Hautes Pyrénées - 6th to 10th July 2023

[David M]

I visited this area last year, but an early season thanks to a prolonged heatwave meant I was not able to find two of the five target species, namely False Dewy and Lefebvre's Ringlets.

So, I needed to return and this time I based myself in the Vallé de la Neste, just south of Arreau.

The season was the polar opposite on this occasion, with things running late due to cool and wet weather in the weeks preceding my visit.

Thankfully, conditions were pleasantly conducive to butterfly hunting during the four full days I spent there, with cloud only descending on the morning of my return to Toulouse airport.

I also had the great pleasure of spending time with two fellow EBG Committee members, Roger Gibbons & Dave Plowman.

Thanks go to both those named above for their assistance with site information for this tour, along with Jude Lock and Pete Smith, who also very generously gave me some pointers as to where to visit.

As ever, the scenery in this part of the Pyrenees was absolutely magnificent:

[David M]

The first frustration of this trip was having the time of my flight changed by EasyJet.

Originally, it had been due to arrive early afternoon but the amended flight only touched down in Toulouse around 11pm. This meant a night in a rather soulless hotel at the airport, but I was up and raring to go the following morning, in the driver's seat of my hire car just prior to 11 o'clock.

I wasn't able to check into my hotel in the Pyrenees till 3pm, so I decided to stop at a forest near Lannemezan where I had learned Large Chequered Skipper had been recorded.

Sure enough, I saw three, but the woodland was not managed and was therefore quite dense and I wasn't able to pursue any as they flew freely through this area:

Other European butterfly aficionados will know that the only thing worse than missing out on a lifer is seeing one but not getting an image

Still, there were plenty of other species in this unexpected location, foremost of which was Map, a butterfly that I rarely see mainly because it is not present in the far SE of France, where most of my time is spent.

I saw into double figures of them, and it was great to get the opportunity to observe their behaviour with time on my hands:

A tiring day was rounded off with a nice meal in my hotel, replete with a bottle of strong Madiran, a red wine I came to love when I was at university in Toulouse many years ago.

[John Vergo]

Looking forward to the rest David

[David M]

Thanks, John. On its way...

[David M]

False Dewy Ringlet, Erebia sthennyo

I spent many hours searching for this butterfly in 2022, only to bump into fellow UKB member Pete Smith on our penultimate day and learn that he had seen a few on their last legs a few days previously so it looked likely that their flight period had ended.

Once a butterfly has frustrated you, it's hard to eradicate the associated impression of its difficulty to find and I carried this feeling with me as Dave P and I made our way to an altitude site not far from the village of Aragnouet.

Dave had never seen Pyrenean Brassy Ringlet, so that was the species we were on the lookout for in the grassy habitat close to the car park. Within 10 minutes we thought we'd spotted one, but when it settled we got a surprise - it was sthennyo:

As Pete S had testified, this butterfly was highly distinctive due to its slow, jittery flight pattern as well as its pale colour in the air. Further specimens were therefore easy to spot and I estimate we racked up a dozen and a half in total, with part cloudy conditions being extremely helpful in making these butterflies easy to approach:

Two days later, I returned alone to the same site in the afternoon and counted 38, including a mating pair, so in the right areas this species is quite common.

[selbypaul]

Glad you managed to see False Dewy Ringlet David. After the frustrations of searching for it in 2022, it remains a target for me!

[John Vergo]

Super that you got it David, and Paul after the frustration last year it also remains a target for me as well

[David M]

Thanks Paul/John.

It was a touch ironic finding it so easily within 10 minutes following several hours fruitless searching the summer before.

It's around in good numbers at this site so there's no need to continue to consider it elusive.

[petesmith]

Great result David - very pleased that you had success. Once you have seen one in flight they are unmistakeable aren't they!

[David M]

Great result David - very pleased that you had success. Once you have seen one in flight they are unmistakeable aren't they!

Thanks, Pete. Was great to find them so easily after last year's shenanigans. You were certainly right about the flight pattern. It's really quite unique.

[David M]

Lefebvre's Ringlet, Erebia lefebvrei

Like with False Dewy Ringlet, this species gave us the runaround in 2022, proving impossible to find even at reliable sites for it.

Again, it didn't take too long to locate on this occasion, as a mere 15 minutes or so after finding sthennyo, a walk along the river cutting through the site saw us arrive at a pile of scree, which lefebvrei particularly likes. The first Erebia I saw in this area was a deep black colour and when it landed it proved to be the one we were after.

I didn't spend much time on this scree after having found lefebvrei so quickly, but my return to the same site two days later in sunnier & warmer conditions was designed to do greater justice to this rare insect.

I had to climb up the grassy slopes until I reached this section:

This corridor of loose scree doesn't look especially inviting (it was certainly tough on the feet) but there were good numbers of lefebvrei flying up and down this tract of mountain, occasionally flying onto the adjacent grassier areas yet always returning to the rock soon afterwards.

I ended up seeing over a dozen, although when they landed (never for more than 30 seconds) it was impossible to get near them due to the vibrations from my approaching steps.

I eventually chose to stand for a while in a flatter area beside the scree and with great fortune was lucky enough to have one land right by me. Amazingly, the sun immediately went behind a cloud meaning I was able to pot it:

[John Vergo]

What a day

[David M]

What a day

Sure was, John, and after leaving the False Dewy/Lefebrvre's site, it actually got even better....

[David M]

With both sthennyo and lefebvrei boxed off surprisingly easily, this gave Dave & I more time to explore. The first decision we made was to drive to the top of the mountain road to a barrage we could see from where our car was parked lower down. This was where the road ended:

As Dave slowed down to find a parking spot, I noticed a strange Pierid flying around the mustard flowers some 30m further along. I asked Dave to stop because I thought it was a Mountain Dappled White. It wasn't:

It was a beautiful Peak White; the first female of this species I'd ever seen:

Unlike the males of this species, this female was surprisingly approachable, nectaring from the brassicae for several minutes before conveniently landing on the ground and giving us a view of the undersides:

I didn't know what I had done to deserve all this good fortune in just 2 hours of my first morning, although when I think back to the 5 days of fruitless searching over difficult terrain the previous summer, perhaps it was just belated payback.

[selbypaul]

You've just made me even more jealous with the Peak White! What an amazing day.

[petesmith]

Wow! Female Peak Whites don't come along very often. I have only once been fortunate enough to get a photograph. Excellent find!

[John Vergo]

wow, it must be a day to remember, congrats

[David M]

Thanks Paul/Pete/John. Yes, female Peak White was the icing on a rather delicious cake! This is not a butterfly you can go looking for. You can only hope it finds you.

[David M]

As for the other three Erebia of interest, the late season meant that neither Gavarnie Ringlet nor Yellow Spotted Ringlet had emerged, although I did find one Pyrenean Brassy Ringlet on my penultimate day:

This shows how tricky it could be to find all four of the altitude Ringlets at the same time.I know gorgone also flies at the False Dewy site as a contact of mine saw one there two days after I'd left.

It may be that the window of opportunity is a mere 4 or 5 days, which varies every year depending on the season.

[Andy02]

Great read David and sums up my experience there . A pleasure to meet both you and Roger onsite. Staying on for the additional days meant that I just managed to catch up with recently emerged manto and rondoui.