Of interest as some might be progeny of some of the UK ones this summer. I am just back from Mauritania where there are tens of thousands of Painted Lady. All over Nouakchott, the capital, and up in the desert near Banc D'Arguin National Park they were under every tuft of grass. It has been the wettest year since 2013, and the desert is relatively green, so perhaps they are stopping off whereas in drier years they continue south to the sahel.
Couple of images below.
Painted Lady in the sahara
Painted Lady in the sahara
Last edited by Edward_P on Sat Oct 19, 2019 3:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Cambridgeshire butterfly recorder
Re: Painted Lady in the sahara
At 15-30 this afternoon in my garden here in Somerset far from the Sahara, a magnificent painted lady,I think its a gentelman ?, could this be from one of three I had early this and seen 20-10-2019
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Re: Painted Lady in the sahara
Interesting place to visit, Edward. Seems like Painted Ladies travel just as happily south as they do north.Edward_P wrote:...I am just back from Mauritania where there are tens of thousands of Painted Lady. All over Nouakchott, the capital, and up in the desert near Banc D'Arguin National Park they were under every tuft of grass. It has been the wettest year since 2013, and the desert is relatively green, so perhaps they are stopping off whereas in drier years they continue south to the sahel.
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Re: Painted Lady in the sahara
Very interesting. I was still seeing Painted Ladies up here until about a week ago and I was wondering why they hadn't already started to fly south. It is great to know that the enormous number we have seen here this year has made it back to Africa. I wonder how they will do next year.