www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

This photo is from a year ago in the Pyrenees... I've always thought it was niobe but would like opinions...

Sure looks like one to me - albeit one where the black line running down the hindwing is less prominent than in some I've seen. The one below was take in Greece this year.

Cheers,

- Pete

Agreed. A super shot of the form eris.

Misha

Awesome, Paul and Pete!

excellent.. thank you all... wish I could get more photos without the busy green background Pete!! sigh... better camera didn't materialize this year... dream on!!

Paul wrote:excellent.. thank you all... wish I could get more photos without the busy green background Pete!! sigh... better camera didn't materialize this year... dream on!!

At least your shot doesn't look like something out of "The Omen"

Cheers,

- Pete

Paul wrote:excellent.. thank you all... wish I could get more photos without the busy green background Pete!! sigh... better camera didn't materialize this year... dream on!!

Cracking shot Paul.
Now bear in mind I'm new to photography, but I quite like the 'busy' green background. To me it doesn't detract from the butterfly at all, but rather makes the whole image more natural. I know this is probably against the grain though...

Cheers

Lee

I quite like the 'busy' green background. To me it doesn't detract from the butterfly at all, but rather makes the whole image more natural.

I agree with Lee. Don't like backgrounds that are too clean. As you can see from my stuff.
Why don't we have a busiest background competition?
Here's my entry

Didn't take long to find busy!!... good idea for comp... but do we really all want migraine??? Try thyis one...

at last !, everyones coming to their sense's

gary.

Some people may like their cluttered backgrounds, but IMO its a distraction, distracts you from the subject. See the two shots I have here of a speckled wood. Now its now a great example, but the second one is cropped a bit. Which one would you prefer? (bear in mind these are not great shots):
Here is the cropped one: You will notice you don't see competition winning shots having a cluttered background much. But, each to his own, only my opinion.

or not.

gary.

I spotted your Brown HS pics in the recent uploads Geniculata,,,,, astounding stuff.

hi zonda,

yeah i was quite lucky that day.

gary.

I'm a bit late in replying, as ever these days (!), but yes, Paul, that is niobe, form eris. In much of the Pyrenees (well, in the Val d'Aran, anyway ) this form is commoner than the nominate form. The only thing it can be confused with is form cleodoxa of high brown fritillary, which also flies in the Pyrenees.


This is eris, in the Pyrenees.


The one on the right here is cleodoxa, mating with a 'normal' female.

Guy

Brilliant comparative between eris and cleodoxa, thank you.... could be quite easy to get wrong... is the little yellow dot in the niobe cell spot always there??

The yellow spot is pretty constant and it often has a black dot in it.

I don't often see cleodoxa - its frequency is locally variable but it's not generally common.

Guy

Interesting discussion and shows how difficult IDs of Frits in particular can be....
Speaking of High Brown as a difficult ID with Niobe... see attached shot of HBF from Devon this year...

Great pics there Guy.
Takes me back to Hungary where there were as many cleodoxa form as well as the "normal" form of HBF on the wing.

Denise