Glanville Fritillary - Favourite Photo of 2014

[Wurzel]

Week 6

So continues sequence of posts giving one and all the opportunity to showcase their favourite shots of 2014 (or the last time you saw one)!

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As like last year details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

Sadly, my 'local' population of Glanville Fritillaries at Sand Point, near Weston-Super-Mare in Somerset, seems to have become extinct.

I wasn't expecting to see this species at all in 2014, but on my last day's holiday in the Parc du Mercantour in the French Alps, I saw a handful flying around a stream at 2000m+

Here's one of them:

[millerd]

I only saw one this year, on 17th May from the small population introduced at Hutchinson's Bank in Surrey. It was a nice specimen, but it did seem a bit odd to see it. I wonder if there will be any here next year?

Dave

[Chris Jackson]

Here is a Glanville Frit from mid April, in the South of France. I particularly like the prickly perch it chose - little chance of a predator following it in there

Chris

[Neil Freeman]

Back in late May I went down to the Isle of Wight for a few days specifically to try and see my first ever Glanville Fritillaries. The weather during our stay was mostly cloudy and drizzly but there was one particular morning with some good sun and passing fluffy white clouds during which I managed to see some 15-20 Glanvilles at Wheelers Bay.
I took loads of photos of a number of different individuals as they flitted about and basked to soak up the morning sun and dry off after the previous nights rain and have spent the past couple of nights trying to whittle down my favourites to post on here. I have managed to get them down to the following selection and as this species was a first for me this year I have decided to post them all.

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

Glanville Fritillary - Wheelers Bay IOW 27.05.2014

The only other Glanville fritillary that I saw during my stay was one individual that was seen close to the Afton Down car park when we stopped off to join a local BC branch walk on the morning before heading for the ferry back to the mainland.

Glanville Fritillary - Afton Down 29.05.2014

I am not sure how this species has fared this year on the IOW but the undercliff areas along Compton Bay certainly looked like they had taken a battering from the storms of the previous winter and I could not help but wonder how this may have impacted on the overwintering larval nests.

Cheers,

Neil.

[MrSp0ck]

All My Glanvilles were also at the Hutchinson's Bank colony in Surrey, we had a total of 30 on the Butterfly Transect this year, i think only 68 were seen in total on transects in 2014.

There were plenty of males and females flying in early May, at one point i saw 12 in the cutting area. There are overwintering larvae at the moment so hopefully these will make it through to next spring.