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Today, Matt Rowlings and I set off for the Canton de Genève to track down some black hairstreaks, which Tim Cowles reports as being abundant near Lyon at the moment and is also on the wing in the Hautes Pyrénées. Matt admitted as we set off that he was very sceptical about seeing them so early in the year and his pessimism seemed justified when forests of 'Keep Out' signs, backed up with promises of huge fines, surrounded the first site we wanted to visit. BUT we looked elsewhere and found good numbers of black hairstreaks at two other sites. At one I think we saw mostly males, flitting around high in trees and never descending for photo-shoots. But at the other there were many females, often intent on laying deep in stands of blackthorn but also licking leaves and sitting around posing (often in the shadows, unfortunately).

These are both females:





Finding black hairstreak was a great success, but we were in for better! As we left the first site, a magnificent male poplar admiral did an aerobatic manoeuvre next to us and landed on the path ahead!



This butterfly is truly the king of the forest. Scarce everywhere, and highly elusive, it is something I see at a rate of about one a year on average, and I have never before had one stop for more than a few seconds anywhere near me.

He wasn't pristine, but was quite glorious - majestic and dignified but trimmed in rather extravagant blue:



When he first landed, a dingy skipper alighted on him and remained there for about a second before jumping off. We both missed the money shot but here is the dingy skipper next to His Majesty (not, of course, His Imperial Majesty, a title reserved for purple emperors):



Watch the antennae in this video clip (apologies for Matt's profanity at the beginning...):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OfHAGvP4_c[/video]

Here's another quick clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmig_0w6228[/video]

Good photos were difficult because it was hot and he clung to the shade:



But flash brought out his colours:



He was really very tame:



The day could only really go down after that but we did find several Reverdin's blues, which are always a joy:






(female on right)

Guy

I'm not quite sure what to write, Guy; I'm absolutely gobsmacked! What an incredible day and probably the best shots of Poplar Admiral I've ever seen! And the videos bring this rare encounter to life - wish I could have been there! Just superb.

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete - I think Roger G has had some close encounters with this species too. It's a butterfly I've never seen when I've been looking for it - it just appears. This is its sixth Swiss appearance to me since 2006 (two hilltopping at over 2000m, one cruising along a road at 900m and three at Gryon, in three different years but in the same place, at about 1150m).

Do other species test food with their antennae like that? I don't think I've consciously seen that behaviour before.

Guy

padfield wrote:Do other species test food with their antennae like that? I don't think I've consciously seen that behaviour before.

I've personally never seen that before - only in ichneumon wasps! Great observation!

Cheers,

- Pete

Hi Guy,

I seldom get quite so excited about non-British species, but Poplar Admiral is the butterfly that completely disregards this rule. That's awesome! Great footage too.

"Do other species test food with their antennae like that?" I've seen lycaenids do this with some regularity.

Neil

I've never noticed the food touching in ichneumon wasps or lycaenids but I'll watch out for it now.

Weather permitting, I shall be looking for black hairstreaks in Valais tomorrow. They hadn't been seen there for many years until someone sent in a photograph last year, confirming that they still hang in there. This seems to be the year for black hairstreaks. They're on the wing in excellent numbers and it should be easier than usual to discover small or vestigial colonies.

Guy

Yes, marvellous shots.

Jack

Guy,
stunning shots and, well, I just see them and think 'Wow' - the inclusion of the first shot showing the path & surrounding area is patented by you but a wonderful addition. I know there's always an element of luck in seeing a rare / difficult species but as Gary Player / Henry Cotton once said, "The more I practise the luckier I get!" . Great also to see the size of the Poplar Admiral against the Dingy Skipper. I've not watched the videos before, but I especially enjoyed the first one. What type of camera / camcorder are they taken with? Again, 'Wow!'
Michael

Absolutely stunning Poplar Admiral Guy. Some great video especially from the front whilst feeding.

I think many butterflies do the food tasting with their antennae but it's always more obvious with something this size. I guess you notice more when taking video as well.

Great stuff thanks for sharing.

Awesome stuff, Guy. Your heart must have been in your mouth when the butterfly decided to settle.

Thanks for your enthusiasm! Moments like that don't come round too often so I was glad to dwell on it a bit!

The videos, like the rest of the pictures, were taken with my Canon Powershot (SX130 IS).

Life has to go on, and today I set off early for a mountain village in Valais to see if I could find where the black hairstreaks fly. The weather was not good - hot but cloudy, brewing for a storm - but I did manage to locate what I think must be the epicentre and at 11.10 am saw a single male (probably) Satyrium hairstreak in flight. At this time of year, and right next to a stand of blackthorn, it had to have been a black hairstreak. At 11.15 am the clouds came over and stayed over until I had to go.

This was a mountain village, at over 1300m, so this must be the very beginning of the flight season. I'll go back again in a week or so.

While hunting down the hairstreaks, I found a nice colony of Amanda's blues, my first for the year:



Even though it was overcast, several males were active.

This is a meadow full of Geranium sylvaticum, the foodplant of the geranium argus, Eumedonia eumedon:



So it was no surprise to find the meadow enlivened by these attractive butterflies:


(My camera's not fast enough to capture butterflies well in flight, especially in today's light conditions)

Guy

Hi Guy,

Once again your reports and photos leave me in awe. Stunning.

Cheers

Lee

You make me Green with envey Goldie M

I'm just plain jealous!

