Thanks David. After umpteen attempts to capture Swallowtail pupation, and having missed it by a matter of minutes each time through distraction, here it is. To avoid boredom, I have condensed my sequence here down to one image in five. This is a European Swallowtail, end of third voltin, so the pupa...

A great tally David. You chose the right places at the right time.
Damon Blue was one of my favourites this summer in the Savoie. 10s and 10s of males, but only 1 female.
Chris

Wow Sylvie,
That's a good response. It certainly looks good.
Thanks for the cue.
This is how the French have replied.
https://www.insecte.org/forum/viewtopic ... 4#p1715204

Merci pour ton efficacité.
Chris

Thank you David and aeshna,
It does resemble Asilus crabroniformis, thus Asile frelon in French and Hornet Robberfly in English.
Thanks a lot
Chris

Any idea regarding the identity of the assassin ? Asilinae ?
The victim is G. cleopatra, male.
South of France at 640 m altitude. West Var. Beginning July. Thanks
Chris

Thank you all for your comments and input. Clearly this species generates a certain interest. Its all very encouraging for the Geranium Bronze, and "au diable" to spray-happy neighbours with geraniums who are discontent. This morning I went through the emergence process again with another ...

Hi Folks. As far as I know Geranium Bronze, Cacyreus marshalli , has not yet reached UK shores. Until it does, here is a little life cycle I've knocked up for you in photo form. Its easy to do this in France when you have geraniums in your garden. My neighbours consider it a pest on their geraniums,...

Hi Pauline, Wurzel and David. Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated. Here is a short sequence of Essex Skipper photos from the south of France. They are much less common down here than Lulworth Skippers. I made the most of overcast conditions to get a decent set. Hope I've got the ID right. lin...

Interesting Duke of Burgundy cat shots Pauline.
All the more interesting for me as this species is nowhere near Marseilles.
The nice thing about the early stages is that they are relatively reliable and don't fly off all the time .
Chris

Thanks Pauline, Wurzel and David. Still on the topic of the Two-tailed Pasha, here is a bit more. Whereas the overwintering stages of the TTP tend to spread the life cycle out, the summer brood is different. In the space of 5 days or more the egg stage plays out: May 23rd. Egg completely yellow = la...

Thanks Pete, David, Buggy, Dave, Jenks and Guy for your input on this topic.
Very encouraging.
Chris

Hi folks,
Small quiz. Seen today in the south of France, Marseilles. Who are these cross-mating hairstreaks?
Anybody with similar cross-mating Hairstreak experiences ? Chris

... Right now, they're flying in southern France and I'm stuck here 1,000 miles further north .... Heartbreaking. They may still be flying at altitude, David, but at sea level, its over for this year. Here is the POT pupa 3 days following pupation. A change of colour. euphenoides24 pupation Marseil...

Thank you Pauline, essex, Kev, Wurzel, Janet and David for your kind encouragements. I had hoped that the Two-tailed Pasha butterfly would emerge from its pupa during the day .... wrong ! Nature decided otherwise and it emerged over-night which means that I missed out on many photos. Here are some p...

Thanks David and essex. We can see that I missed a crucial 43-minute pupation slot between 10.00 and 10.43 am which just goes to show how applied and focused you have to be when photographing these stages. My lighting technique needs to be improved. It has helped me appreciate the effort that goes i...

Hi Folks, My local park on the outskirts of Marseilles has a short section of path along which Buckler's mustard grows and which supports a very small and fragile population of Anthocharis euphenoides (Provençal / Moroccan Orange Tip). This year I located 1 caterpillar, and knowing that the strimmer...

Great find David, and excellent photos to back it up. In this kind of situation, Sod's law has it that you usually get one blurred photo or none at all.

What does the Two-tailed Pasha do in March and April ? The TTP egg would have been laid last autumn, and the caterpillar has overwintered, feeding only when mild. It's host plant is the Strawberry Tree. On March 16th, this cat is nearly 30 mm long which is big for the end of winter. It was very mild...

.... Hope you can still get out clandestinely down there. I believe there are fines for those that don't have a "valid" reason to be outside .... Well they finally locked up my local park, David, which is in fact a "Parc National", but I've been able to continue studying life cy...

.... Hope you can still get out clandestinely down there. I believe there are fines for those that don't have a "valid" reason to be outside .... Well they finally locked up my local park, David, which is in fact a "Parc National", but I've been able to continue studying life cy...