Marek (The Annoying Czech)

[David M]

Your pictures have come on in leaps and bounds Marek. Well done

Agreed. Some of your images are right up there with the best on this site.

[The Annoying Czech]

I counted 629 butterflies overall during 8th transectual mapping. The winner was icarus (230), followed by pamphilus (163) and jurtina (116). Three Lycaena dispar imagos.

To vary work and fun, I packed off into the mountains with no clap-net but only the camera.

Here's the proof I meant my last post seriously. Women are a very capable flower-holders and water carriers indeed



Dusky Large Blues (Duskies!) were reasonably numerous in some damper valley meadows.



Same situation with the Scarce Large Blues, of course. This might be the only female that actually wasn't either ovipositioning or mating.



I find this Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary photo very psychedelic



Totally fresh High Brown Fritillary is such a rarity in early August.



This should be a biotope of three important species - Large Blue, reputedly having a very weak year, Niobe Fritillary and Scotch Argus that I unfortunately photographed not only in bad quality but even atrocious one.



Then I returned to exploring some faunistic squares in the lowland (in a slightly hardcore mode with no breakfast, lunch and dinner pauses).

Regarding "closely watched species", I found dispar in four squares, nausithous to settle three of five (the work isn't yet finished) and teleius in the only one. Daplidice, antiopa, selene, dia or decoloratus were much harder to find.

Short-tailed Blue, one of the commonest, ever-present speices during this nice and hot year.



The Six-spot Burnet were found rather locally. This is not evening but morning photo from the top edge of the clay pit.



Wistful Duskies, the species I'm sometimes afraid of. Typically unable to survive in open meadows, but this one was wisely managed by a very friendly owner.



An infamous clay pit bed. The idiot, who tried to wade through the stinky ooze on the right of the water, was me.



Worn wings, a true result of a very tough way of defending the Large Copper territory. I've seen up to 10 of them feeding on various flowers (they seem to prefer violet/purple color), more normal are 3 or 4 animals per visit, though.



Since they last year's spots literally ended up under the hooves of cattle, they looked round for a new ones. Eg. along this electric fence.



This photo pretty much represents how the Dusky Large Blue biotopes sometimes look like.



Compilation of botchy photos to be posted later, see you Britons

[The Annoying Czech]

After 15 more or less sunny days, today's weather went wrong... probably for one day only. Good time for another bla-bla-blahs

I just finished exploring of five faunistic squares. In August I found Large Coppers almost everywhere and also improved my searching for "Duskies" (6-7 colonies), making app. 50 species overall (during a month). I made even more trespassing than earlier and been actually invited for a drink by owners for three times - since the time I feel like a very charismatic person

On the other hand, I found many species to occupy only one square, or being too sporadic, fluctuating and sparsely distributed, eg. Bath White, Weaver's, Small Pearl-bordered and (surprisingly) Silver-washed Fritillary, Scarce Large Blue (still a success) and, of course, Camberwell Beauty.



In the end, I discovered some Brown Arguses I hoped for: checking every suspicious argiades/icarus female to find much scarcer decoloratus/agestis is a tragedy.



Queen of Spains are rather commoner than usual and very careful under the sun.



I was often heading to various post-industrial places to look round for a species expanding from the south, like Eastern Short-tailed Blue (found three times). But this photographed place was such a vain visit.



A nice but poor pond system in my village far too shady for 99% of butterflies.



Even a dismal biotope with evidently lost Dusky Large Blues can look fairly well on the photo. I'd very like to follow "Duskies" more northward in 2013, where seems to be much bigger population density and probably one of the strongest metapopulations in the whole Europe.

[The Annoying Czech]

This update will be very optimistic, as well as fairly annoying (One Large Copper photo included )

I just visited three Wallachian villages: Novy Hrozenkov, Halenkov and Huslenky, being impressed with Losový Reservation with characteristic traditional landscape elements and generally well preserved old-fashioned use of land. I dare to say you guys would never wanted to return from

It's all so steep. That's also the reason why communist agriculturists didn't give a **** about and give the lands up for the local families. More landscape photos is under the link above.



Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary is fairly common in August with both xeric and hygro populations being present.



Brown Argus was more local. I achieved better imago detail than in case of this photo, but I chose this one for such a lovely background.



My first meeting with Adonis Blue, evidently an abundant species in Losový.



