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Re: Chalk Hill Blue aberration
Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:17 pm
by Piers
Hi Dave,
Ab. postico-obsoleta (see my above post). A great photo of a super specimen; and a timely find which adds nicely to this thread...!
Felix.
Re: Chalk Hill Blue aberration
Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:35 pm
by millerd
Thank you, Felix!
I was amazed to go out today and see the very beast described above, in amongst the throng. (And it would have been much more interesting to have done butterflies in O-level Latin than "Gallia omnia divisa est in partes tres...")
Dave
Re: Chalk Hill Blue aberration
Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 10:58 pm
by Cotswold Cockney
Felix wrote:Hi Vince,
Chalkhill Blue undersides can vary in colour from snow white through to deep chocolate brown, slate gray, or bright orange-ochre. And that's just the males...!
There are many named underside colour forms for almost every shade...!
This may seem excessive (and to a degree it probably is), but many of these underside colour forms can be bred through in captivity from carefully selected females to produce strains with different coloured undersides implying that the underside colour is (in some instances) genetically controlled.
Felix.
Back in the 1970-80s an enthusiastic breeder of the Chalkhill Blue produced a huge number of superb varieties of this butterfly by selective breeding. IIRC .. Revels? but the memory is not what it was...
A wide variety of specimens he exhibited at a BENHS exhibition were really interesting, not least females as blue as the males...
.
Re: Chalk Hill Blue aberration
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 6:11 am
by Piers
Cotswold Cockney wrote:Back in the 1970-80s an enthusiastic breeder of the Chalkhill Blue produced a huge number of superb varieties of this butterfly by selective breeding. IIRC .. Revels? but the memory is not what it was...
Nowt wrong with your memory CC, it would have been
Richard Revels. He has done a great deal of work with aberrations, and a fair bit has been published over the years.
http://www.richardrevelsphotography.com/page18.htm
Felix.
Re: Chalk Hill Blue aberration
Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 10:44 pm
by millerd
I saw this female Chalkhill Blue at Denbies today. It's a pity the forewing was mostly covered, as I would guess it also lacked spots.
Dave
Re: Chalk Hill Blue aberration
Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 11:05 pm
by Piers
Hi Dave,
It's ab. obsoleta, which was mentioned earlier in the thread. You'll notice that the specimen is slightly deformed as well. This is very often the case with obsoleta and it's kin.
Felix.
Re: Chalk Hill Blue aberration
Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2010 10:56 pm
by NickB
Two weeks ago - One with nice blue spots....