Marseilles checklist 2014

[Chris Jackson]

Monday June 9th - 30°C +

SPECIES No. 54: Grayling (semele)

Lunchtime at work, out on the Plateau of Vitrolles. At last, my first Grayling of the year. This is one of the species that is not affected by the apparently early season, as my sighting is to within 1 day of last year's 1st sighting. Hopefully better photos to come when there are more about.
semele:

context - semele in Pine tree on edge of plateau of Vitrolles:

although it is not today's subject, I couldn't resist this one which was "weathercocking" on some Kermes Oak, machaon:

I only have another 7 scheduled species to find, then my local checklist will be complete
Cheers, Chris

[Chris Jackson]

It's rare to see a Great Banded Grayling with its wings open, so I'm sharing this shot with you, taken on my buddleias in the evening:

Cheers, Chris

[LancsRover]

Hi Chris, Great shot of the GBG, it's a fantastic b/f on the wing, I have plenty of pics with wings closed but never seen it with them open, you lucky devil

Russ

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Russ,
I guess that nectaring in the evening is the BF equivalent of cocktails at sundown, and so it was feeling quite balmy and decided to stretch its wings ...
The next species on my local check list are Striped Grayling, then Tree Grayling then Rock (or Woodland) Grayling .... , but that will be in a few weeks time yet.
I will do a separate Holiday List if we manage to get away in July, to perhaps the Massif Central - just South of Clermont Ferrand.
Cheers, Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Saturday June 14th

SPECIES No. 55: Small Tortoiseshell (urticae)

No photo for the moment I'm afraid. However, here is a better shot of a Grayling taken since my first sighting on June 9th.
semele on the outskirts of Marseilles yesterday:

Cheers, Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Saturday June 14th

SPECIES No. 55: Small Tortoiseshell (urticae)

Following on from my previous entry, half an hour later my buddleias are swarming with all sorts of insects and I got my photo of urticae.
urticae :

Cheers, Chris

[John_C]

Hi Chris, I must say that I have really enjoyed keeping up to date with this excellent thread over recent months especially all of your lovely pics.

I have seen several pics of various butterflies and moths on valerian so I was just wondering whether it is pink flower red valerian (centranthus ruber) or mauve valerian (centranthus lecoquii), during the last couple of years I have noticed just how much of a butterfly magnet red valerian seems to be here in scotland so I am now looking to plant some in my garden this year, I have noticed something rather strange though and that is that at least 75-80% of the butterflies that I have seen nectaring on red valerian have shown a distinct preference for the pink flowers rather than the red or white ones so is there any chance that have you noticed that also?

John

[Chris Jackson]

Hello John,
Its very kind of you to show an interest in my checklist and in what goes on down here in the Marseilles area. I believe the Valerian we have here is in fact ruber, and I have never seen mauve or white in the wild. It flowers at different periods during the year and seems to be a good source of food in the scrub. People down here don't cultivate it - I suppose here it is considered to be a weed. But there again, the definition of a weed is just 'a plant that grows in a place you don't want it to grow in'.
Best wishes, Chris.

[David M]

Are Small Tortoiseshells scarce in your part of the world, Chris?

[CFB]

David, in my part of the world I'm lucky to see just one per year. I assume it's the same with Chris. And similarly for Peacocks, of which I have seen only one this year.
--
Colin

[David M]

That's hard to believe to be honest.

That said, whenever I've been to southern France, I've always been able to count the 'common' UK vanessids in single figures. They must favour cooler areas where their foodplants grow unhindered by dessication and/or drought?

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Colin and David,
I've never seen a Peacock in Marseilles in my 3 years of butterflying.
Small Tortoiseshells are exceptional, normally just 1 sighting per year - a vagrant I suppose. However, this year, today, I ve had 3 at the same time in my garden on the buddleias.
Good for me. A bumper year for Small Tortoiseshells !!
If you are travelling David, 1st brood Pashas now finished. 2nd brood from mid August !
Chris

[Charles Nicol]

hi Chris

i just caught up with 2 months of your posts. excellent work all round ! i am looking forward to hols in the Aude next month meanwhile i have the WC to entertain me...

Charles

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Charles, France is doing OK as I write. Do you have links with the Aude?
Chris

[Chris Jackson]

Monday June 16th.

Nothing new today, I'm just marking time until the Striped and Tree Graylings appear.
Today's observations from my scrubland Parc des Bruyères =>
In my quest for the 'perfect' frozen in-flight open-wing shot of a male Cleopatra, I'm still falling short of the mark:

It was attracted by this female hiding under a leaf:

There were a small number of Southern Gatekeepers - here is a male:

Notice the sex brands broken by orange veins:

cecilia13a_13 male P Bruyères 16 June 2014.JPG (65.66 KiB) Viewed 578 times

There was a pair of Marbled Whites mating, female on the left, male on the right:

And I have found two Two-tailed Pasha caterpillars that will form the 2nd brood in mid August, if they survive:

Cheers, Chris

[David M]

Great images of the open-wing Cleopatra, Chris. They're such beautiful insects.

[Charles Nicol]

Hi Charles, France is doing OK as I write. Do you have links with the Aude?
Chris

hi Chris

I am looking forward to returning to France in a few weeks. I have spent the last 5 or 6 summers pottering around the Carcassonne area, enjoying the food & drink & bothering the insects

Hopefully the Air Traffic dudes will go back to work & the train drivers will stay on track.... otherwise je serais étouffé.

Please keep posting your excellent updates on the Marseilles area !

Charles

[Chris Jackson]

Hi there Charles - holidays soon!

Hi All,
I'm still waiting on the Tree and Striped Graylings down here.
A walk at lunchtime revealed that the 1st brood Two-tailed Pasha is still on the wing today, and I managed to get a shot of a pair of mating Dusky Heaths:

Context for the Dusky Heaths - the edge of the plateau of Vitrolles that the council have mown, probably as a scrub-fire precaution:

Cheers, Chris

[Charles Nicol]

Hi there Charles - holidays soon!

Hi All,
I'm still waiting on the Tree and Striped Graylings down here.
A walk at lunchtime revealed that the 1st brood Two-tailed Pasha is still on the wing today, and I managed to get a shot of a pair of mating Dusky Heaths:

dorus7_13 pair Vitrolles garrigue 26 June 2014 (3).JPG

Context for the Dusky Heaths - the edge of the plateau of Vitrolles that the council have mown, probably as a scrub-fire precaution:

context dorus.JPG

Cheers, Chris

very nice Dusky Heaths !
i had a good trip to Fermyn Woods this morning:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/2648667@N24/

Charles

[Chris Jackson]

Friday June 27th

SPECIES No. 56: Striped Grayling (fidia)

I went half way up my local mountain, Mont St Cyr (610 m ASL), looking for my contreversial Woodland Grayling, but its too early in the season; however I came down with a sighting of my first Striped Grayling of the year. I surmise that the first individuals of fidia appear at a slightly higher altitude (approx. 300 m ASL) then descend in the coming days or weeks to 80 m ASL in my Parc des Bruyères.
fidia (in the center of the photo):

fidia uncropped (when it accepted my presence):

fidia uncropped:

context looking up the mountain:

context looking down the mountain, over Marseilles:

Hope you like the context
Cheers, Chris