Butterflies for 2006

(Dates correspond to the first sighting of each species. The 'Monts du Lyonnais' area is my local patch.)

Click here for my 2005, 2004 , 2003 or 2002 list. Guy Padfield and Matt Rowlings also keep interesting year lists.

Commentaries

5/11/06.....One Red Admiral on the wall of the house. During last week temperatures dropped significantly to about 0°C in the morning. Simultaneously pierids disappeared entirely and I have not seen a single one despite full sunshine every day. The temperature drop must have clobbered them the first night with probably mostly only hibernators surviving now to make the most of the midday sun.

29/10/06.....Still flying today were Large White (good numbers), Clouded Yellow, Painted Lady, Small Copper, Long-tailed Blue, Queen of Spain, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Wall Brown and in a friend's garden were at least four Geranium Bronzes!

8/10/06.....Lovely day. My parents are over so we all took a gentle walk in the afternoon to see what butterflies were still on the wing. We were pleased to find all sorts flying. Whites dominant.........numerous Large and Small Whites, a couple of Green-veined with faint veins on the underside, 2 or 3 Bath Whites always busy, a single Wood White was the latest I've ever seen here, my father snapped up this Southern Small White female without realising he had something interesting! Clouded Yellows common with helice female also, Small and Sooty Coppers, Common Blue, Brown Argus. A couple of Provençal Short-tailed Blues and a single Long-tailed Blue. One Queen of Spain and a couple of Commas. Wall Browns common, several Speckled Woods and a few Small Heaths. One Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper. Very nice late season butterflying.

27/9/06.....Brief sunny spells but otherwise a little cool. Since my last garden report of 10 days ago the butterflies have thinned out again. Today there was a Speckled Wood and numerous Wall Browns. Michaelmas daisies being enjoyed by all! A few Large Whites making the most of the remaining scabious heads. One each of Queen of Spain and Violet Fritillary. Here is my new bladder senna sapling and the hand that planted it! Long-tailed Blues still going!! And the upperside!

17/9/06.....Season winding down logically with Gatekeepers and Meadow Browns gone from the garden now. One each of Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, Small Heath, Queen of Spain and a huge, fresh Painted Lady. Low numbers of Small White, Small Copper, Common Blue, Clouded Yellow and Long-tailed Blue. Better numbers of Large White, Wall Brown and Violet Fritillary.

10/9/06.....Very sticky, muggy weather these days. Doesn't seem to bother the butterflies! Over calcareous ground today there were numerous Berger's Clouded Yellows  (here's a female.) And around the copious growths of crown vetch there was a Reverdin's Blue festival. Here's the male again; females are possibly more variable than any other blue species....here's a much browner one and an underside. Plenty of Adonis Blues too.

7/9/06.....During my lunch hour today I found a couple of Long-tailed Blues. Here's a super fresh one!

4/9/06.....Blisteringly hot day and time to pop in to a favourite valley in the afternoon. Plenty of movement with Map really the flavour of the moment. A few, male Pale Clouded Yellows were present and extremely active (in comparison to C.croceus docile in comparison) so only got the one distance shot. However it does show a splendidly straight outer edge to the forewing which is usually a good pointer for separating with C.alfacariensis. Believe it or not, in this wonderful wilderness there was even a Geranium Bronze which apparently is not averse to venturing well out of its urban window boxes full of decorative pelargoniums.

3/9/06.....Still all sorts going on in the garden. Today we had an absolutely fresh Red Underwing Skipper. All those species seen on 23/8 still there except False Grayling, but Green-veined White, Small White and Comma in addition.

1/9/06.....Went to check on the Lysandra hispana site found in May to see if a second brood was in play. Hit it spot on with the colony in full flow. Here's a male and here's a female. Odd Adonis Blues flying with these but very low density in comparison. Quite a few species around. Here's a Map, a Southern White Admiral and if I'm not mistaken a Grizzled Skipper which is extremely interesting as it would have to be a second brood insect of the subspecies malvoides which I had hitherto not encountered around here.

30/8/06.....After some rain the weather picked up somewhat this p.m. Wandered up to the calcareous hills where loads of Adonis Blues were flying but there is a strange lack of Chalk-hills. Quite unexpectedly saw a huge female High Brown Fritillary (had I not checked it I would have logged it as Silver-washed from sheer size.) Lots of Berger's Clouded Yellows though that does look a bit hyale-ish doesn't it?

