On the wing in the Pyrenees

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Folks,
We are in the French Pyrenees for one week, based in Estavar near the Spanish border. It stopped raining yesterday and I was rewarded by a festival of butterflies. Here is one to start with, and not the least by any account - spotted near Eyne.
Bog Fritillary:

Context: its host plant is bistorta

Chris

[Padfield]

That's a great find Chris - well done!

Guy

[Sylvie_h]

Hi Chris,

Well done indeed ! When I was in the Pyrenees some years ago, I was not too optimistic to find the species. However, while driving in the region one morning we spotted some bistorta further down the road and there was also a small stream which indicated a wet and humid habitat. We parked the car and went to have a look, there they were, we had found a small population alongside the road. They seemed to be very attached to their foodplant, indeed all the specimen we saw were on the bistorta.
Good luck with the rest of your holidays ! Please keep posting photos....
Sylvie

[Roger Gibbons]

Hi Chris,

I'll second that. I was in the Morvan several days ago and about 30 eunomia were flying there but in the 30C heat the males flew incessantly (not one stopped in three hours) and the females dived into the undergrowth to escape the heat. They are glued to the Bistort, and Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillaries were there as well, but easily distinguishable as they had no interest in the Bistort.

Then I went on to a site for Nickerl's Fitillary (Melitaea aurelia) and despite their weak flight, they also managed to fly non-stop. Great to see them, though.

Roger

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Guy, Sylvie and Roger, and all,

I do not take credit for spotting the Bog Fritillary all by myself. I was guided by Monsieur François Gallon, a local semi-pro BF photographer from Font-Romeu, and ex mountain guide, who has a BF photo exhibition in the Maison de la vallée in Eyne.
This is the Maison de la vallée in Eyne

Here is Monsieur François in his Bog Fritillary field

Other species spotted in Eyne
Clouded Apollo

Geranium Argus

Orange tip male and female

(these are long-gone this season back home in Marseilles)
Bright-eyed Ringlet, 2 photos, same individual

Clouded Apollo

Context photo, next to Eyne, for Clouded Apollo

Cheers, Chris

[David M]

Wow! Bog Fritillary and Clouded Apollo. You really carved out a good day's work there, Chris! Well done.

Isn't BF habitat shared by Violet Copper too? Not sure if its flight period is over now but that is one butterfly I'd LOVE to see.

[Chris Jackson]

There certainly is plenty to see, David. At first I was afraid it was going to rain all week
I've been looking for Apolllo, but no luck so far.
Here we have what I believe is a Provencal Fritillary and a Safflower Skipper:

Cheers, Chris

[Roger Gibbons]

Hi Chris,

Your Pyrgus - there are very strong clues to this being Olive (P. serratulae). Carthami always has a white edging to the unh margin (but occasionally serratulae has this), which yours doesn't. Carthami is the percentage bet on any medium-high altitude Pyrgus but not, I think, this one. Let's see if Guy agrees.

I'm not convinced by your deione upperside - it just doesn't look quite right. However, the underside (which I rarely see) does look nicely red and suggests deione. The upf s1 discal mark looks as if it could be right for deione, but faded. There have been unresolved debates on deione before, with differences of opinion between the northeners (Guy and Tim) and the southeners (Philippe and myself).

Good hunting (I may be able to post more on L. helle),

Roger

[Roger Gibbons]

L. helle (violet Copper) - here is a the paper presented by Graham Hart at the colloque in 2013 on helle in the Pyrenees.

http://issuu.com/judelock/docs/graham_hart_abstract

Helle was still flying last week in the Jura, so you may still catch it (perhaps only females).

