European Blues
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2020 12:19 pm
Well, with a trip to Europe in the near future still seeming about as likely as a trip to Mars, I have been wistfully looking back at a load of my European Butterfly photographs and trip reports from recent years.
I decided yesterday that, to help "beat the blues" caused by the now well-recognised "European Butterfly Withdrawal Syndrome", I would put together a selection of my favourite European Blues.
Blues to combat "the blues" - you get the idea...
My plan was somehow to whittle things down to a "Top Ten", but having done that, I soon began to realise that it was almost impossible to choose just ten species. Anyway, here are the ten that I came up with, in reverse order.
Feel free to join in with your own favourite Blues - it could be your personal top ten, top five, just a selection, or any special memories; whatever you like!
Number 10 Long-tailed Blue To me, the sight of Long-tailed Blues flying manically around their bushy foodplants is inextricably linked to the feel of hot Mediterranean sunshine on the skin, the smell of sun-baked vegetation, and a definite knowledge that you are no longer in the UK (unless you happen to be one of the fortunate individuals to have witnessed the influxes of this beauty into southern England in recent years!)
Number 9 Gavarnie Blue A beautiful and rare high altitude specialist. This one makes the list in no small part because of the dramatic landscape in which it flies, and the effort needed to track it down. These are all of the subspecies asturiensis, confined to the Cantabrian mountains of Northern Spain.
Number 8 Large Blue Just a perennial favourite; partly due to reading, as a young child, of its sad demise in the UK; partly its amazing life-cycle. These were all photographed in the Dordogne, but I also regularly see f.obscura in the Alps of South East France. Fantastic butterflies!
Number 7 Eastern Baton Blue I love the wing edge pattern on these, plus the discal spot and the colouration. The undersides are pretty gorgeous as well. These were photographed in Greece.
Number 6 Damon Blue This butterfly has a special place in my heart, being my first new high-altitude blue species during a trip to the Haute Savoie many years ago, and remains a big favourite. The males are just beautiful both in flight and at rest, and that underside stripe is a bit special. Great to see them en masse when they are at peak numbers on the best sites.
Top five to follow shortly...
I decided yesterday that, to help "beat the blues" caused by the now well-recognised "European Butterfly Withdrawal Syndrome", I would put together a selection of my favourite European Blues.
Blues to combat "the blues" - you get the idea...
My plan was somehow to whittle things down to a "Top Ten", but having done that, I soon began to realise that it was almost impossible to choose just ten species. Anyway, here are the ten that I came up with, in reverse order.
Feel free to join in with your own favourite Blues - it could be your personal top ten, top five, just a selection, or any special memories; whatever you like!
Number 10 Long-tailed Blue To me, the sight of Long-tailed Blues flying manically around their bushy foodplants is inextricably linked to the feel of hot Mediterranean sunshine on the skin, the smell of sun-baked vegetation, and a definite knowledge that you are no longer in the UK (unless you happen to be one of the fortunate individuals to have witnessed the influxes of this beauty into southern England in recent years!)
Number 9 Gavarnie Blue A beautiful and rare high altitude specialist. This one makes the list in no small part because of the dramatic landscape in which it flies, and the effort needed to track it down. These are all of the subspecies asturiensis, confined to the Cantabrian mountains of Northern Spain.
Number 8 Large Blue Just a perennial favourite; partly due to reading, as a young child, of its sad demise in the UK; partly its amazing life-cycle. These were all photographed in the Dordogne, but I also regularly see f.obscura in the Alps of South East France. Fantastic butterflies!
Number 7 Eastern Baton Blue I love the wing edge pattern on these, plus the discal spot and the colouration. The undersides are pretty gorgeous as well. These were photographed in Greece.
Number 6 Damon Blue This butterfly has a special place in my heart, being my first new high-altitude blue species during a trip to the Haute Savoie many years ago, and remains a big favourite. The males are just beautiful both in flight and at rest, and that underside stripe is a bit special. Great to see them en masse when they are at peak numbers on the best sites.
Top five to follow shortly...