www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi all,

Today I have been mostly playing with the YouTube API

Given the advances in technology, I think it's inevitable that we're going to see more and more butterfly-related videos being produced by the membership. To keep one step ahead, I've come to the conclusion that the best option for hosting videos on this website is to integrate with YouTube, which is pretty much a de-facto standard for video storage these days (just as I've integrated with Google Maps for the mapping capability).

I've taken a very first stab at this - and have trawled YouTube for relevant butterfly-related videos and linked to them from UKB. You'll find links on each species page, and I've also created a Species-specific Video gallery here for you to pass the while:

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species_videos.php

I have to say, the standard is relatively-poor when compared with stills or professionally-produced videos (and watch this space for reviews of a couple of DVDs coming out this year!). But I'm sure this will change. In many cases, the chosen background music is dreadful! But there are some classics that I've come across. It was good to rediscover Matthew Oates' trip to Collard Hill to see Large Blue, and Andy Barker at Magdalen Hill Down look at his Chalkhill Blues! I've also found some Grayling courtship video (amazing piece!) and the behaviour of a Scarce Swallowtail larva that I tried to explain to someone once, but couldn't quite articulate the jerky movement it makes when it crawls! You'll find all of these - and more!

Anyway, as ever, I'd appreciate any feedback you have. In particular, I've not reviewed every single video, so would appreciate any comments on videos that should be removed, or if you come across a video that should be included. I'll build an interface for videos to be suggested by members and moderators to select or reject, in due course. In the meantime, either reply to this thread or send me an email. Have fun!

Cheers,

- Pete

Well I'll look at the videos when I can, but I like this, its definatly a useful feature to have, despite some of the videos not being very good. I noticed you missed most of my butterfly videos, they can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/DXMorpheus there is a few there (Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Orange-Tip, Small Tortoiseshell courtship to name a few)

I am going to keep taking good videos of butterflies this year, so I'll post if I do make any new and good ones in future which will all be in full HD so they should have good enough quality.

The interface to decide which are good or bad might be useful, because afterall this site is about useful information, images and videos on butterflies of the UK.

Thanks Dave - all your vids have been added.

Cheers,

- Pete

This is an excellent idea and a useful resource.

The first white admiral video should be removed, as the music is awful. It is also not a white admiral (Limenitis camilla) but an American white admiral (Basilarchia arthemis).

Guy

I've just stuck a short clip of wood white courtship here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Xqd74dcYE

How do I get it into the species-specific galleries?

Guy

padfield wrote:I've just stuck a short clip of wood white courtship here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0Xqd74dcYE

How do I get it into the species-specific galleries?

Guy

Excellent video - thanks Guy! Currently, the only way to add the videos is to ask me, since the information needs to be added to the backend database and I haven't written a friendly UI to "qualify" videos (like we do with images). I'll try and look into this tomorrow.

Also, for some reason, the YouTube API is unable to query your video's metadata, which is why there is no title or description shown. I'll also try to look into this tomorrow.

Thx again!

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete. I don't think I gave it a description. I was just experimenting and I'm sure others have longer and better clips of the same thing. It was very annoying at the time. I had spent some while watching the display and taking pictures, and then just when I started videoing a group of cyclists zoomed past and scared them.



Guy

i have some vids on blip.tv :

http://blip.tv/file/354876/
http://blip.tv/file/2352034
http://blip.tv/file/2478097

charles

Thanks Charles. Of these, only the Purple Emperor shot would be relevant to UK Butterflies. Any chance of uploading it to YouTube? I made an assumption that YouTube would be the best video hosting mechanism - what do you think (at least it has a API that allows me to programmatically query items)?

Cheers,

- Pete

Great idea Pete.
Love the Wood White clip Guy, it takes me back to Hungary.

Denise

Pete Eeles wrote:I made an assumption that YouTube would be the best video hosting mechanism - what do you think (at least it has a API that allows me to programmatically query items)?

One good thing about YouTube is that it can be viewed with an iPhone. Many video formats don't work on the iPhone and Apple has always refused to include or allow development of Flash for iPhone.

Guy

PS - glad you liked the clip, Denise! Too short, though...

I was just browsing through the page to see which of the non-native species I could target for you this year, and saw you had E. simplonia listed, Pete. This species is also on the species pages. Is this really the butterfly that has occasionally reached Britian? In western, lowland continental Europe, the only dappled white found is E. crameri. E. simplonia is the Alpine species, restricted to the Alps and Pyrenees. I do have plenty of pics of that (no vids yet) but it would really surprise me if this had ever been seen in the UK.

