Re: European Butterflies - A personal diary
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 8:45 am
The third day turned out to be probably the biggest disappointment of the whole trip. David had read about the Gave du Marcadau being full of flowers. So, after the highly grazed meadows of the previous two days, we were hoping for many more butterflies.
We parked at another vast car park near Pont d’Espagne, and made our way through the woods and past the impressive waterfall. Large Ringlet (Erebia euryale) were seen in large numbers in the forest clearings, and a few tatty White Admiral (Limenitis camilla) were also seen. However, despite walking quite a way up the valley, we were once again depressed to find that the meadows had been grazed to within an inch of their lives. There was one small section, with extreme slopes near the river, that had been grazed much less due to the inaccessibility. Here, butterflies were profuse, and the highlight turned out to be our only Geranium Argus (Eumedonia eumedon) of the week, which very much appeared to be close to the end of its life. Also seen were Large Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus alveus), Silver Spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma), Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius), Green Underside Blue (Glaucopsyche alexis), Meadow Fritillary (Melitaea parthenoides) and Pearly Heath (Coenonympha arcania). To try and find different species, and in the vague hope of less grazing, I made a very steep climb up the south facing slope. It was still heavily grazed sadly, albeit I spotted our first and only Grayling species of the week, a Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione). In the afternoon we moved on to a spot near the Cirque de Troumouse, where False Dewy Ringlet had been seen historically. Again, the meadows had been grazed to within an inch of their lives. It was very hot and the small number of Erebia we did see were highly active, making it a high frustrating pursuit! At one point, from a distance I thought I was in luck, but with a photograph it turned out just to be Mountain Ringlet, not False Dewy Ringlet. Following an extensive search in two spots, we gave up as a bad job, concluding that the early season meant we were too late for False Dewy Ringlet this year.
The frustrating day meant we saw just 37 species, albeit 9 were new species for the week.
We parked at another vast car park near Pont d’Espagne, and made our way through the woods and past the impressive waterfall. Large Ringlet (Erebia euryale) were seen in large numbers in the forest clearings, and a few tatty White Admiral (Limenitis camilla) were also seen. However, despite walking quite a way up the valley, we were once again depressed to find that the meadows had been grazed to within an inch of their lives. There was one small section, with extreme slopes near the river, that had been grazed much less due to the inaccessibility. Here, butterflies were profuse, and the highlight turned out to be our only Geranium Argus (Eumedonia eumedon) of the week, which very much appeared to be close to the end of its life. Also seen were Large Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus alveus), Silver Spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma), Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius), Green Underside Blue (Glaucopsyche alexis), Meadow Fritillary (Melitaea parthenoides) and Pearly Heath (Coenonympha arcania). To try and find different species, and in the vague hope of less grazing, I made a very steep climb up the south facing slope. It was still heavily grazed sadly, albeit I spotted our first and only Grayling species of the week, a Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione). In the afternoon we moved on to a spot near the Cirque de Troumouse, where False Dewy Ringlet had been seen historically. Again, the meadows had been grazed to within an inch of their lives. It was very hot and the small number of Erebia we did see were highly active, making it a high frustrating pursuit! At one point, from a distance I thought I was in luck, but with a photograph it turned out just to be Mountain Ringlet, not False Dewy Ringlet. Following an extensive search in two spots, we gave up as a bad job, concluding that the early season meant we were too late for False Dewy Ringlet this year.
The frustrating day meant we saw just 37 species, albeit 9 were new species for the week.