My trip to the Pyrenees was essentially a trip to the Ariège in the eastern Pyrenees, to the area around the Col de Puymorens and around Ax-les-Thermes, and then on to the Hautes-Pyrenees in the region of Gavarnie.
I had visited Puymorens many times in the past, with the last visit in 2015, but with every passing year the number of butterflies seems to get less and less. The reasons seem to be excessive grazing, ski development, and the vast amount of traffic heading for Andorra. The unexpected highlight was a chance discovery of a Purple Emperor (
Apatura iris) on the way up to the Col de Pailhères. It was extracting something from recent tarmac at the roadside, but rather in the shade making it difficult to get a clear photo.
I then spent a few days in the Néouvielle, which is less affected by development. My targets were the endemic
Erebia ringlets of the region. I did manage to see False Dewy Ringlet (
E. sthennyo) (although no longer considered a separate species) which, like most
Erebia, had a habit of settling deep in the grass. I also managed to get a decent shot of a Gavarnie Ringlet (
E. gorgone).
I also saw this female blue, which I can only conclude is Eros (
Polyommatus eros). Females of these high altitude blues are rather secretive and rarely seen, so I don’t have a lot to go on, other than falling back on reasons why it can’t be anything else. Here is the rather aberrant upperside, and a view of the underside to aid identification.
One unexpected pleasure was a visit by two male Peak Whites (
Pontia callidice) which are occasionally seen at 2000m and above but tend to fly non-stop, so to see these stopping to nectar was very fortunate (not quite as fortunate as Pete Smith who managed to get a shot of a female as well).
Then on to the Col de Tourmalet and, while I didn’t get to see the target Lefebvre’s Ringlet (
E. lefebvrei), there were numerous Pyrenees Brassy Ringlets (
E. rondoui) around, this one showing the reflective sheen that gives them their name.
I had hoped to see Gavarnie Blue (
Plebejus pyrenaicus) in the region around Gavarnie. In 2015 I was there on 23 July and was a week too late, so this year I was there on 11 July and, guess what, it was an exceptionally early season and their flight period had ended on 7 July.
Heading back east, stopping off again at Sainte Baume, ideally to catch Sage Skipper (
Muschampia proto) at the start of its flight period. I am usually there at the end of August when they are looking just a little bit tired. This is a very localised species in France, being principally Iberian. There were about six, all males and fresh, so very much at the start of the flight period, albeit difficult to photograph as the Scabious heads waved around in the breeze.
Similarly, I hoped to see fresh Foulquier’s Grizzled Skipper (
Pyrgus bellieri), although from the number that have appeared on UKB recently you would think this is a common species, rather than a very localised one (I suspect all of the sightings have been at two very limited sites). This is a male at what remained of the watering hole. Although I am surprised that they were in such close contact with mud, maybe desperation for moisture may have been the reason – in this small shallow 2m x 1m there were five Southern White Admirals, a Striped Grayling, a Woodland Grayling, a Furry Blue, a Cinquefoil Skipper and a few others.
This is an underside, showing the famed hair tuft of the male, and the large mark in discal s1 which characterises this species.
This is a female (seen in the Mercantour, not Sainte Baume).
One the way back I saw one of numerous Long-tailed Blues (
Lampides boeticus).
One more posting to follow.
Roger