27/8/06.....Found a third local colony of Tree Grayling. Numerous individuals in excellent condition in contrast to just a single False Grayling very washed out indeed. The baked grassland with broom scrub was good habitat for Idas Blue ....typical strong arches on the female hindwing though more orange than usual on the forewing here. Many species were making the most of various flowering herbs.....mint, basil, thyme, oregano. Pierids omnipresent with at least two Bath Whites, a species showing well this August. Here are males of  Spotted Fritillary and Sooty Copper. Clouds of Small Heaths on the mint.

23/8/06.....Hot, sunny day and the garden was alive with butterflies this afternoon/evening especially on the remaining buddleia flowers. There were Large White, Southern Small White, Clouded Yellow, Mallow Skipper, Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper, Small Copper, Silver-washed Fritillary, Queen of Spain Fritillary, Violet Fritillary (one female laid this very pale yellow 'pointed dome' shaped egg on the underside of a bract hanging off the dead flower head of a small Asteraceae just above the violet leaves), Red Admiral, Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, first ever garden appearance of False Grayling on Verbena bonariensis, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Heath, Wall Brown, Great Banded Grayling, Common Blue, Brown Argus and Long-tailed Blue for once at reachable distance on the neighbour's raspberries just over the wall. 

21/8/06.....After work this p.m. I took a walk into woodland with clearings in the Rhône valley east of the city and the results were very interesting. I saw my first ever Cardinal for the Rhône which is theoretically really on the absolute fringe of its distribution here. At least 30 Great Banded Graylings and this female Bath White. Lesser Purple Emperor on excellent form with at least a dozen seen and I was even blessed with this female. She was kissed by a rather tatty clytie male. Gatekeepers were strangely absent altogether.

18/8/06.....Lovely day! Took a walk this p.m. and saw at least four Bath Whites, which is three better than any previous single day locally! Also this female Pale Clouded Yellow......unless of course it's a Berger's. My local patch is generally non-calcareous but further down the path I chanced upon a male Adonis Blue and this species uses the same foodplant as Berger's so total confusion! Don't think any conclusions are possible from the angle of the photo? Silver-washed Fritillary and Great Banded Grayling far more present in the garden than previous years.

16/8/06.....We'd been told the weather had been basically poor around Lyon while we'd been on holiday and very average weather was continuing. This morning the sun shone and we found seven fritillaries in a damp meadow....paphia, lathonia, dia, cinxia, phoebe, parthenoides and athalia. Also a nice female E.alcetas. In the evening a Southern Small White came to rest on Linaria vulgaris in the garden.

