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bugboy wrote:Your diary has taken on a slightly different slant for me now that I'm familiar with several species you follow down there

That's great bugboy. Its nice to be able to concentrate on these effemeral early species before the high season BFs emerge.
Your Gib. report has got me thinking about a possible jaunt down there late winter next year. They seem to have 4 or more weeks head start over the south of France.
Now that you are an early Med. species and Festoon man, you may like what follows.
Chris

Wurzel wrote:Interesting to see the SWA cat Chris - I'm used to seeing images of the WA but I don't know how they compare appearance wise - this looks a little more 'stripey'?
Have a goodun
Wurzel

Hi Wurzel,
I have very little experience with 'standard' White Admirals, they do not fly down my way. Whenever I see one on my travels I get excited because they are part of my 'exotic' species (along with Peacocks), probably as much as northerners get excited when they see our SWAs.
As for seeing early spring Med. species, you don't have to wait for retirement, you could pull a sickie, fly into Marseilles preferably in the first week of April and see Southern Festoon and Spanish Festoon within the space of 2 hours and in a radius of no more than 5 km from the airport, then fly back home on the next plane . That is the week when they overlap the best in the region.
Chris

David M wrote:Excellent early stage images, Chris. There's so much going on down your way with your extended species range, meaning there is plenty to find even when the weather is not conducive to butterfly activity.
Surely you'll get some respite from your office seat over the Easter break?

Thanks David.
I think you've hit the nail on the head - our range of species means that even if the spring weather is dodgy (April showers and the rest) and the adults are not flying, there are still things to see. Eggs and cats are relatively sedentary and easy to find as many of the early species have only one 'regional' host plant and can be found easily in the same places year after year. Talking of which there is more below.
Easter break ? if I'm not tied to the office chair I will no doubt be expected to over-indulge myself as usual with the in-laws, but I will try and sneak off with my camera if I'm in a state to .
Cheers,
Chris

Here is the latest instalment from my Southern Festoon site.
This week in particular there is a lot of activity.
In a very short period during my lunch break, I observed fresh adults flying (despite my dismay during recent bad weather), including females laying on leaves that already have many eggs, there are hatched eggs, and 2nd instar caterpillars eating healthily - all on plants next to each other
This female has just laid an egg next to a more mature egg : Here is a close-up of her actually laying the egg: A female on the host plant - Aristolochia rotunda: On the same patch, many eggs on the underside of the leaves - rarely on top: And in parallel, at the same time and in the same place, earlier eggs have hatched and there are 2nd instar cats eating well: The usual context, alongside this path: In 2 weeks at most the flight period will be over (at least here).
Chris

"...you could pull a sickie, fly into Marseilles preferably in the first week of April and see Southern Festoon and Spanish Festoon within the space of 2 hours and in a radius of no more than 5 km from the airport, then fly back home on the next plane " I wish you'd not suggested that - plans are whizzing round my head now Mind you I might not even need to pull a sickie I'll just need a very early Easter hmmmm Lovely shot of the egg-laying female - they're even beautifully marked down the abdomen

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Great sequence, Chris. This species certainly makes full use of the seemingly limited habitat available.

Thanks Wurzel and David,
I'll leave the Southern Festoon cats to mature a bit and I'll get back to them in a couple of weeks.
This coming week I'll go and see how the Spanish Festoons are getting on.

Meanwhile, down in the olive grove behind work, there has been progress with other cats.
For the last month or so I've watched Glanville Frit (M. cinxia) cats and Spotted Frit (M. didyma) cats maturing on the Plantago.
The Glanvilles are now flying and the Spotted Frits are close behind in the chrysalis stage.

This is the chrysalis of the Spotted Fritillary - it was relatively easy to find because I had observed the cats on their patch over the previous weeks: Here is a reminder of the Spotted Fritillary cat 3 weeks ago on Plantago: Both species' early stages cohabit here due to the high concentration of Plantago - circled in red: Here is one Glanville cat that will never reach the adult stage - parasited: Here is one that made it - bravo !! : Chris

Crickey Chris that Spotted Frit cat and chrysalis are even more striking that the butterfly Lovely looking Glannie that made it and the one that didn't - are all of the small white cocoons represent a parasite larva - I can count 23-24 and it looks like there are even more underneath the cat carcass

Have a goodun

Wurzel

That's one very striking pupa, Chris. There's plenty going on round your way at the moment, it seems.

How long before reducta is on the wing?

Thanks Wurzel and David,

The earliest I've photographed L. reducta is the 26th of April, but anytime early to mid May would appear to be average.

Chris

Hi Folks,
A couple of updates from the south of France.

