A Trio of French Trips
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 1:27 pm
Having enjoyed many posts on this forum over the years, I thought it was time I made a small contribution of my own. I have recently had the good fortune to be able to make three trips to three very different parts of France during June and July this year. My first trip was to the Doubs department of Eastern France, close to the Swiss border, with Violet Copper being at the top of my "most-wanted" list, this being a species that I had never seen before.
When planning this trip, I had identified around 15 potential wetland sites via the use of google searches, IGN French maps, and google earth imagery. However, ideally what I wanted was to visit a known site for this species, where I could "get my eye in", before going on to survey other possible areas. It soon became apparent that getting any specific site information on Violet Copper was going to be difficult, but fortunately an eminent French Lepidopterist very kindly gave me details of a good site for it.
I flew out to Geneva on 2nd June, picked up my hire car, and headed straight for the site... I was very excited about the prospect of seeing my first Violet Copper. One would be nice enough, but I was astonished to find them flying in their hundreds! They really are a beautiful creature! Absolutely delighted with finding these on my first day, the rest of my week was spent seeking out further sites, but by day three I had fallen foul of the notorious weather out in this part of France. At altitudes ranging from 800 to 1100 metres above sea level, this region is frequently cool and damp even in summer months...
A change of tactics was called for, so while the sun was eluding me, I searched potential sites for eggs of this species. Having watched females egg-laying on my first day here, I had a fair idea of where to look, and I managed to confirm occupancy at a further five sites by finding the characteristic eggs on Bistort leaves. When the sun did come out, I found Violet Coppers at three more locations, making a total of nine colonies. I suspect that many more colonies occur in the region, but they are vulnerable to collectors, inappropriate or inadequate habitat management, and I understand why people are reluctant to divulge site details of this rare species.
The wetlands of this region have a very special feel to them and I soon became quite enamoured with Doubs. As well as my target species, I encountered a good number of other butterflies. Woodland Ringlet, Lesser Marbled Fritillary and False Heath Fritillary turned up at many sites, with Lesser Marbled Fritillary often in very good numbers. Black-veined Whites were common, and were just emerging. It was good to see a few very fresh examples with hardly any scale-loss, before their wings had begun turning towards transparency. The Purple-edged Copper was another frequently encountered species on several bogs. I have only ever seen the alpine form of this butterfly previously, which of course lacks the "purple edge", so it was nice to see examples that showed where the name comes from! The Large Copper and Chequered Skipper were much less common out here than the species mentioned above, but it was a pleasure to see both. And finally, the icing on the cake of a particularly fine week, one of France's rarest, and dare I say most beautiful, heaths - the Scarce Heath. This trip earned me three new "life ticks", and it was hard to leave the bogs behind and drive back to Geneva for my return flight.
But trip number two was just around the corner - a fortnight in a gite in the north of the Dordogne, close to the Charente border,with my wife and some good friends of our, with the prospect of some more butterfly action.
Part two to follow shortly...
When planning this trip, I had identified around 15 potential wetland sites via the use of google searches, IGN French maps, and google earth imagery. However, ideally what I wanted was to visit a known site for this species, where I could "get my eye in", before going on to survey other possible areas. It soon became apparent that getting any specific site information on Violet Copper was going to be difficult, but fortunately an eminent French Lepidopterist very kindly gave me details of a good site for it.
I flew out to Geneva on 2nd June, picked up my hire car, and headed straight for the site... I was very excited about the prospect of seeing my first Violet Copper. One would be nice enough, but I was astonished to find them flying in their hundreds! They really are a beautiful creature! Absolutely delighted with finding these on my first day, the rest of my week was spent seeking out further sites, but by day three I had fallen foul of the notorious weather out in this part of France. At altitudes ranging from 800 to 1100 metres above sea level, this region is frequently cool and damp even in summer months...
A change of tactics was called for, so while the sun was eluding me, I searched potential sites for eggs of this species. Having watched females egg-laying on my first day here, I had a fair idea of where to look, and I managed to confirm occupancy at a further five sites by finding the characteristic eggs on Bistort leaves. When the sun did come out, I found Violet Coppers at three more locations, making a total of nine colonies. I suspect that many more colonies occur in the region, but they are vulnerable to collectors, inappropriate or inadequate habitat management, and I understand why people are reluctant to divulge site details of this rare species.
The wetlands of this region have a very special feel to them and I soon became quite enamoured with Doubs. As well as my target species, I encountered a good number of other butterflies. Woodland Ringlet, Lesser Marbled Fritillary and False Heath Fritillary turned up at many sites, with Lesser Marbled Fritillary often in very good numbers. Black-veined Whites were common, and were just emerging. It was good to see a few very fresh examples with hardly any scale-loss, before their wings had begun turning towards transparency. The Purple-edged Copper was another frequently encountered species on several bogs. I have only ever seen the alpine form of this butterfly previously, which of course lacks the "purple edge", so it was nice to see examples that showed where the name comes from! The Large Copper and Chequered Skipper were much less common out here than the species mentioned above, but it was a pleasure to see both. And finally, the icing on the cake of a particularly fine week, one of France's rarest, and dare I say most beautiful, heaths - the Scarce Heath. This trip earned me three new "life ticks", and it was hard to leave the bogs behind and drive back to Geneva for my return flight.
But trip number two was just around the corner - a fortnight in a gite in the north of the Dordogne, close to the Charente border,with my wife and some good friends of our, with the prospect of some more butterfly action.
Part two to follow shortly...