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That's it Folks, 2016 is up and running down here (at least temporarily) !

A brisk and breezy, barely 12°C this lunchtime up on the Plateau of Vitrolles, but five minutes after the sun came out some of my hibernators (over-winterers) put in an appearance. Unfortunately I only had a smartphone camera with me (2 Megapixels).

SPECIES 1 : Lang's Short-tailed Blue
5+ individuals seen in the space of 15 minutes, most in very good condition.

SPECIES 2 : Large White
1 individual seen in very good condition, nectaring briefly on one of the few flowers available.

SPECIES 3 : Painted Lady
1 individual with a piece of wing missing.

LSTB:
Male (living dangerously) Female (on rosemary) Context - Plateau of Vitrolles (male LSTB visible on cactus Opuntia maxima) Cheers, Chris

Good for you, Chris. There have been a small handful of Painted Ladies seen already in the UK too!

January 21st

During this week on my lunchtime patch at work on the Plateau of Vitrolles, the temperature has barely crept above 10°C. However this has been sufficient to encourage some of the hardier over-winterers to put in an appearance.

SPECIES 4 : Red Admiral
First sighting of this species on January 12th. I was still getting sightings in mid December, so these are year-round fliers, hardly hibernating, just resting somewhere waiting for the warmer days.

SPECIES 5 : Bath White.
Not an over-winterer.
First sighting today of this species this year.
Now this was a shock. I was looking out half-expectantly for Western Dappled White which I spotted last year on February 17th, but saw this species instead which is 2 months early according to my records. It managed to nectar on rosemary and globularia which flower here over the winter.
Bath White Bath White, same individual Plateau of Vitrolles (signwriting is not what it used to be) Plateau of Vitrolles, with the town of Marignane visible on the left below the escarpment Any idea of the name of this Orchid (or Orchis) ? A handful of Painted Ladies flying, in different stages of wear I wonder what the next surprise early species will be ?
Cheers, Chris

I think your orchis is the Giant Orchid Himantoglossum robertianum. Older books will have it in the genus Barlia.

M.

Thank you, Mikhaïl.
That appears to check out right. Orchis géant it will be then.
Chris

It's an orchid I see occasionally (you can hardly miss it because of its size) although I've only ever seen one in any given location. I have a record of seeing it at the location near les Arcs we visited last April.

Roger

bonjour Christophe ! just catching up with your excellent thread.

i loved the STB on the cactus leaf... great pic.

Thank you Roger for your observations. I will be keeping an eye on early flora to see if it is ahead of schedule this year.

Keep watching this space, Charles .
Chris

Hello Folks,
The Viburnum tinus is flowering and is attracting any early species willing to put in an appearance: This is a favourable spot on the east of Marseilles, in Saint Marcel, with sufficient sunshine early in the day: In this same place I spotted a Strawberry Tree leaf with a silk pad, vacated no doubt by a Two-tailed Pasha caterpillar: Here is a TTP caterpillar, easy to spot once you've got your eye in. They over-winter in caterpillar form. This is where to look: There are berries on the Bindweed at the moment: And Daffodils are flowering in the Parc des Bruyères: From higher up in the Parc des Bruyères, here is a view over Marseilles: Cheers, Chris

Good stuff, Chris. Nice to see some bright weather for a change, albeit about 1,000 miles away.

I've always admired your TTP cats, Chris. They're fantastic creatures and I've yet to see one myself - nor expect to in the near future.

Guy

Hello David and Guy.
TTP caterpillars aside, here is today's news.
Joy oh Joy !!

South of France - Mistral wind blowing with a low of 12°C and hi of 18°C .
These warm temperatures are unusual with a northerly wind which should be bitterly cold at this time of year, bringing cold air down from the snow-capped Alps.
This is the warmest day of the winter so far in the area of Marseilles.

SPECIES 6 : Green Hairstreak (3 + individuals)
I had a gut feeling about the possibility of seeing this species this early in the season, because of the mild winter. For some, the "butterfly thermometer" that indicates Spring is the Holly Blue, for me down here it must be the Green Hairstreak or Bath White.
C. rubi perching on Rock Rose: Context - plateau of Vitrolles, as usual, near my workplace : These scrub plants provide shelter from the wind for the smaller BF species, while the Red Admirals battle onward against the breeze: Also flying, despite the wind :
L. pirithous (5 +), V. atalanta (3 +), P. daplidice (1), P. brassicae (1)
Humming-bird Hawkmoth (3 +)
Cheers, Chris

Chris Jackson wrote:
Joy oh Joy !!

