Marek (The Annoying Czech)

[David M]

That Map image is worthy of any publication, Marek.

Stunning stuff.

[The Annoying Czech]

That Map image is worthy of any publication, Marek.

Stunning stuff.

That one's not perfect either


Today's butterflying degenerated into Swallowtailing. I started late, after 4 p.m, seeing Swallowtail sucking the mud and maybe partly hilltoping before I left the car (and later two others, similarly fresh). I disgusted the day to two of them but one seemed to be more resistant. I made app. 25 photos, picked out the best and rest of them moved into trash to save some fun for tomorrow's parties And my white Adidas t-shirt is not white any more but grey.

Saw first two Short-tailed Blue males, one of them sligtly aberrated, I think.

And finally, I'm closing my personal Spring prorsa file, as I'm satisfied with today's photo. Made my lunch cold, though. Also, ladies are getting worn! Seem to be scarcer than usual, unlike most of species on flight so far.

[The Annoying Czech]

I recently visited Medlanecke Hills, Brno and Devicky Chateau, otherwise known as Devin, Pavlov, Palava Mts. (both South-western Moravia). Probably one of the greatest places I have ever seen:


(Borrowed photo; strongly reminds me of Italy)

Of course I was butterflying, not sigthseeing; some photos I was satisfied with are already processed and enclosed below.

I found one (just emerged; slow season!) Southern Festoon male on each site, many Old World/Scarce Swallowtails (very good year, I don't even bother to pursue them on open meadows), very common Weaver's Frit's, Queen of Spains, Grizzled and Mallow Skippers...

I met a decent people on the top of the hill, got water two times and one nice green apple

I even see Scarce Swallowtails trying to copulate in three! So I had to take and throw away the redundant but horny male like two times

Festoons are possibly the most impressive butterflies I have met; I love to live around 49°! I wish dutchman pipe to strike foot around my village once...

[Padfield]

Lovely pictures, Marek! And it sounds a lovely place. Those southern festoon pictures are really beautiful.

I'm also intrigued by your comment, 'I wish Dutchman pipe to strike foot around my village once'! Maybe I'm being stupid but I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about and would love to know!

Guy

[NickB]

Yep - a great set of shots....
It is always good when plans work out....
Loved the Maps, too

[The Annoying Czech]

Lovely pictures, Marek! And it sounds a lovely place. Those southern festoon pictures are really beautiful.

I'm also intrigued by your comment, 'I wish Dutchman pipe to strike foot around my village once'! Maybe I'm being stupid but I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about and would love to know!

Guy

I obviously meant Aristolochia clematitis, (European) Birthwort, the host plant, but I clearly made a wrong translation. Sorry.

This board is one of the last bastions where I use English on a daily basis, I have neither opportunity in my workplace nor anywhere else.

Yep - a great set of shots.... It is always good when plans work out.... Loved the Maps, too

Poor Maps, they are so easy targets for me, unlike Festoons...

Do you want me to install a webcam in my back garden for online watching those animals?

[Padfield]

I obviously meant Aristolochia clematitis, (European) Birthwort, the host plant, but I clearly made a wrong translation. Sorry.

No need for you to apologise, Marek! Your English is brilliant. I just wondered if that was some idiomatic phrase from Czech that you had translated literally - I love learning new idioms. I should have guessed you meant the foodplant.

Guy

[David M]

This is one of the most interesting facets of foreign languages. Proverbs (generally) simply don't translate.

For example, we in the UK say "pigs might fly" in relation to a preposterous notion; the French say "when chickens grow teeth".

Oddly enough though, we usually get the gist when we understand the literal translation.

[NickB]

Lets try Mike's theory out:

As rare as hen's teeth
comes out as this from Google translate:
Vzácné jako slepice zuby

Pigs might fly
comes out as this from Google translate:
Prasata mohou létat

[The Annoying Czech]

And what about Padat jako Němci do krytu? Can you equal this one by your version? Also, did you know how to annoy (The Annoying) Czech?

