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I wonder if anyone can help with the identification of this butterfly?
It's a somewhat panicked and not quite focused shot of what I thought at the time was a strangely large Small Heath, hence the reason I wanted a photograph.
It was taken on the 3rd June this year at Alt Muick Butterfly Reserve, Spean Bridge.
My thoughts are, Small Heath ssp. rhoumensis. (wrong area?) Large Heath ssp. scotica, or an unusually large Small Heath. Thanks, Patrick.

Hi Pat,

Without knowing about any local Scottish varieties there might be in that area, that looks to me like a standard Small Heath, very similar in colour and markings to some I see down near me in SE England. It's difficult to judge the size from the photo, but they do vary quite a bit and I've seen some that approach Gatekeeper dimensions.

Hopefully someone with some experience of Scottish butterflies will provide a more focused opinion!

Cheers,

Dave

I've seen scotica Large Heath and they don't look like that, the ocelli is almost vestigial on the forewing of that particular race. As Dave has already said this is the Small Variety of Heath. When you see a Large Heath up there you won't doubt your ID, they fly differently and settle more often in my experience, and are even more difficult to approach than their smaller cousins.

Yep, that is a Small Heath.

Back in 2016 I saw scotica Large Heath in Glen Loy and there was a bit of a discussion in the sightings thread at the time, mainly because it was a very early season up there that year. The relevent posts start about a third of the way down the page at the link below,

viewtopic.php?t=8876&start=20

That is a good reminder that I really must get back up there again sometime.

Cheers,

Neil.

Many thanks for your replies. Isn't it fascinating what you can learn from a slightly blurred picture of a largish Small Heath?
Bugboy, I believe we met at Rewell Wood, in May looking for Pearl's and Green HS together with Neil H.
Best wishes for the season, Patrick.

PatMoore wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 7:05 pm Many thanks for your replies. Isn't it fascinating what you can learn from a slightly blurred picture of a largish Small Heath?
Bugboy, I believe we met at Rewell Wood, in May looking for Pearl's and Green HS together with Neil H.
Best wishes for the season, Patrick.

We did indeed, I recognised the name