Finnmark

[Kip]

I have just spent eight days experiencing the highs and lows of butterfly finding in the far north, in the land of the midnight sun. Only four of my eight days were positive, weather wise, and emergences seemed to favour the last 3-4 days, fortunately co-inciding with the sun. Dull days were spent in reconnaisance for suitable places, from accurately vague information.
In the rarified world of butterfly enthusiasts, on my last afternoon I met the esteemed Bernard Watts, Mike Prentice, Kevin Tolhurst and Martin Davies, on the tundra!!!
It was a small amount of much appreciated time spent discussing the vagaries of polar butterflying!

Anyway, there were several notable finds on my trip, to me at least....

Firstly, icarus is very different up there, and quite numerous. The usual identifying forewing underside cell spot is either minute or not present, the hindwing underside looks more like eros and underside spotting generally is muted....
female under and upperside, not masiclore like from those I saw,

then three male shots...

[David M]

I'm looking forward to this, Kip. It's fascinating how many arctic specialists there are up there and I hope you got to see a few of them.

[Kip]

I saw some of the ones I went to see, but by no means all of the possible species David. It seems most fly in the first two weeks of July, but there is annual variation on emergence dates, so you get what you get at any given time. I suppose it's a reason to go back, but you run into the law of diminishing returns!!
I was looking forward to stone-wall idas as I've always had difficulty separating them from argus which don't fly at those latitudes... so idas they were... and they didn't disappoint, though I expected they would be more finely, sparsely marked than they were....

In the last few days, opilete appeared, and gave me the time to check out and photograph individuals better than I ever did before... I love them, the males have such a lovely deep violet blue hue, along with bright white fringes...

The underside blue spots were generally scant compared to the Alpine community ones I have seen... check Guy's recent post in his diary.

[Padfield]

Good stuff so far, Paul!! I'm fascinated to discover what you got and what you didn't, but just seeing these Scandic versions of alpine stuff is interesting.

Keep them coming!

Guy

[Kip]

The first true polar species is aquilo - proved quite difficult to find but several were flying when I eventually stumbled on them rather excitedly. A bit late in their season I feel, so less pristine than ideal. These Small Blue sized butterflies were flying basically over shingle, low, fast and easily spooked. The photos I took were hard work on the eyes!!!

male

female

nearest to an underside I could achieve.

[Kip]

Another interesting variation on the species we are used to is phlaeas- the form polaris having notably pale underside hindwings, as these photos just about show. This female was definitely larger than those I am used to seeing at home...

[Kip]

Another true Arctic species is the Arctic Grayling, Oeneis bore. This was found in low numbers hilltopping on the highest mounds of open tundra, giving a momentary impression of being a fritillary ( the main aim of being there). They must have been fairly freh, as they are supposed to rapidly lose their scales to look worn and glassy. Their camoflage is second to none in their environment....

There is another Oeneis species up there, but I diddn't see it at all.

[David M]

Fantastic to see images of such a rarely observed species, Kip. I agree, that camouflage is exceptional. The butterfly blends in perfectly with its surroundings.

[Kip]

pandrose appears in the more boggy lowland areas there. I'm used to seeing it at the highest Alpine levels, so at first a bit incongruous...

The first totally new species I encountered was E. polaris, the Arctic Woodland Ringlet, very much the same as it's Southern relatives, and frequently encountered, again at low levels...

[Kip]

Another new one for me.. flying at the highest levels and sticking to the more boggy areas was Erebia disa, the Arctic Ringlet. They were very difficult to approach, flying 50 metres or so each time I got within 2 metres or so. Most I saw had well delineated contrasting hindwing bands, but one, was very much more plain.. hoped it was embla, but that flies in different habitat, so an less usual disa it is, and I never saw embla.

. Note they were larger, and darker, than E. polaris and pandrose.

[Kip]

Colias species were just eclosing towards the end of my stay, here is the lovely Moorland Clouded Yellow C. palaenowhich I have seen before in the Alps....

More exciting than the beauty above, was a single male specimen of the rare Northern Clouded Yellow, C. hecla which honoured me with his presence, and paused long enough for a couple of photos...

[Kip]

My final addition here is of encountered Fritillaries, the possibilities for which fuelled my conviction to visit the area. The first encounters were with our familiar Small Pearl B. selene, though I had hoped they would be a more exotic species!!

Then Cranberry Fritillary B. aquilonaris seemed to eclose in good numbers where I was searching...

with a rather attractive aberration...

I saw a couple of Thor's Fritillaries B. thore which I initially also thought would be a previously unmet with species, though they are definitely paler than their Alpine counterparts...

The best find of my tour was Polar Fritillary, B. polaris of which i saw probably five, and achieved photos of two...

and the second..

I missed freja, frigga, chariclea, eunomia, was not in the right area for improba, and who knows where iduna could be. Otherwise, I found it one heck of an experience, and very enjoyable.

[Padfield]

I think B. polaris is a total triumph and something very few of us will ever see. Your pictures of it are brilliant - just exactly what I always imagined. When I was a child, learning all the European butterflies off by heart from Higgins and Riley, I used that neat, white cross on the underside hindwing as my memory trigger for polaris - I said it was the cross marking the North Pole. Now, some 45 years later, you've actually photographed that cross! Fantastic stuff!

Guy

EDIT - I just looked in my old, first edition Higgins and Riley - and in Hargreaves's illustration it hardly looks like a cross at all. Is my memory deceiving me, and I added that detail when Tolman came out? Funny things, memories.

[Kip]

Thanks Guy.. it was the stand out differences to most other Frits that made me want to see it properly, and two of the ones I saw behaved very well for me.. they evidently don't like flying if they don't have to!
If you ever fancy a flight or road trip up there, I know where to look!!!