Reverdin's Blue (been determined under the microscope the day after), an excellent find of apparently new population spreading north. Probably a find of the year



A pretty late and hungry Purple Emperor female, a rather disappointing shot from polana in nearby valley where I was much more looking for Scotch Argus.



I hope to see a nice traditional meadow bitope here in just about 20 years!



Something for Map-maniacs from UKB forums Probably a third generation. They were so numerous around one forest road I couldn't resist. Btw it's virtually impossible to find two animals with similar rear wing drawing.



Some scrapped photos: another variations of agestis, probably an adippe female, oldster betulae, this year's goodbye photo for nausithous, bellargus head and, of course, dispar.




Thanks for watching, you're such a great audience

See you soon!


M.

[The Annoying Czech]

It's getting late, some frequently visited places are starting to be slightly boring.

Nothing interesting or fresh left in my village, so I went back to Large Coppers. They are only stunning when fresh which is a rare condition in their case.



The season is on decline even in the Eastern Beskydy Mts., especially in higher altitudes.



The edge pastures and meadows are often abandoned or unpredictibly mowed, with generally very dry grass in August, with lack of nectar.



Here I found only Speckled Woods patrolling between the young spruces. This is the type of the biotope where Scotch Argus rarely survives, except that there were obviously none.



It was this one, among others.



High Brown Fritillary was solitary but reasonably widespread. A hard shot with average result



This was good and sunny, blooming forest road, but I ignored the other species for this one.



In the end of the day I found a rich second-brood Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary population in lower (alt. 500 - 550) but great very extensive pasture, enjoying the last sunbasking before the early sunset.



An attempt to a macro shot.



I tried the underside but the sun was setting so quickly. That's btw a problem you might not know (not sure though): slope meadows surrounded with forests have a reduced insolation and the sunset runs very fast from a certain time.



It's almost 35 C today, foo! No butterflying.

[MikeOxon]

Your Large Copper photo is,indeed, stunning

Mike

[Goldie M]

Loved your shots Goldie

[The Annoying Czech]

Thanks. Also, note that no swear word has been used in the last post, for the first time since the stone age!

[Debbie]

Lovely butterflies and photos

[The Annoying Czech]

Half of the meadows around my village are burnt by the sun and half is mowed or full of teazle! So sad.

At least two Autumn Swallowtails has occured.



Just as majority of late Summer butterflies, this Small Copper has never seen the rain.



Yesterday I've been to Čertoryje, Váté písky and Vojenské cvičiště Bzenec, Southern Moravia, pretty damn late and probably this year's last.

This is a countryside of Čertoryje (Devil's Ditch?), a home of 112 species.



Dryad - my first - apparently too late.



Second brood of Heath Fritillary is a relatively new thing here. Snapped under the cloud. Once the sun rose, I didn't catch them.

The early mowed parts had now a pleasant Spring look, and were also inhabited with second/third brood of late Spring/early Summer aspect (athalia, hippothoe, minimus).



Sooty Copper female is much harder to shot properly than males.



High Brown Frit, an animal I met quite often. Worn, but I do like a technical aspect of the photo.



Only a remnants of Scarce Copper females occured, often deadly worn. Not this particular lady.



Váté písky (Blown Sands), a place currently too dry for life, so I was shooting the surroundings.



Unlike Čertoryje, the biotope is not dependent on mowing but local disturbances (or, as this year, on a large pine wood fires ).



I arrived too late for Woodland Grayling. I arrived too late for False Grayling. I probbaly arrived too late for anything.

[The Annoying Czech]

An Autumn "landing run", nothing more, nothing less.



I like the background here, but the sunshine seems to be now too weak for my style of shooting.



Same problem for those Pale Clouded Yellows in love, + I found them too late. At least they accepted my finger for transport to a better place.



I counted only 39 butterflies on my transect today, that's season's biggest drop (almost 600% in only 13 days), including one Large Copper female. September LC is often a challenge in such a hot and dry year.

[David M]

Lovely images again, Marek. Thanks for sharing.