Anyway, I'd recommend butterfly vacation in southern/eastern Moravia to anyone, since it covers (from Podyji to extensive pastures of Wallachia) a rich variety of biotopes I believe very close together for you. Might be a perfect spot for wildlife tour as well. It is said people tend to be nicer than around Prague...

Nick, it's actually Až prasata začnou létat (= means never).

[essexbuzzard]

Hi everyone,
Actully,Marek is right!
There is a kind of Aristolochia commonly called Dutchmans Pipe in English,and you can grow it in GB!
It grows up walls as a climber,and has strange,pipe like flowers.
But its not quite the same as Birthwort,and i don't think Festoons use it,unfortunately.

So Marek,no sorry needed!

Hope i havn't made things even more confusing!

[The Annoying Czech]

Some worst photos with various mistakes: Queen of Spain and Mallow Skipper from May 9 "polyxena trip" and Chequered Skipper fairly common around my village. Seems to be on flight at least since yesterday, so if anyone of you watched/compared closely last two years' first palaemon photos of mine and first palaemon photos from Scotland, you might get recent flying period in Scotland with, I think, solid accuracy.

Have still some solid Scarce Swallowtail/Southern Festoons, but similar imagos and/or poses = too busy (or lazy?) to work with...

[The Annoying Czech]

A couple of days ago I found a new species for my village (and the whole square) during my second transect walk - Cupido decoloratus (Eastern Short-tailed Blue).

According my last year's diary, with 1.030 ex. Cupido argiades it will be a real hell to single them out - using net seems to be a must.

Still a pleasant problems, I believe.

[The Annoying Czech]

I visited eight places in Southern and Eastern Moravia in just two days:

• Sirotčí hrádek (Orphan castle) in Klentnice, Palava Mts. - to see large Chequered Blue populations

• Obora Bulhary (Bulhary Preserve), Milovicky Wood, Palava Mts. - to see large Clouded Apollo populations

• Pohansko Castle with surroundings - to see Clouded Apollo, Southern Festoon, Large Copper, Provencal Short-tailed Blue...

• Čertoryje, White Carpathian orchid meadows

• Váté Písky near Bzenec, blown sands around the railroad

• Stolařka pond surroundings - ugly place but with Festoons, its biotope has been pretty much trampled presumably with some other photographer, looks like I talked too much last year

• Huslenky - Losový, extremely slope extensive pastures of charming region of Wallachia

[Padfield]

Fantastic stuff, Marek!

It's good to see there is some better weather in the East. Here in the Alps we're languishing in the cold and dark, with plenty of snow forecast for the rest of the week and the weekend. Lovely to see your species and such wonderful pictures too.

Guy

[The Annoying Czech]

Thanks; can't imagine any area to be under snow yet here and anything labeled "Mts." must be just a smaller hills for you. In fact, Palava and southern White Carpathian Mts. belongs among the hottest spots.

Generally, the weater is rather inconstant than utterly bad. For all me, nevermind, my trip was surprisingly cheap anyway: I slept in a car under Čertoryje, got some things for free and even almost been refused to pay my bill in the restaurant which I found unbelievable Bloody good-hearted Southern Moravians

I also found interesting I visited so many castles when butterflying, but almost entirely ignored it as a specific part of the biotope and nothing more. Since here are various castles on every corner, it's not that surprising; it's even considered to be an important type of man-made biotopes for Chequered Blues.

Travelling experience and wide variety of biotopes seen (so close to each other) overshadowed the quality and number of photos this time.

I also lost the illusion Southern Festoons can't get worn and does look sexy till day of their death

[David M]

You've obviously been busy, Marek.

Thanks for sharing those images; they're lovely.

Which species is the White immediately beneath your first collage?

[The Annoying Czech]

It's Boloria selene, David

[David M]

It's Boloria selene, David

Sorry, Marek, something lost in the translation there - I meant the Marbled White just above the SPBF.

[Matsukaze]

It's another selene, just photographed in black-and-white.