31/7/06-14/8/06.....A fortnight's camping in the northern Var. Weather was fine most of the time and although the satyrid count was lower than I might have expected we saw 52 species nonetheless. Most of these on the campsite unless stated otherwise. 31st...arrived late afternoon and soon picked up Painted Lady (reasonably common), Common Blue (common and many very small individuals), Brown Argus (common) and Small Copper (here and there.) Then some excellent blues; Furry Blue (very occasional, here's a female which my 8 year old son took on personalised focussing and confirms he has no trouble whatsoever with my camera, and here's a male) and Meleager's Blue (equally occasional, here's the male underside, male upperside, female upperside form steeveni and her underside.) 1st...I noticed Chapman's Blue mixed in with the Commons and equally tiny, Meadow Brown (common and I checked them all for lycaon with no luck!), Grayling (3 seen), Woodland Grayling (scattered about throughout, here's another), Swallowtail (odd ones), Small Heath (quite common and generally with a strong discal band on the under hindwing), Silver-washed Fritillary (the commonest species the first week and many valezina females which always looked darker in flight than when settled; the one in the photo was distinctly duskier than others it was drinking with but looks well short of valezina even so), Southern White Admiral (a few and seemed happy in the heat), Tree Grayling (becoming progressively commoner and easily the commonest species in the second week.....much variation in the markings probably a male/female distinction; this one has strong markings and a deeply scalloped hindwing, this one has pale markings and a much smoother hindwing edge, this mating pair performed the shortest courtship ritual of all time....I disturbed both butterflies as I walked past...they must have been resting a couple of metres apart at least...and when they landed again their paths crossed and they mated instantly), Red Admiral (odd ones), Small White (a few), Provence Chalk-hill Blue (I think the ones on the campsite were that, undersides always pale all over and uppersides quite pale), Spotted Fritillary (regular), Berger's Clouded Yellow (often passing through.) 2nd...Large White (here and there), High Brown Fritillary (scarce unless you happened to pass in front of a buddleia somewhere where they seem to gather in Provence), Purple Hairstreak (occasional though they must be extremely abundant given the density of oaks in this part of  France).........in the afternoon met up with Roger and Anne Gibbons midway between camps; found my first Great Banded Graylings of the holiday (fairly regular thereafter), whilst we were still chatting at the car a magnificent Two-tailed Pasha (my first ever!) bombed through and luckily it settled for a while to taste something on the ground before whizzing off again (I was expecting a more swallowtail-like flight from this exotic looking butterfly but it flew much flatter like an admiral and appeared very black in flight), Wall Brown (odd ones), Southern Small White (just a couple at this site), Black Satyr (one only), Large Wall Brown (odd ones), Gatekeeper (scarce), Heath Fritillary (scarce), Chalk-hill Blue (off the campsite they seemed different with the males showing much browner undersides and I attributed these to coridon rather than hispana?) 3rd...Violet Fritillary (occasional), Clouded Yellow (here and there.) 4th...We wandered into the Alpes de Haute-Provence to look at the village of Moustiers Ste.-Marie which was flooded with tourists...during the day we encountered Scarce Swallowtail (low density), Geranium Bronze (though the photo is taken in Manosque where the tourists had arrived too) and Comma (one.) 5th...Large Skipper (one), Cleopatra (odd males looking fresh and one female.) 6th...Adonis Blue started showing in small numbers (here's a female that my son photographed), Dingy Skipper (one), Silver-spotted Skipper (becoming progressively commoner and sharing the dry habitat with statilinus.) 7th...Took a morning walk and found virtually all the footpaths out of bounds due to fire risk so inspected a long stretch of rather wide road verges which proved interesting; Grizzled Skipper ssp.malvoides (2 or 3, here's another perhaps resembling something different?), Baton Blue (quite common in areas containing Thymus vulgaris though I found females oviposturing on both Calamintha nepeta and Satureja montana), False Grayling (a handful in only one small area), a larger Pyrgus then showed which I calculate is Cinquefoil Skipper judging by the large cell spot and characteristic twist in space 1b of upper forewing (hindwing markings appear underdeveloped for this species and it looks rather pale but it is a female and these are renowned for being poorly marked compared to Pyrgus males....here's the underside of that same female), a single Sage Skipper then showed (my first ever), Wood White (one) and a splendid male Cardinal to round off that outing (here's the upperside.) 11th...Took the same walk as 7th though saw rather less; one Red Underwing Skipper appeared (I rarely see these in second brood.) 14th...It's never over 'til it's over. Packing up morning and like evil parents we'd sent the kids down to wash up the breakfast things. One of them came running back....'There's a Brown Hairstreak on the path!!!!!' Lucky for me it was still there when I arrived with the camera...here's another shot. I had been surprised not to see a Dusky Heath and had inspected all the Small Heaths hopefully. A last heath bounced past the car and looked a little suspicious so I tracked it and lo and behold it was dorus! Experienced butterfliers will know that you always carry your camera, even at thoroughly formal non-butterfly events, and for two weeks I had been transporting it rather weightily in the pocket of my beltless shorts! I'd packed it! Oh well, no pic of dorus! Very pleasant fortnight.       

19/7/06.....Plenty of butterflies in an upland wild basil meadow today. No surprises but splendid to see a male Brimstone as these are low density here......and furthermore this is the only non-hibernated one I've seen here. A couple of helice form of female Clouded Yellow also.

16/7/06.....My first sighting of a Niobe Fritillary in the Monts du Lyonnais today. This one is a male with the very slim sex brands around veins 2 and 3. He is in pretty tatty condition! Interestingly I saw it in exactly the same place as the High Brown on the 9th so it seems I have located an important place for these extremely rare local species. Here is an underside shot into the knapweeds from a distance. 

