www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Am now back home in Cambs... i had a lovely time in France & i hope you enjoyed looking at the pics

Am feeling much fitter now ; that Mediterranean food works wonders !

Charles Nicol wrote:Am now back home in Cambs... i had a lovely time in France & i hope you enjoyed looking at the pics

Am feeling much fitter now ; that Mediterranean food works wonders !

I sure did enjoy the photos, Charles, albeit that they made me distinctly envious.

Have to agree, the mediterranean diet is excellent for weight loss (especially if you are yomping several miles per day up hill and down dale in search of butterflies).

David M wrote:

Charles Nicol wrote:Am now back home in Cambs... i had a lovely time in France & i hope you enjoyed looking at the pics

Am feeling much fitter now ; that Mediterranean food works wonders !

I sure did enjoy the photos, Charles, albeit that they made me distinctly envious.

Have to agree, the mediterranean diet is excellent for weight loss (especially if you are yomping several miles per day up hill and down dale in search of butterflies).

***UPDATE***

i thought i had maybe lost 1/2 a stone but on the scales i had lost 1 and 1/2 stones !!

i think i will market this amazing breakthrough.... perhaps "The Cathar Diet"...

On the ID page i requested help with this moth:
these were very common this year, flying very fast in great swoops but reluctant to land... at first i thought it was a butterfly but from the photo you can see the feathery antennae...

****UPDATE****

JKT has identified it as a (male) Oak Eggar moth

Charles Nicol wrote:On the ID page i requested help with this moth:

these were very common this year, flying very fast in great swoops but reluctant to land... at first i thought it was a butterfly but from the photo you can see the feathery antennae...

****UPDATE****

JKT has identified it as a (male) Oak Eggar moth

Yes, this creature has caused me palpitations for years, but (following advice received from individuals better placed than I) it seems that this 'butterfly' is actually an Oak Eggar moth.

Let me detail how it irritates me:

1. It's big, and it flies without pause looking as if it's either a Two-Tailed Pasha or a Poplar Admiral

2. It NEVER settles. If you pursue your quarry with zeal, eventually you get your reward. No such reward is forthcoming with this species. It simply bombs by you, even in dull conditions.

3. It has a forewing pattern that seduces you into believing it's a butterfly. Brown with golden edges. Forget it. It's a moth.

4. It occasionally appears in the UK (and that's what has finally made my mind up this year). After experiencing many, many moments of exciteable uncertainty (and taking advice as to what it might be), it suddenly appears less than two miles from my house in coastal Swansea behaving in EXACTLY the same irritating way as it did on many Austrian mountain tops.

Let's exorcise this demon once and for all:

It's a bloody Oak Eggar moth and for the remainder of my life (unless I see one miraculously settled) I will always curse it, even though it's a highly impressive species.

David, you sound very slightly mad! May I suggest you do a 20 minute loving-kindness meditation, sending goodwill to all oak eggars. It will lift a weight off your shoulders.

Guy

padfield wrote:David, you sound very slightly mad! May I suggest you do a 20 minute loving-kindness meditation, sending goodwill to all oak eggars. It will lift a weight off your shoulders.

Guy

Maybe next year, Guy.

Right now, I think they owe me given the stress they've given me.

When one finally lands on the rim of my wine glass at 9.40pm in the foothills of the French Alps, I'll forgive the entire species...

...until then, the only reason I hate them any less is because I KNOW what they are!!

David M wrote:

Charles Nicol wrote:On the ID page i requested help with this moth:

these were very common this year, flying very fast in great swoops but reluctant to land... at first i thought it was a butterfly but from the photo you can see the feathery antennae...

****UPDATE****

JKT has identified it as a (male) Oak Eggar moth

Yes, this creature has caused me palpitations for years, but (following advice received from individuals better placed than I) it seems that this 'butterfly' is actually an Oak Eggar moth.

Let me detail how it irritates me:

1. It's big, and it flies without pause looking as if it's either a Two-Tailed Pasha or a Poplar Admiral

2. It NEVER settles. If you pursue your quarry with zeal, eventually you get your reward. No such reward is forthcoming with this species. It simply bombs by you, even in dull conditions.

3. It has a forewing pattern that seduces you into believing it's a butterfly. Brown with golden edges. Forget it. It's a moth.

4. It occasionally appears in the UK (and that's what has finally made my mind up this year). After experiencing many, many moments of exciteable uncertainty (and taking advice as to what it might be), it suddenly appears less than two miles from my house in coastal Swansea behaving in EXACTLY the same irritating way as it did on many Austrian mountain tops.

Let's exorcise this demon once and for all:

It's a bloody Oak Eggar moth and for the remainder of my life (unless I see one miraculously settled) I will always curse it, even though it's a highly impressive species.

i shared many of the same symptoms as you David... i thought it some kind of fritillary !! last year they taunted me at the campsite in the Jura. so glad the mystery is cleared up...

i actually saw one of these next to my car in Huntingdon 3 years ago... JKT also kindly identified it then:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4402&p=34858

the colours are less vibrant than the French version ( that's my excuse )