Tony Moore

[Tony Moore]

A serious life tick in Northern Greece, thanks to the kind offices of Greenwings and Martin Warren (no prizes for guessing what!).
We had a week of dreadful weather with only one full day of sunshine and a couple of dull/occasionally bright days.
Typical:

Despite the inclemency, there was an enormous influx of Painted Ladies. They were everywhere, even flying in the rain. I found several larvae, including this one, unusually on Mallow:

An advantage of the cold, overcast conditions was that when we found something roosting or resting, it tended not to move, and made photography comparatively easy.
Good numbers of Grecian Coppers(Heodes ottomanus) and Sooty Coppers (H. tityrus) about:

And Green-underside Blue (Glaucopsyche alexis), surely one of the most beautiful 'blue' uppers :

This smart, fresh Weaver's Fritillary (Clossiana dia) was particularly cooperative:

We found a rather bedraggled Southern Festoon (Zerynthia polyxena):

Which brightened spectacularly when the sun suddenly appeared:

Gruner's Orange-tip (Anthocharis gruneri) was a new one for most of the company:

Eastern Dappled White (Euchloe ausonia)was very common along with SW, LW, GVW and Wood White:

...but I was delighted when one of the WWs turned out to be Eastern Wood White (Leptidea duponcheli), which I had not seen before. It showed the diagnostic white hindwing patch. :

There was some good 'other stuff' including this Field Cricket, coaxed from its burrow:

There were several of these 'holes', which were a couple of centimetres across. I assumed they were spiders of some sort (Tarantulas??), but was unable to coax anything therefrom... Any ideas, anyone?

The highlight and ultimate purpose of the holiday appeared on the only sunny day, much to the relief of all of us. It was, of course the iconic False Apollo (Archon apollinus). We saw several, of both sexes, but I was only able to photograph this stunning fresh female:

We had excellent company, good crack and plenty of beer – a brilliant holiday. Thank you Greenwings.

[Wurzel]

Some cracking specimens there despite the poor weather Tony, delightful Coppers and Blues, gorgeous fresh Weavers Frit - you can see why it was the Violet Frit from that shot The star though is spectacular - what a butterfly

Havea goodun

Wurzel

ps plenty of beers sounds great too

[David M]

The weather may not have been kind, Tony, but you certainly saw some seriously good stuff. The male and female Sooty Copper image is superb, given the sexual dimorphism in this species.

Your False Apollo is the icing on the cake though; a beautiful specimen.

[Tony Moore]

Wurzel and David, many thanks for your kind comments. Tough we missed the Small Bath White, which was seen in the area.

T.

[David M]

Tough we missed the Small Bath White, which was seen in the area.

Not possible to get everything, Tony. One must always leave something in reserve for the next time...

[Tony Moore]

I spent most of July in Nepal and Bhutan (where I caught up with UKB member Sonam Dorji – of which more later).
We flew into Kathmandu – a 250 sq mile highly polluted traffic jam:

When it's dry it's a dust storm and when wet the puddles disguise the potholes. It is said that in the UK we drive on the left of the road and in Nepal you drive on what's left of the road – which most of the time is not a lot:

My wife and I were supposed to be on a tour, but it was monsoon, low season, and we were fortunate to be the only punters. This was perfect as we were able to quiet the drone of info from the guide and avoid the pre-arranged dreary succession of temples and palaces. One temple a day in that dust is more than enough! Our guide and driver were excellent and quickly realised that their tips would be enhanced if they found us a bit of nature. Right in the middle of the city there is an area of forest, which had been earmarked for a motorway. An initial trial track had been cut and the project abandoned due to eco protest. We were able to walk along the track, which was bordered by Castor-oil plants and our first butterflies, Common Castors (Ariadne merione) were plentiful:

A little further along one of the 'flats' was taking salts from the sand. It was a Sikkim Pied Flat (Pseudocaladenia fatua):

A ' white', flying in the distance, became more colourful as we approached and proved to be a Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete) a first for me and surely the most beautiful of the Delias:

TBC.


