All taken in southern Spain last March:

#3 Southern Blue. This is the maybe one. I only saw it long enough to grab two identical shots before it vanished and I never saw any more. The ID is based on location (a few miles north of Gibraltar) more than anything

#2 Black-eyed Blue. I saw these a few times. The first was an ovipositing female. Males were seen here and there but only one settled on a mostly overcast day just north of Marbella.

#1 Lang's Short-tailed blue. Again seen just outside Marbella, it gets the number one spot on account of the beautiful underside marbling and the way the eye spots leap out at you.

Hopefully I can add many more species in the coming years

[David M]

#4 - Turquoise Blue

I love this little lycaenid. I call it the 'Lonely Blue' because it nearly always appears in isolation, in contrast to other species such as Escher's, Adonis, Amanda's, etc.

The upperside is second only to Adonis Blue in my opinion, whilst the underside has that beautiful array of submarginal 'love hearts' which confirm its identity better than anything else.

I sometimes see quite a few in the Pyrenees in late May, but rarely more than a handful in the French Alps in the summer:

[Roger Gibbons]

You got one right David, and close on another. Orion was one of the nearly-made-its.

No. 5 Dusky Large Blue (Phengaris/Maculinea nausithous)
This is just so rare and localised in France and has an appealing cinnamon colour, so different to its Maculinea cousins. And I was so lucky to get this mating shot.

No. 4 Iolas Blue (Iolana iolas)
You were right David, iolas is irresistible. This is a female uns and ups. The male has, like most blues, complete blue on the ups. It is becoming very localised in France and it seems that many areas of Colutea (Bladder Senna) have been cut down, so it is in some danger of disappearing.

No. 3 Black-eyed Blue (Glaucopsyche melanops)
This is such a cute little blue, with a very distinctive steely blue of the male. The uns is a male too. I can see why bugboy included it and I recall the excitement of Kip and Rogerdodge in 2011 when I spotted one on the ground near La Roquebrussanne, not that it is particularly uncommon, but it is significantly less common than it close cousin Green-underside Blue (G. alexis).

No. 2 Glandon Blue (Plebejus glandon)
This is such a hardy and distinctive little butterfly of high altitudes. It has an almost unique uns pattern and a ups of very variable colour. Even if the air temperature is as low as 10C, if there is some sunshine, glandon will be out on the ground, quite often in decent numbers. The females are very reclusive and I have seen about three in total, ever.

No. 1 Cranberry Blue (Plebejus/Agriades optilete)
Another high altitude blue, but optilete seems to be largely restricted (in France) to the northern Alps of Savoie. It has such a beautifully marked uns but that little red spot and smattering of blue scales just wins it for me. The ups is a female, again, as with most high altitude blues, seen in the ratio of about a hundred males to each female.

Apologies to David as I think four of these five are still on his wish list.

Now we wait for someone to post their ten favourite fritillaries.

Roger

[Padfield]

Thank you for the comment on my Osiris blue, Roger - high praise, coming from a master like you!

I'm thoroughly enjoying all these blues shots - and it's interesting to see what species different people appreciate (though I'm sure we all agree that we love them all).

Re Roger's comment that overwhelmingly more male cranberry blues are seen than females. On my local mountain in Switzerland, the ratio becomes about 50 : 50 if you leave the track and wander around the dense Vaccinnium carpets. In fact, at my favourite spot there are no tracks and I think I've seen just as many females there as males. This doesn't work for blues whose foodplant is more scattered, like Eros blue. I've seen very few female Eros blues but thousands of males.

Guy

[Medard]

Fritillaries
Sounds like a challenge Roger, I will make a start on the Fritillaries.
I guess I shall have to give up on Iolas Blue (Iolana iolas) but hope springs eternal

[David M]

...Apologies to David as I think four of these five are still on his wish list.

Don't apologise, Roger. Seeing species I haven't personally encountered is a delight, and your images are, as ever, of extremely good quality.