12/7/06.....Gatekeepers have suddenly emerged and were already abundant in one place. I found a single Large Blue at a known site though they're never particularly numerous and at least four Southern Small Whites at the same site which is the most I've ever had in one go.....then later another one showed up in the garden so a very good day for that species!

9/7/06.....I was thrilled to find this male High Brown Fritillary today up in the hills. In the Monts du Lyonnais region it is a rare species. It was actually mostly overcast and not tremendously warm and butterfly movement was limited. Nonetheless there were swarms of Marbled Whites and Thymelicus skippers and a few Ringlets basking to warm up.....here's a male and a female.

8/7/06.....Long-tailed Blues are now visible flying across the garden in between pauses on the neighbour's vegetables; also in the garden today were Scarce Swallowtail, Comma hutchinsoni and my son took this Great Banded Grayling.

5/7/06.....Trip to wetlands in the Ain where I was pleased to meet Nick Wynn and his wife. Amongst thirty or so species there were a couple of Lesser Marbled Fritillaries which should be an excellent species here given the mega-abundance of meadowsweet, an unexpected White-letter Hairstreak which was my first ever (this one was flitting around in the grass and showing some interest in white clover), several very fresh Provençal Short-tailed Blues, a few Lesser Purple Emperors were a joy to watch mainly at a river's edge, a handful of  Scarce Large Blues were flying in a pasture with Sanguisorba officinalis and I allow myself a single male Pale Clouded Yellow as there was really no sign whatsoever of any habitat suitable for Berger's. A very enjoyable morning.....rain stopped play in the afternoon!

3/7/06.....Have been ill for a week and even had to cancel a good butterfly trip with friends regrettably. In the village today saw my first Long-tailed Blue of the year around a bramble hedge.

26/6/06.....After a good deal of neckache whilst peering into treetops I managed to pick out a single Purple Hairstreak resting in an ash tree this morning. I had gone to a recently discovered damp area only to find it has been trampled and grazed by horses. I moved on to another excellent damp area to find the same result.....this time cows. Vegetation obliterated. There are days like that. Man has to exploit every inch regrettably.

25/6/06.....A rather stormy ambiance today but some sun and calm periods all the same. Jenny Scott kindly showed me a super, flower-filled site in the Beaujolais hills which is home to the High Brown Fritillary, a rare butterfly in the Rhône département. Here is an upperside shot of that male which was the only example we saw, this species probably only just emerging here this year. Seemingly zillions of Small and Essex Skippers sharing time between damp ground and plentiful viper's bugloss plants, but only one Large Skipper and a couple of Lulworth. This Grizzled Skipper still going and keeping a fly company! Numerous Marbled Fritillaries, quite a few False Heath though beginning to look worn in general, a few Heath, one or two Silver-washed and one Violet. White and Southern White Admiral. One each of Great Banded Grayling, Piedmont Ringlet and Wood White and a few lovely Ringlets. Here's a Marbled White with rather toned down basal markings.....the ground colour of this one was actually yellowish but it doesn't show in the photo. Black-veined Whites still in excellent numbers but only two blues, a Common and a Holly, and no coppers or hairstreaks. Don't think I've forgotten anything......the more generally common species were there too; Comma, Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Large and Small Whites but no Green-veined nor Speckled Woods or Walls.

24/6/06.....Found my first local leucomelas form of Marbled White today.

23/6/06.....I arrived at work around 9:20 and peered out of the window supping a quick coffee when a Great Banded Grayling appeared around the side of the building! Urban species diversity on the increase it seems!

21/6/06.....Queens of Spain enjoying lavender in the garden.

20/6/06.....Very overcast and almost pleasantly cool in wooded areas at 750m. Plenty of Piedmont Ringlets, Marbled Fritillaries (here's the underside of that one), White Admirals, freshly emerged Small Tortoiseshells and two Large Tortoiseshells, numerous Thymelicus (mixture of lineolus and sylvestris) and first Ringlet of the year.

19/6/06.....Three, fresh Large Tortoiseshells seen today. Also numerous, fresh Holly Blues on damp ground. Clouds of Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites around flowering thistles and many butterflies enjoying the flowers on a small-leaved lime tree. Before this season I had never paid much attention to large tree species flowering favourably for butterflies in mid-season. False acacia was another good example. 

