www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Some more photos for your comments.Ian

I'd say that 1b is a Long-tailed Blue.

Nice Camberwell higher up (still missing from my photo collection )
and I agree with Colin about the Bath White
Chris

N.B. I cancel my opinion on the LTB

Just to clarify photos 1a and 1b are the same butterfly as are 2a and 2b. Ian

2a and 2b seem to be a very worn common blue. It's very difficult to believe 1a and 1b are the same insect - 1b seems to be a female long-tailed blue (as Chris says) while 1a is another common blue, or possibly Lysandra sp.

3 is a turquoise blue, Polyommatus dorylas.

The dragonfly looks like a common darter, Sympetrum striolatum, but I'm just leaving for school and no time to get the books out, to check if it's one of the other Sympetrum sp.

Guy

Padfield wrote:2a and 2b seem to be a very worn common blue. It's very difficult to believe 1a and 1b are the same insect - 1b seems to be a female long-tailed blue (as Chris says) while 1a is another common blue, or possibly Lysandra sp.

3 is a turquoise blue, Polyommatus dorylas.

The dragonfly looks like a common darter, Sympetrum striolatum, but I'm just leaving for school and no time to get the books out, to check if it's one of the other Sympetrum sp.

Guy

1a and 1b were taken 11 seconds apart according to my EXIF data and I was pretty certain I photographed the same butterfly.

Hi Ian,

Your dragonfly is a common darter (Sympetrum striolatum), very common in Europe and it is still flying here in the UK. I saw 10+ on Gower on Saturday.
Sylvie

Hi Ian,

Guy is definitely correct. 1a is a male Common Blue and 1b is a female LTB. Both insects are sufficiently well illuminated to allow the pattern of upper/lower wing surfaces to show through. 1a has a spotted underside. 1b has a striped underside. 1b has a prominent dark spot in the corner of its hind-wing. 1a does not. They really are very different. If the EXIF data precludes them being different insects then the EXIF data is wrong, due to some sort of camera malfunction.

BWs, Neil

Neil Hulme wrote:Hi Ian,

Guy is definitely correct. 1a is a male Common Blue and 1b is a female LTB. Both insects are sufficiently well illuminated to allow the pattern of upper/lower wing surfaces to show through. 1a has a spotted underside. 1b has a striped underside. 1b has a prominent dark spot in the corner of its hind-wing. 1a does not. They really are very different. If the EXIF data precludes them being different insects then the EXIF data is wrong, due to some sort of camera malfunction.

BWs, Neil

I must have photographed two different butterflies. They do move very quickly.Thanks for the ID.
Ian

Checking through my photos I found this possible Berger's clouded yellow. Ian

i was not disappointed with the Camberwell Beauty. The second pic especially was delightful.

C

Charles Nicol wrote:i was not disappointed with the Camberwell Beauty. The second pic especially was delightful.

C

Many thanks. The photos will be better when I have downloaded them on to my home computer.
Ian

Butterflies are used to advertise various products and here in Zaragoza I noticed a florists calls Mariposas azules- blue butterflies, with their car decorated appropriately.

Now home sadly! More photos improved a little to comment on.
Ian

I think these last 3 'postcard' photos round up your foreign trip nicely Ian.
Chris

Hi Ian. I think your 'possible Berger's' (a couple of posts up) is helice.

Nice name for a florist's. Swiss German doesn't lend itself to such romantic images - there's a florist's in Thusis called 'Blumen Frigg'.

Guy

Thanks to every one for their comments and observations. Ian