To put things in perspective, I've spent many hundreds of man-hours trying to force a photo-opportunity like that poplar admiral session, without any success at all. Matt told me he'd read they like to warm up on metalled roads at 7.30am, so I used to get up early and wander all the roads and railway lines that catch the first sun, without ever glimpsing an admiral. When my dog was alive I would collect her droppings and bait prime areas of track in places where I'd seen them fly, all to no avail. Once, I sat all morning with a six-pack of beer in the meadow next to an aspen thicket and waited for a female to come and lay. A female did come, and my heart missed a beat, but she was a purple emperor - the only time in my life I've been disappointed to see a purple emperor!! Last year, a beautiful male poplar admiral materialised out of the blue, flew round me a couple of times, then rose majestically into the air before simply teleporting himself to the other side of the meadow with a single wing flap. No point in following. In all, I'd managed two, rather poor, photos of the butterfly before last Saturday, one female upperside and one male underside.

In short, there is a history of failure behind that single, quite accidental, success! I didn't post him to make you jealous - just to share a moment I've waited for for a long, long time!

Guy

Guy. I was jealous long before you saw the poplar admiral! I was having trouble standing up today with the wind as strong as it is. This year has been the best start ever for me with two species I have never seen before in East Lothian, but I have still only seen 12 species. I love seeing your amazing pictures with the stunning back drops. It's great to think that there are areas in this world that remain so unspoilt.


Actually, I am also jealous of the butterflies that Susie sees!

padfield wrote:To put things in perspective, I've spent many hundreds of man-hours trying to force a photo-opportunity like that poplar admiral session, without any success at all. Matt told me he'd read they like to warm up on metalled roads at 7.30am, so I used to get up early and wander all the roads and railway lines that catch the first sun, without ever glimpsing an admiral. When my dog was alive I would collect her droppings and bait prime areas of track in places where I'd seen them fly, all to no avail. Once, I sat all morning with a six-pack of beer in the meadow next to an aspen thicket and waited for a female to come and lay. A female did come, and my heart missed a beat, but she was a purple emperor - the only time in my life I've been disappointed to see a purple emperor!! Last year, a beautiful male poplar admiral materialised out of the blue, flew round me a couple of times, then rose majestically into the air before simply teleporting himself to the other side of the meadow with a single wing flap. No point in following. In all, I'd managed two, rather poor, photos of the butterfly before last Saturday, one female upperside and one male underside.

In short, there is a history of failure behind that single, quite accidental, success! I didn't post him to make you jealous - just to share a moment I've waited for for a long, long time!

Guy

Having read that and knowing that you are surely one of the most committed and fastidious butterfly watchers anywhere in Europe (probably the world), all I can say is that you have thoroughly earned your reward.

At the risk of sounding foolish (which I am compared to some on here), why is the Poplar Admiral so, so elusive?

David M wrote:At the risk of sounding foolish (which I am compared to some on here), why is the Poplar Admiral so, so elusive?

In Switzerland, one important factor is simply its rarity. In the past it was found all over the country but it is now reduced to a relatively few regions and is susceptible to changing land use - particularly development of land. The 1987 classic on Swiss butterflies describes poplar admiral as 'very rare almost everywhere'. I don't think the situation has improved since then...

On top of that, the adults have a very short life-expectancy, of between one and two weeks (meaning that the species is never numerous, even where the overall population is quite high) and they spend much of that time cruising around the canopy (so far as I can see). Males are like purple emperors, in that they come readily to droppings, carrion, road tar &c., but their lower numbers mean they are much harder to find. And when they fly, they fly! A female in flight is like a stealth bomber. My impression is that individuals will hold sway over vast tracts of forest during their brief lifetime - I've often imagined them looking down on the world from above, though that may just be fantasy.

I believe they are rare in France too, but they may be commoner in the relatively less developed Eastern European countries. Perhaps Traplican has encountered them more frequently than me.

I'm still working on finding a reliable site, though, and I have one in mind. I'll report back later in the year (though there's no chance of my revealing the site!!).

Guy

padfield wrote:

David M wrote:At the risk of sounding foolish (which I am compared to some on here), why is the Poplar Admiral so, so elusive?

In Switzerland, one important factor is simply its rarity. In the past it was found all over the country but it is now reduced to a relatively few regions and is susceptible to changing land use - particularly development of land. The 1987 classic on Swiss butterflies describes poplar admiral as 'very rare almost everywhere'. I don't think the situation has improved since then...

On top of that, the adults have a very short life-expectancy, of between one and two weeks (meaning that the species is never numerous, even where the overall population is quite high) and they spend much of that time cruising around the canopy (so far as I can see). Males are like purple emperors, in that they come readily to droppings, carrion, road tar &c., but their lower numbers mean they are much harder to find. And when they fly, they fly! A female in flight is like a stealth bomber. My impression is that individuals will hold sway over vast tracts of forest during their brief lifetime - I've often imagined them looking down on the world from above, though that may just be fantasy.

I believe they are rare in France too, but they may be commoner in the relatively less developed Eastern European countries. Perhaps Traplican has encountered them more frequently than me.

I'm still working on finding a reliable site, though, and I have one in mind. I'll report back later in the year (though there's no chance of my revealing the site!!).

Guy

Very interesting indeed! How much is known of their ecology and, especially, their immature stages, given the lengths we go to in studying iris in this country? it might be that finding immature stages is actually easier than finding adults!

Cheers,

- Pete

I know Cotswold Cockney has reared them and in the past has advised me on finding the early stages, particularly the caterpillars. If he's reading any of this his comments would be welcome!

Guy

(In answer to your question, a lot of work has been done on the early stages - they are fascinating. The caterpillars construct an amazing hibernaculum, which I have spent fruitless hours looking for!)

EDIT: And while we're going gooey for populi, see Roger's page here: http://www.butterfliesoffrance.com/html ... populi.htm!