Lot Valley, France

[Will]

Hi

I will be visiting the Lot Valley near Cahors in France soon, has anyone any experience of the butterflies of the area, and any good sites to visit. Thanks.

Will

[Paul]

i've been just North of there, near Bergerac. Can't offer any highly rated sites but suggest you explore any suitable looking habitat & see what turns up. That's what I do. There's plenty of wonderful suprises out there, without having to hit special sites like we do here!

[Will]

Thanks Paul, Im really looking forward to exploring the area. The chateau in which we are staying has 50 acres including flower meadows and woodlands.

Will

[Paul]

You must let us know how you get on, & show us some photos

[Will]

As a retired pro (but a beginner with butterflies) I wouldnt dare show my feeble efforts to the gifted photographers on this forum. I was recently invited to enter a competition. I declined on the basis that if I hadnt won, eyebrows woud have been raised. And if I had won, there would have been a host of complaints that I had been allowed to enter!

[Paul]

.. go on, do it anyway

[Roger Gibbons]

I have some experience from Dordogne and Lot & Garonne. I would suggest that you take ID photos of everything you can as it will be difficult to identify everything you see in the field, especially blues (ideally undersides) and fritillaries, as they will be highly active in flower meadows. You may be surprised at how many species are flying and could easily see around twelve species of fritillary in a week, although you may need the ID photos to work out exactly what you have seen. Look out for Large Coppers. I’ll look forward to seeing your photos on the ID Forum.