Higgins and Riley confused simplonia and ausonia/crameri in some editions of their book, and the confusion is copied in many other works. Perhaps the source you used made the same mistake. Or perhaps a few simplonia really have made it down their mountains and up to the UK...

Guy

Hi Guy - yes, I know we've debated this in the past. The current species listing is taken from Bradley and Bradley's "Checklist of Lepidoptera Recorded from the British Isles" (2nd edition). After talking with Felix a while back, it seemed to make sense to use a single authoritative source for the species listing, taxanomic order and definitions of subspecies and forms.

Now - that is not to say that any of these items cannot be changed!

The real contention, then, is between the Bradleys and whatever sources you're using. I notice that Tolman and Lewington conform to your definition. I guess this is going to come down to "which source do we believe"? Do you know where Tolman/Lewington got their data from (perhaps I'm missing a key reference or two!)?

Cheers,

- Pete

I think the giveaway is the name: simplonia. Only one species of dappled white flies in the Simplon, and that is the one I (and Tolman and Lafranchis) call simplonia. I'm aware the rules of nomenclature mean that some names might not reflect commonsense reality (e.g. Puffinus puffinus, which is Manx shearwater, not puffin!!) so this might not be conclusive. But it is at least confusing to have a species named after a mountain pass not flying in that pass, and another one, closely related, flying in it...

I read a discussion of how the confusion arose, in the Mitchell Beazley book (an early Lewington production) but I've lost that book, so can't be sure.

Guy

Thanks Guy - I remember the conversation now!

Final question - if I simply change the species name, would that be sufficient? Or do we also need to change the vernacular name (some sources seem to use "Western Dappled White" for crameri)?

Cheers,

- Pete

I've just had a look in Higgins and Riley. The first edition calls the mountain form E. ausonia ausonia and the lowland form E. ausonia crameri. Later editions split this into two species, retaining the name ausonia for the mountain dappled white and calling the lowland dappled white simplonia. This is very silly, and if I remember correctly, they simply made a mistake - it should have been the other way around. But because H & R was such a well-respected book, and Higgins was an influential taxonomist, I think (or maybe that was Riley), everyone copied them. I can't give more details than that.

The lowland form, whatever you call it, was then split into two species, eastern and western, which Tolman calls crameri and ausonia.

Guy

Crossed posts again - but I'll leave these comments anyway.

In answer to your question, I think it would be better to change the name to crameri, to avoid confusion, as the two most popular field guides use this designation. In Switzerland, the mappers call our local butterfly simplonia. As for the vernacular name, I think either of 'dappled white' or western dappled white' would be fine. The fact is, the two species (ausonia/crameri) are indistinguishable and this is not really a 'field' split. The name 'dappled white' usefully covers them both.

Thanks Guy. All fixed now (including the taxonomy chart). I've also made minor changes to the species intro.

Cheers,

- Pete

Kudrna 2002:

"Euchloe ausonia, E. crameri and E. simplonia are three distinct species. E. ausonia is deemed to be the eastern species, E. crameri the western species and E. simplonia the alpine species; all three species occur in south-eastern France and in northern Italy. The nomenclature of all three taxa is at present fluid and confused (particularly in France), not fixed by name-bearing types..."

If there are no name-bearing types, then taxonomists should be free to settle on the most logical nomenclature, rather than have their hand forced by an error in a museum somewhere!

Guy

Pete Eeles wrote:Thanks Charles. Of these, only the Purple Emperor shot would be relevant to UK Butterflies. Any chance of uploading it to YouTube? I made an assumption that YouTube would be the best video hosting mechanism - what do you think (at least it has a API that allows me to programmatically query items)?

Cheers,

- Pete

Hi Pete

Glad you like the Purple Emperor...

i will have a go at transferring it to YouTube

ttfn

Charles

padfield wrote:Kudrna 2002:
"Euchloe ausonia, E. crameri and E. simplonia are three distinct species. E. ausonia is deemed to be the eastern species, E. crameri the western species and E. simplonia the alpine species...

I recall reading that the latest belief is that the Euchloe ausonia and E. crameri are not separate species. The genetic differences are not sufficient and there was a zone where those were mixing. Unfortunately I was not proficient enough to really understand the proof - nor do I recall the reference.