Last year as well as a trip to the Cevennes (more later) my wife and I spent a couple of weeks in the Aude . My joy in France is the amount of places that are relatively unspoilt and so we aim for likely places (especially rural Gites with any indication of wildlife nearby) and we nearly always find glorious walks rich in butterflies, dragonflies and wildflowers. We stayed in a small village, Arques, just south of Carcassonne - near to the Pyrenees.
One very hot day (well I am English but even so...), it was too hot to walk ...so we set off on a walk which was set out on maps and leaflets from a lovely village, Couiza. You cross a small stone bridge, watching the dragonflies in the sparkling crystal clear water of a trout stream.
Skimmer – Orthetrum sp by Peter Willmott, on FlickrWithin two minutes we were lost. That is fairly typical. We Brits are far too reliant on signs and maps (which I think need to be updated when they are wrong or the route is moved a little rather than just shrugging your shoulders and saying 'c'est la vie'), but after a few reruns and taking a more liberal view of the map we found the footpath again. But getting lost had some side benefits including a Large Tortoiseshell posing on a tree. So the few minutes wandering about were well spent.
Large Tortoiseshell - Nymphalis polychloros in France by Peter Willmott, on FlickrThe walk involved climbing a mountain (map and wife say - small hill) and every time I thought I had reached the end of my capacity and suggested I might lay down and be brought back down in a box something caught my eye and refilled my batteries. So the walk was punctuated with dozens of small stops for butterflies. I probably took a couple of hundred pictures that day. Including some gorgeous fresh specimens like this Colias sp (probably Bergers?)
Colias sp by Peter Willmott, on FlickrBut I am in danger of losing the point of the tale by dwelling on these early stages. It was on returning to the start of the walk where my day exploded into life. After four hours (over mid-day) walking in 30 degree heat. I was just staggering to the end of the path when I saw this...for several seconds I was beyond words and actions. Then I took about twenty identical shots (well you do need to be certain) of a butterfly I'd not seen resting before.
Lesser Purple Emperor ssp Clytie by Peter Willmott, on FlickrAt the time I wasn't totally sure what this 'lifer' was just what it nearly looked like. But it was my first Lesser Purple Emperor ssp Clytie. Once I had these shots it flew off and I then immediately recognised a 'what was that...?' butterfly that I'd seen several of but which had not had the good manners to settle up till then.
As you can imagine I had trouble the next day visiting Cathar ruins and non butterfly walks (but fairs fair it is a holiday not a safari). But I wanted to go back to that tree. It was a plum tree, large and in full fruit. I had a good feeling about it. My wife and I visited it three times in all and each time was more wonderful. On the second visit I was looking for my Lesser Purple Emperor when I saw a gliding flash and said there it is, but it wasn't it was instead another 'lifer' a Two Tailed Pasha. It was hard to get a shot in the tree and the butterfly was very active, so I squished a plum....
Two Tailed Pasha - Charaxes jasius by Peter Willmott, on FlickrThe Lesser PE was also there. And I spent some very special moments running around and trying to get pictures. It was just like being a kid in a sweet shop. Bliss and double bliss.
Lesser Purple Emperor ssp Clytie by Peter Willmott, on Flickr
Two Tailed Pasha - Charaxes jasius by Peter Willmott, on Flickr
Two Tailed Pasha - Charaxes jasius by Peter Willmott, on FlickrIt is a very special plum tree, in a very unremarkable patch of waste ground, lovingly ignored by locals. What a remarkable place is France.
PS I never did get a topside shot of the Lesser PE but there is always this year.
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