In fact, only three are on my 'tick' list; I've seen both Glandon Blue AND Black-Eyed Blue (the latter being at the Provence Hairstreak site when I met you in Var in April 2015)!

[David M]

#3 - Chequered Blue

A simply beautiful insect. It's so different to any of its relatives and has distinctive (and highly attractive) uppersides AND undersides.

I'm lucky that I see it regularly in the Pyrenees in late May and usually in the French Alps in late June/early July, especially if the season is running a bit 'late'.

[David M]

#2 - Alpine Blue

Few butterflies get me as excited as when I locate an Alpine Blue. They occur in low densities at altitude and you always feel a bit fortunate when you stumble across one.

The upperside is a pale, bright blue, and the underside is characterised by those large, blind, whitish patches.

It's a combative insect with plenty of guts, defending its territory from other passing insects with great resolution.

If the males are rarely seen, then females are even more scarce. To this day, I've only ever seen two, and both were as a result of others actually finding them and showing me their whereabouts. Those silvery-blue forewing spots are most unusual and quite captivating.

So, that mixture of attractiveness, rarity and behaviour make it my number two!

[petesmith]

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this topic. A fantastic range of Blues and some truly divine shots!

I have to single out Roger's contribution, for the sheer quality of the photography, and for a lovely range of species, but as Guy says, I am sure we all love every one of the Blues show-cased here.

I am just going to add three species that haven't yet appeared in this thread (unless I have missed them), three of the "also rans" that I had to leave out of my original post:

Green-underside Blue

These were photographed to the north of Dijon, and were just emerging onto the wing. A beautiful species when fresh!

Provencal Short-tailed Blue

I have actually seen this species more frequently than its supposed commoner relative, the Short-tailed Blue. These ones were photographed close to Stephane's hotel along the famous track.

Provence Chalkhill Blue

These were photographed in early May in Provence, making their identity easy!

We now wait with bated breath for David's Number 1 - I simply have no idea what it will be...

[petesmith]

Oops...
Sorry.
Meant to finish with this as my "grand finale".

[Roger Gibbons]

That could almost be a top ten in one photo, Pete. It looks like you’ve even got aethiopella in there as well.

David – yes, now I do recall that you saw Black-eyed Blue. It’s flight period seems to be over by the end of April, so it really needs an early trip to see it.

Cogitating over your no. 1, David. Give us a clue – is it a species that occurs in France?

I’ll add one more that meant more to me that it would to anyone else: Spanish Argus (Aricia morronensis). It counts to see a rare species, but for me it counts more to see it in France, and morronensis is very scarce and localised in France, being limited to (I think) just two sites in the Pyrenees, albeit common on the Spanish side. I was taken to one under conditions of secrecy. Was it difficult to get to, I asked naively. It’s a bit of a climb, was the answer. (PS if Guy ever says that to you, it will probably entail grappling hooks, as he is super-fit and anything less than 45 degrees is a stroll).

A bit of a climb was an understatement. We got half way up and I looked down at my wife who was ant-sized. Wearing trainers with limited grip and carrying a heavy camera and tripod on loose scree, I seriously thought about giving up. Especially when I was told that the previous year someone had dropped their rucksack and it was doing an estimated 60 mph when it hit the bottom. But we got there and, guess what, no sign of morronensis. Driving along the road to find a stop for lunch, I was struck by an argus-type species nectaring at the roadside. Bingo!

Roger

[David M]

...That could almost be a top ten in one photo, Pete. It looks like you’ve even got aethiopella in there as well.

Definitely at least ten in there as you say, Roger, including aethiopella for sure.

Cogitating over your no. 1, David. Give us a clue – is it a species that occurs in France?

#1 was seen in France, Roger.

[Roger Gibbons]

OK, I would guess either a Maculinea species or Meleager's (Medard's No.1, but no reason why it can't be yours as well).

If it is Maculinea, I would guess it would have to be Alcon, although I'm not sure if you've seen that.

Roger