Roger

[Charles Nicol]

Hi Guy, Sylvie and Roger, and all,

I do not take credit for spotting the Bog Fritillary all by myself. I was guided by Monsieur François Gallon, a local semi-pro BF photographer from Font-Romeu, and ex mountain guide, who has a BF photo exhibition in the Maison de la vallée in Eyne.
This is the Maison de la vallée in Eyne

Maison de la vallée.JPG

Here is Monsieur François in his Bog Fritillary field

François GALLON - eunomia1_66 Eynes 16 Jun 2015 (2).JPG

Other species spotted in Eyne
Clouded Apollo

mnemosyne1_66 Eyne 16 Jun 2015 (18).JPG

Geranium Argus

eumedon1_66 Eyne 16 Jun 2015 (16).JPG

eumedon1_66 Eyne 16 Jun 2015 (12).JPG

Orange tip male and female

cardamines16_66 male and female Eyne 16 Jun 2015.JPG

(these are long-gone this season back home in Marseilles)
Bright-eyed Ringlet, 2 photos, same individual

oeme4_66 Eyne 16 Jun 2015 (4).JPG

oeme4_66 Eyne 16 Jun 2015 (3).JPG

Clouded Apollo

mnemosyne1_66 Eyne 16 Jun 2015 (18).JPG

Context photo, next to Eyne, for Clouded Apollo

context - Eyne 16 Jun 2015.JPG

Cheers, Chris

wish i had a BF field... le sigh

[Padfield]

I agree with Roger - it is very difficult to see deione in that fritillary. My instinct says parthenoides, despite all that is wrong about that.

I also agree the skipper is serratulae. Carthami always (in my experience) has white around the entire outer margin of the hindwing. For reference, this picures shows carthami:



Guy

[Chris Jackson]

Thank you Roger and Guy for your comments about the Olive Skipper, and for your doubts about the Provencal Fritillary.
As Guy mentioned somewhile back and in a different thread, Orange Tips and Provence Orange Tips are still flying here despite their season being ended in the South of France (Marseilles).

Today, on my way to an Apollo site near the village of Llo, for my 4-yearly 'fix' of Apollo, I stumbled upon yet another lifer, a worn Camberwell Beauty, by the side of the river Sègre. I really have had some surprises on this holiday.

Context for the Apollo in the Gorges du Sègre:

Back in the Vallée d'Eyne - context

any ideas for this Fritillary (2 photos, same individual) ?

Another Bog Fritillary ? in a different field

This may be a Purple-shot Copper

Context for the Copper - Spanish Enclave of Llivia, looking back into France

[Padfield]

Your unknown fritillary is diamina, which looks very different in the Pyrenees from in the Alps, for example! Form vernetensis is similar to yours from the upperside but usually lacks the black points in the orange spots on the underside. And yes, the copper is purple-shot.

Guy

[False Apollo]

I was lucky enough to see a few L.helle (Violet Coppers) in the Pyrenees at the end of May. They were going over there at this time. Very careful to avoid stepping on the foodplant. Most were females but I did manage to see one male which was very territorial and approachable.

Regards
Mike

[David M]

Not sure I can cope with this thread anymore!!

Camberwell Beauties and Violet Coppers on top of what has gone before.

The Copper is definitely Purple-Shot, Chris.

[Chris Jackson]

Thanks for the ID, Guy.

I'm afraid I didn't see a Violet Copper on this trip, Mike, maybe next time.

You were in the Pyrenees quite recently, David, and I'm sure you'll be returning someday. Those butterflies will still be there, waiting for you.

Here are the last photos from our trip worth posting. Any ideas on ID are welcome.
By the way, for the birders, apparently we saw a Short-toed Eagle and an Egyptian Vulture (so I'm told !!!).
Blue No. 1 for ID please (uppers and unders )

Blue No. 2 - ID ?

Context for the blues - Valley of Eyne

Not sure of this Erebia ?

There is still snow above 2000 metres - Font-Romeu

Thanks, Chris

[Padfield]

Hi Chris. Your first blue is mazarine, Polyommatus (Cyaniris) semiargus. The next is a female geranium argus, Aricia (Eumedonia) eumedon , here apparently laying on Geranium pratense, though in Switzerland it is associated with G. sylvaticum. For the mating pair of Erebia, I presume they are triaria. That is the female on the left, and while I've never seen one with visible white veins like that everything else fits. Perhaps someone will point out I'm overlooking something.

Guy

[Chris Jackson]

Thank you Guy, Roger and David, for your IDs from the Pyrenees.
Thanks to everyone else who looked in.
I am now back in Marseilles with my local 60-odd 'easy' 'usual' species.
I was saturated by my trip to the Pyrenees. So many species to see - 'mind blowing'. So many fritillaries. So little time for ID-ing. Thanks for your help, all.
Chris