[MikeOxon]

Off topic, I know, but I heard your countryman Jiri Bělohlávek conduct our "Last Night of the Proms" concert, last night. He had a great sense of humour and was well received by the audience. In an interview, he said that, like any Czech person over 40, he had to develop a sense of humour to cope with the frustrations of working in Communist Czechoslovakia. Once, he was offered a guest conducting date in West Germany. The ministry told him, 'You cannot go, because we do not have diplomatic relations with West Germany.’ But they also kindly added, 'We wish you all the best for your future’.” I'm sure everyone has their own memories of those times

Keep sharing your splendid photos.

Mike

[The Annoying Czech]

David, Mike: thanks.

Indeed. Eg. my great grandfather, allegedly second biggest kulak in the village, had lost of the land he traditionally owned and have tried to hang himself.

Download Czech movies like Ucho (Ear, 1970; obviously banned in 70s) or Pelíšky (Cosy Dens, 1999) if you like the "theme", and eventually share your impressions.

Especially in Ucho you'll see that George Orwell was right

[Roger Gibbons]

I spent about ten days in Czechoslovakia around 1978 at an international meeting, visiting Bratislava, Prague and the Little Carpathians. It was an interesting experience to say the least, and we worked with several leading figures as they had been prior to 1968, most of whom had served time in prison and some had been tortured. All had been to demoted to administrative positions way below their capabilities. The party man was always there, observing everything.

As the meeting finished early, I decided to use the last couple of days to do a bit of sightseeing in Prague, departing from the Cedok-approved itinerary. This was seriously not a good idea…

My Czech counterpart, Pavel, spent many years building a position of trust to be allowed to attend meetings abroad. He wrote to me some five years later to say that he had been allowed – as a special consideration - to travel to a meeting in Berlin with his family… and that had been his objective all along. They left with nothing and never went home.

Hard for us Brits to understand what life must have been like under communism. Marek, I hope you don't mind this posting on your personal diary.

[The Annoying Czech]

Guys, nothing is off topic in my thread until I say the opposite

I tried some carryings-on as long as the weather is still reasonable. The sky was so bright and the temperature so high that it was pretty clear it'll be still something on flight, including newly hatched animals. Proved to be true. I just had to look round for a place that's not actually mowed or dry.

This Painted Lady could be hardly more painted , but I wasn't much satisfied with bokeh and lighting.



So I browsed another 10 photos and seeked for the best wing detail instead of the whole scene.



As to Common Blues in love, I tried something different than my usual normal incidence on the butterfly with, I think, solid result.



Then I attempted to get a hazy bokeh despite very clear surroundings with almost no vegetation in sight. That ended up worst, the animals in the front are fairly boring



A July Great Banded Grayling that shouldn't be forgotten.



And, of course, some landscape.





P.S. hey, I want Monarch near-hand too! I just imagined if he were in the front of my house! I imagined the photo possibilities!


M.

[ChrisC]

"but I wasn't much satisfied with bokeh and lighting" i wish i could take unsatisfactory photo's that good

[David M]

"but I wasn't much satisfied with bokeh and lighting" i wish i could take unsatisfactory photo's that good

Yes, Marek's images are stunning and I just love being invited in (without charge) to see a little of the Czech countryside.

Could only happen on UKB...

[NickB]

Agree with David and Chris! Fantastic set of shots; the photographer is never entirely happy with their own work, being the most critical of all viewers.
Macro is certainly about more than point-and-click, that is for sure. Even when you have perfect light and a perfect specimen, it is usually sitting where you would not want; that is the usual scenario
I look forward to more Czech lepidoptera......thanks, Marek.
N

[The Annoying Czech]

The season's more or less over (last transect: 34 animals only). Since I counted a bit this year, I summarized and matched the abundances for my village and 5 other in the closest neighbourhood. The data are biased for many reasons, but still quite true and no one does the same thing in my area



I'm currently more and more planning to leave the country for at least 6 months, as I'm totally annoyed with my bloody old house with slowly drying up old walls, probably caring some unwelcome life (mildews) I'm constantly sick of... Not mentioning a trouble of getting a full-time job!

A logical step would be a wealthy English-speaking country, preferably UK It's still in phase of considering and Googling, though. I don't want to end up under some bridge or something like that.

Language is my least concern, not because I'd be a language prodigy and terrific speaker. I'm such an unpractical, scared person, so any language barriers would be secondary

I can imagine many Brits must truly hate that Eastern European influx of nannies and warehousemen, just as many Czechs tend to look down on Ukrainians and Vietnamese.

Oh, is my diary about butterflies any more?