www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Still trying to id this larva, ex. Tarifa, Spain May 2014. It would have been a good behaviour photo had my sister not cleared those 'horrible ants' from the larva! Any thoughts please? Looks like Polyommatus but the knock-out colour is odd.....

Thanks, Paul

Looks like the caterpillar of one of the Zerynthia (festoon), I thought first of the spanish festoon but not sure.
Sylvie

I would go for the Provence hairstreak, Tomares ballus, which has a very close connection with ants. The foodplant looks the right family too.

Guy

Guy Many thanks, that solves a mystery. It would be good to see the adult Provence Hairstreak sometime as well! Out of interest Sylvie, I saw a couple of Spanish Festoon larvae at the place we stayed in Casares, as well as adults. Some butterfly photos from the trip here https://www.flickr.com/photos/16811600@N08/sets/

Paul Brock wrote:It would be good to see the adult Provence Hairstreak sometime as well!

They fly early that far south - I have visited Málaga a couple of times recently in late March and found them quite common then. It is a local species, forming rather tight colonies, but if I'm right about the caterpillar (which is not 100% as I've never seen the cat) you know where to go!

Guy

24th March 2013:

I can't offer any firm comments because I'm not familiar with this species at all, but would refer you to this video made by VarWild showing the lifecycle of this species.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJs9sb4C6TI

Late instar larval images begin at 2min 30sec into the 5 minute sequence.

Vince

That's a wonderful video - albeit with a disturbing ending.

As the video suggests, the caterpillar varies in colour from yellowish to bright pink depending on what plant and what part of the plant it is feeding on.

Guy

Hi Paul,

Looking at your pics, well I was wrong about the caterpillar identification but never mind, it is by making mistake that we learn.....
I am very jealous of your trithemis Kirbyi, which I have failed to find when I was near Adana in Turkey a couple of years ago .... Well done for finding such a beautiful specimen. I would be interested to know if there were a lot around where you were or if you only saw this specimen.
Thanks,
Sylvie

Sylvie

The dragonfly turned up at the swimming pool by the Casita we stayed in at Casares; alas, the only one seen during the week in early May 2014. We stayed at Penny Hale's (advertises in Atropos) which has a good range of insects on site; yet to upload other images. They have numerous migrant moths arriving. I will be staying in Loja near Granada next July for (hopefully) some decent Odonata as well as Apollo et al in the Sierra Nevada.

Guy -- that Provence Hairstreak photo makes me green, I love those type of habitat shots.

Vince -- thanks for the superb link.

Thanks all

Paul