Not bad for the first full day...

[Wurzel]

Fantastic looking butterflies Tony Especially like the Painted Jezebel I think that they fly in Australia as well...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

I had been tipped off that you had visited this area, Tony.

Seriously though, I hope you had a great time (in spite of the monsoon) and will look forward to seeing more of your trip to this under-explored region.

[Tony Moore]

Thanks, Wurzel - more to come...
David, I heard that you had been looking at the area. I'd give Nepal a miss, but Bhutan is certainly worth a visit.

We had expected rain most days and, the next morning, were not disappointed as it was tipping down! We used the time for a bit of mandatory culture and the sun was shining when we left the museum. A bit of forest by the side of the main road yielded a Banded Treebrown (Lethe confusa ), which was all we saw:

Interminable drive down to Chitwan National Park the next day where we were greeted by a tame elephant and not a lot else :

Day five was listed as a jeep safari into the park, but the river was too high to cross and the skies opened with a downpour of biblical proportions. There was no cover on the jeep and we all got completely soaked. We barely made it back to our accommodation, where I had to use my wife's hairdryer to dry out my camera points. Butterflies nil!

Bright sunshine the next morning and we set off for Pokhara in good spirits. First stop was a roadhouse with plenty of flowers. A Striped Tiger (Danaus genutia) was lazing around the flowers:

I finally caught up with a Lemon Emigrant (Catopsilia pyranthe):

We next stopped by a small waterfall right by the side of the road. A little inlet had been used as a pissoir by the locals I think as a very persistent Common Mormon (Papilio polytes) was determined to land there:

It was eventually displaced by my first (super-tick!) Paris Peacock (Papilio paris). It sadly only stayed for one shot, but a truly stunning insect:

On to Pokhara, a pleasant little town on a big lake, the end of another excellent day.

Walked around Pokhara in pleasant sunshine where we added Common Small Flat (Sarangesa dasahara) :

and a lovely fresh Common Pierrot (Castalius rosimon) and we were able to see the blue flush near the body on the uppers:

Long drive back to Kathmandu – zzzz! We did manage a stop by a little path through a tiny village. More wet sand, but this time with a lovely Yellow Helen (Papilio nephelus) partaking of salts :

and a female Chocolate Albatross (Appias lyncida) intent upon rejecting the attentions of a persistent yellow male:

Couple of nights in the mountains at Nagarcot for some R&R away from the pollution and traffic. Mainly forest treks accompanied by a million screaming cicadas:

However, we were very lucky to find a freshly emerged Bronze Duke (Euthalia nara).



Back to Kathmandu for an early flight to Bhutan.

[Wurzel]

More fantastic butterflies Tony - the Pierrot is absolutely fantastic looking

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Tony Moore]

Yes it is, Wurzel. I'd seen it before, but never with open wings. I do thank you for your comments - they make the posting worthwhile.

Tony.

[David M]

Some impressive sights in that mini report, Tony, especially the Paris Peacock - it almost looks unnatural!

[Tony Moore]

Thanks, David, P. parisa fabulous butterfly, which was high on my list of 'hopes'.
Report continued:

Due to the persistent cloud, we had been unable to see the big Himalayan peaks, but at least on the flight to Paro in Bhutan we had good views of Everest:

It was a very hairy descent into Paro with a curved approach through the mountains to the runway, but we landed safely in a very different country! The small airport was a sharp modern building in traditional style; the arrivals hall had a beautiful model of the King's Palace. Everywhere was clean and litter free - a delight after the squalor of Nepal. We were quickly through immigration and our new guide and driver were waiting for us, where again, we were the only two on the 'trip'. We drove up a pretty valley to Thimphu, the capital, a pleasant little town surrounded by hills and overlooked by an enormous Bhudda (90 metres tall):

