Pyrgus ID #3

[David M]

This one has really got me baffled.

Seen at 1,600m, it was small, very akin to Southern Grizzled Skipper (malvoides).

Quite a few were seen, so this isn't some local aberration that occurs in restricted populations.

Here is an image of the upperside - malvoides is to the left to give a contrast between the two species:

The nearest upperside fit is Carline Skipper, but in my experience this is a July/August butterfly and in any case the underside markings do not match.

[Roger Gibbons]

I suggest serratulae - some can be heavily marked - despite the rather concave uph cell spot. The underside says serratulae to me more than the upperside says anything else. Sometimes Pyrgus are difficult!

For the record, I agree the previous two: serratulae (98%) and foulquieri (90% - mainly on the large unh s1 discal spot, plus the upperside looks right), despite the early flight period which seems to have been explained by Simon.

As Pete says, hope you got Scarce Fritillary. They are breathtaking, both upperside and underside.

Roger

[David M]

Thanks once again, Roger. I suppose given the size of the insect it couldn't really be anything else as the other candidates would have been much larger in size.

I'm pleased to say there was no shortage of maturna in Piedmont.