SPECIES 6 : Green Hairstreak (3 + individuals)
I had a gut feeling about the possibility of seeing this species this early in the season, because of the mild winter. For some, the "butterfly thermometer" that indicates Spring is the Holly Blue, for me down here it must be the Green Hairstreak or Bath White.

Joy indeed, Chris. That's a phenomenally early sighting for GH...and you've now seen both this species AND Bath White by 1st Feb!!

David M wrote: ... That's a phenomenally early sighting for GH ...

It certainly is David, and there is no big freeze in sight, although its not to be excluded in February.

My next prediction is, however ... and here goes ... Swallowtail, before February is out !!

Meanwhile, today at lunchtime in Vitrolles in the Bouches du Rhône, with a stiff Mistral wind blowing and a max. of 14°C:

SPECIES 7 :
Wall Brown (1 individual). An earlyish sighting, but nothing excessive.
(How do they always manage to get a shadow, twig or blade of grass between themselves and the camera, Grrrr - do they plot against us ? Probably a camouflage tactic ). Also flying :
Green Hairstreak (2) (last photo, I promise ) Lang's STB (6 +) female Bath White (2) male plus Red Admiral (4+).
Narcissus dubius in flower in February and March: Cheers, Chris

Fantastic to read about the butterflies you are seeing Chris. It makes it seem as though the season is nearing for us, although it will be another month before we see anything.
I spent all of my school holidays in the Camargue when I was young, as my father managed a nature reserve there. I really regret that at the time I wasn't into butterflies. I had tanks full of fish and reptiles and was interested in the birds and mammals, but sadly for some reason no interest in butterflies. I do remember catching some with him when he moved up to the Vosges, though.

Chris Jackson wrote:
My next prediction is, however ... and here goes ... Swallowtail, before February is out !!

That wouldn't be out of the question, Chris. Not sure we want the season to remain so in advance of what it is normally, though. At least up in the mountains things should remain cold and austere for a while yet!

Hi Nick,
How lucky you were to spend your school holidys in the Camargue - every budding naturalist's dream. Do you remember which nature reserve your Dad managed ?
I will be spending 2 days there in May with a birding friend - I don't think there are many butterflies there due to the brackish environment. One must also try and avoid the mosquito season.

Hi David,
You must certainly be right about altitude having a moderating effect on phenology. I should think that flight periods in the mountains are less susceptible to some of the extremes I see in the South of France at low altitude.

SPECIES No. 8 : Speckled Wood (no photo worth posting)
This week I had a Speckled Wood fly through my garden in Marseilles - nothing untoward for this time of year.
February is having its end-of-winter tantrum as usual. Even when the winter has been mild, February throws up 2 or so weeks of wind + rain + cold as if to have the final word on the matter.

An overcast lunch at work this week gave me a photo shoot with a female Bath White (as good a shot as I could hope for), so these are already done and dusted for 2016: same individual: I kept an eye on the only jasius Caterpillar I've got going this year.
Here he is feeding: His silk pad in his Strawberry Tree: His Strawberry Tree in Saint Marcel on the outskirts of Marseilles. I hope I see him reach pupation - that would make my year.
All photos with Panasonic FZ150.
Cheers, Chris

Hi Folks,
Saturday 20th of February - 11°C sunny with chill Wind
SPECIES No. 9 : Western Dappled White
I had a trip east over to Signes in the Var, and despite the chill wind I saw 3 Western Dappled White. This species is on time compared with other years.
I was lucky to get this mediocre shot as it would not stop moving. It was patrolling along this path SPECIES No. 10 : Clouded Yellow
I was expecting to see this species a little sooner. A few Crocuses were to be seen - anyone know exactly what type this is ?
Altitude 650 m - Central Southern France (west Var) Cheers, Chris

Hello Chris,

I think your crocus is Crocus versicolor. There are a lot of them in my area at present, as well as Barlia robertiana, Hepatica nobilis, Anemone hortensis and Globularia alypum.

You are seeing many more species of butterflies than I am. My count as of today is 3 .
--
Cheers,
Colin

Thank you for your ID of the Crocus, Colin.
I do seem to have bit of a head start so far this year, but I must admit I do have a very productive suntrap on my lunchtime-at-work scrub patch, which up to now has been very generous.
It is quite worrying though when you start seeing Green Hairstreaks on the 1st of February. Will this affect next year's population ??

Meanwhile, this weekend the temperature reached 16°C over my way and the wind dropped quite a bit.
Inland, near the mountain of the Saint Baume, I was treated to two other new sightings:

SPECIES 11 : Cleopatra: 2 males + 1 female, but no photos.
SPECIES 12 : Large Tortoiseshell:
This individual was energetically patrolling a patch of Oak Trees and I only just managed to get a proof shot of it in a head-down posture: Cheers, Chris