We met Sonam in our hotel that evening and arranged to go out together the next day. We were lucky with the weather and he took us to an area alongside a mountain stream which was alive with butterflies (and leeches...):

Western Courtier (Sephisa dichroa:

Chocolate Tiger (Parantica melaneus:

Himalayan Sergeant (Athyma opalina:

Bronze Duke (Euthalia nara:

Indian Cabbage White (Pieris canidia

Bicolour Commodore (Parasarpa zayla:

Golden Emperor (Dilipa morgiana

Pale Jezebel (Deloas sanaca :

Commodore (Auzakia danava:

Common Map (Cyrestis thyodamas:

The next day Sonam took us to another area where he regularly sees Dull Green Hairstreak (Esakiozephyrus icana) but it was not to be. Our guide and driver got quite keen and at one stage we had five of us looking for butterflies! Sonam is a delightful chap and runs a very small travel business, which specialises in group butterfly and bird tours (6/7 max. all lead by him) . He certainly knows where to find stuff and I'm sure if a few UKB members liked to make up a party, he would give them a much better deal than the 'big boys' He can be pm'ed from the site or contacted on bhutanreality@yahoo.com. I'm sure folk would have a brilliant time and see some very exotic species.

TBC.

[Padfield]

I'm thoroughly enjoying your latest adventure, Tony, and looking forward to the next instalment!

Guy

[Tony Moore]

Many thanks, Guy. Only a little bit left, I'm afraid (tomorrow), but it was a real adventure...

Tony.

[David M]

Some incredible species there, Tony. Bhutan really does seem a quite idyllic country.

I look forward with interest to what is to follow.

[Tony Moore]

The next morning we parted company with Sonam and took off towards Paro. We visited the amazing 17th cent Punaka Dzong (fortress) at the confluence of two rivers. There were many original wall paintings – an amazing survival:

From Paro we were to visit the fabled Tiger's Nest Monastery the next day:

This involved a climb of about 5 km. At 1:4, not to be undertaken lightly. We set off in good weather and made it to the cafe about 2/3rds of the way up. I then thought discretion the better part of valour and decided that that was enough. The Monastery had been rebuilt in the 70's after a fire and I didn't think it was worth a coronary arrest to see a reproduction (well, that's my excuse...).
I left my wife, who is much younger and fitter than me, to go on to the top with the guide while I descended slowly with Oom, our driver, who had become a very good butterfly spotter. On the way down there were several Himalayan Five-rings (Ypthima sakra):

Near the base camp we found a large flowery meadow and Oom immediately spotted a Yellow Pansy (Junonia hierta):

and a sprinkling of Large Hedge Blues (Celastrina huegelii):

I found one that had been taken by a crab spider, which excited much interest for Oom, who was fascinated and practically had to be dragged away.
The highlight, however, was dozens of beautiful Azure Sapphires (Heliophorus moorei): They were all over the place and often with open wings. The male forewing blue is constant, but the hindwing blue only shows when the light is in a certain direction. A truly stunning insect:

Home the next day, but the sapphires linger in my memory and were a fitting end to a brilliant butterfly experience – I'd go back tomorrow...

[trevor]

If only we had some Hairstreaks like that over here!.
The first one bears a close resemblance to our female Brown Hairstreak,
but the rest WOW!. Stunning hardly does them justice.
I should imagine, on a holiday like that, you just don't know what to expect next.

Brilliant images,
Trevor.

[Pauline]

Oh Wow! What an amazing butterfly Tony! I was just about to post some Clouded Yellow stuff but it pales into insignificance compared to your shots!!!

[Tony Moore]

Hi Trevor,

You are quite right with ' don't know what to expect next. As I was watching a Common Mormon taking salts, a Paris Peacock pushed in and tried to move it on...

And many thanks, Pauline for your comments, although you mustn't disparage the British species - they are all beautiful in their own right. I think that there a few butts on the planet that can compare with a fresh summer brood Red Admiral!

Tony.