On the Brown Hairstreak front, I went to check out our local eggs and found that about half of them had hatched although I couldn't see one single cat (probably burrowed into a leaf bud somewhere).
Hatched egg: Hatched egg: BH context: BH context: And the cats in my local Twin-spot Fritillary colony surprisingly showed a whole variety of growth stages, ranging from 9 mm to 21 mm long.
Twin-spot cats ranging from 9 mm to 21 mm long: This cat is 21 mm long, feeding on Filipendula vulgaris: Context for the Twin-spot Fritillary - the Filipendula vulgaris is growing at the foot of this tree stump, under the leaf litter: Chris

You're becoming something of an expert in locating early stages, Chris. Those hecate cats are fascinating as are the images of the habitat where you find all these creatures.

When is Twin Spot Fritillary usually on the wing in this location?

David M wrote: .... When is Twin Spot Fritillary usually on the wing in this location? ....

Hi David,
My earliest Twin-spot Frit sighting down here up to now has been the 1st of June but I will be exploring earlier - perhaps 2 weeks earlier.
If you can make it - I'll show you where .
Chris

Hi Folks,
Here is the latest news from the south of France.
This weekend I had an outing with a group of serious entomologists from the département of La Vaucluse, just to the north of Marseilles - a group called the "R.E.V.E.". For these people, BFs represent only a minor insect group but I managed to get my final annual fix of Provencal Orange Tip :
Male Provencal Orange Tip (relatively easy to find) on host plant - Biscutella laevigata : Female Provencal Orange Tip (much more difficult to find) on Biscutella laevigata : Female Provencal Orange Tip on Biscutella laevigata : A POT egg on Biscutella laevigata : Also, now is the moment - Marsh Frits are on the wing - our sub-species down here is E. aurinia provencialis : This is what a group of French entomologists looks like at picnic time - nice people, they even put up with me !! : Chris

Great stuff Chris I was really interested to see the Marshie - to my eyes it seems to have a thicker and more consistent orange band on the hind wings than the UK subspecies - is that one of the ID markers? The male POT is stunning but I from your shot of the female I would probably rate her higher - there's beauty in the more subtle tones

Have a goodun

Wurzel

How I wish I could get away to see hecate at that time, Chris. Sadly, I'll be just back from the French Pyrenees and preparing for another jaunt to Italy a few days later (can't wait till I retire)!

Nice to see Provence Orange Tips on the wing. Hopefully they'll be in full flow when I arrive in the Pyrenees in 4 weeks time.

Wurzel wrote: ... the Marshie - to my eyes it seems to have a thicker and more consistent orange band on the hind wings than the UK subspecies - is that one of the ID markers? The male POT is stunning but I from your shot of the female I would probably rate her higher - there's beauty in the more subtle tones ..... Wurzel

Hi Wurzel,
I've never seen a UK Marshie with my own eyes, nor any of the six French subspecies other than our local provencialis so I am not used to differentiating between them. In France each subspecicies has its host plant, and I am comforted by the fact that I find our local subspecies cats on their allocated host plant (White scabious + Honeysuckle). There must be areas (in France) where 2 subspecies cohabitate - now that must be fun in the field .
I agree for the female Provence Orange Tip, she has more subtle colours, and considering the significantly smaller number of females compared to males, I can tell you that the excitment of seeing a female is 10-fold over that of seeing a male. They are one of my spring high points. Getting an annual photo of a female for me is one sign of a successful spring.
Chris

David M wrote:How I wish I could get away to see hecate at that time, Chris. Sadly, I'll be just back from the French Pyrenees and preparing for another jaunt to Italy a few days later (can't wait till I retire)!

Nice to see Provence Orange Tips on the wing. Hopefully they'll be in full flow when I arrive in the Pyrenees in 4 weeks time.

I'm sure you'll be getting your share of butterfly sightings in the weeks to come, David, French hecate will wait.
Indeed, down here in the south many species will have stopped flying but will just be starting in the Pyrenees when you are there.
Chris

The latest from the south of France.

It seems like only 3 weeks ago that I was watching M. cinxia cats feeding on Plantago, and here we are again already with eggs on that same Plantago.
Freshly laid Glanville eggs: Glanville eggs: Here is the context. The Plantago is growing thick in the centre foreground:
In the same place I found a cat on Dorycnium pentaphyllum - possibly a Burnet moth cat. Any suggestions - Z. filipendulae ? Chris

Hi Chris.

Provence Orange Tips are one of my favourite European butterflies. Mind you, normal Orange Tips are one of my favourite British ones!

Loved your Spotted Fritillary chrysalis pictures. What an amazing creature this fritillary is, in all its stages!