A very nice, thought provoking paper. Thanks for sharing!
I've seen the Great Orme Silver-studded Blues (and Graylings, which fly over the same areas) and the Prees Heath Silver-studded Blues. The Prees Heath population shows variable hindwing markings on the males, often approaching (or matching)
masseyi although the wingshape is different. They seem pretty much the "same" beast as I'm used to seeing on my local Surrey heathlands. But the
caernensis individuals are amazingly different!! Tiny wee things flipping away over grassy swards on a hillside surrounded by bracken and houses. And, as the paper explains, the females have a gorgeous lustrous sheen to the upperwings.
I enjoyed reading the part which hypothesises how the different races evolved through being isolated in a naturally changing (recovering) landscape. Looking at Graylings we can see an even greater degree of subspecific development. To pick extremes look at those found on the Great Orme and compare them to the handsome beggars at Ardnamurchan, stunningly different from each other. And Ireland has yet more races (Grayling subsp
atlantica may just about be my favourite UK butterfly!)
Sami and I did a Big Butterfly Year in 2010 and attempted to see all UK species AND all of their races. It was a real eye-opener! I wish we'd been more into photography as even the humble Meadow Brown morphs into a stunning beauty by the time you reach The Hebrides.
So if you're a bit fed up seeing the same old faces year in year out, make the effort to track down a few far-flung races in wonderful places would be my advice (and take a camera!)
Cheers,
Gibster.