18/6/06.....There was a very stormy ambiance this morning and it felt rather like mid-August already! I was surprised to see so many Sloe Hairstreaks in the garden. Here's another feeding avidly, as they all were, on Aster lanceolatus. The female has a black bottom and my son took this nice one of a mating pair, with the female on the left showing a bulging abdomen. Plenty of Queens of Spain on lavender and here's a Marbled White on Verbena bonariensis. Later on the sun came out and in a warm woodland clearing there were many Marbled Fritillaries which hardly ever came to rest and a few Silver-washed Fritillaries. We also found two Lesser Purple Emperors, one clytie and the other nominate form, the latter defending its territory against the former high in an alder tree.

14/6/06.....Despite yesterday's success I kept plans to pop in on another False Heath site where the butterfly was present as well as several Piedmont Ringlets, a White Admiral and a male Provençal Short-tailed Blue. I was very lucky to see a Camberwell Beauty cruise through, double back and disapear into the woods again with me in pursuit! Huge and magnificent! I hung around for another 20 minutes or so and it made another, similar appearance. Always a great thrill to observe this species which turns up so infrequently.

13/6/06.....Definitely the weirdest outing of the season! The plan was simple.....check out my only local site for Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Disaster!!!!!....when I arrived I found the principal meadow had been cut! Fauchée!!!!! I considered throwing in the towel and going elsewhere but a small, female blue butterfly started flying around me in a funny way, settled briefly and made me think it was a 'nearly' Silver-studded Blue. That would be a local tick. The fact that it was probably a Brown Argus is besides the point.....I've learnt from previous experience that it is generally better to keep to original plans so I decided to stick it out and see if I could find any more 'nearly' SSBs. No such luck! With the meadow looking like the neighbour's freshly mown lawn I was 'forced' over the stream into a lusher area which I had never previously been attracted too. Strange as it was a splendid damp area. Fritillaries were flitting (or 'fritting' or even 'fritilling') all over the place and evidently had no intention of stopping. I soon realised that many of these had dusky hindwings and I had found a new colony of freshly emerged False Heath Fritillaries. Confirmed by good growth of flowering valerians. During the best part of an hour they never once settled. I then noticed reasonable quantities of not yet flowering meadowsweet. 'Maybe' Lesser Marbled Fritillary? My list of 'almost' local ticks had never been so invisibly long. I was having great fun seeing nothing that might otherwise turn up! Then a fritillary did stop and it was a new species Tim's Fritillary (Melitaea panthaera). Very rare (a friend has since informed me there is a known similar aberration of Mellicta athalia.). Ooooo, hip, hop, hip, hop, a male Large Copper suddenly put in an appearance and bounced across bendy grass heads as if it was trying to nectar on them. Was this a strange dream? Here is a quick shot between hops for the record. It was time to go home. Once nearly back at the car and well away from the main, damp area a False Heath came down to nectar. This site wasn't at its best today; I will have to go back in a couple of weeks for SPBF and more 'almost' butterflies.....

12/6/06.....There was so little flying in the Rhône valley this morning that I am sure they must have sprayed something nasty on the grapes. On the way back from there I stopped at a little section of the river Gier which I always glance at thoughtfully when I pass eventhough it's surrounded by eye sores of the man made variety like motorway and railway line. Nothing like a hunch. There I found a male Lesser Purple Emperor settling only well up in a willow tree and also a male Lulworth Skipper defending a short territory. Later, in and around more picturesque woodland, there was an Essex Skipper, several White Admirals in pristine condition, Southern White Admirals also, a Piedmont Ringlet as low as 370m, one Ilex Hairstreak around bramble as is often the case and a couple of Small Skippers. For the second year running I have had year ticks of the three Thymelicus on the same day; last year was on June 13th at a different site to these.

11/6/06.....Trip to what is possibly the only calcareous upland area of the Rhône département at around 500m (peaks in this area to 600m+.) Unique and special habitat for this region. Several Pearly Heaths which were tremendously active and it was quite some exercise following them. When they did settle briefly it was either in a tree or in the shade of grasses or a bush so the odd photo was lucky. Marbled Whites abundant which was interesting as elsewhere they are barely emerging. Many Black-veined Whites too and still a few first brood Berger's Clouded Yellows on the wing. A couple of Marbled Fritillaries fresh out and one Southern White Admiral. More Black Hairstreaks which are cropping up at more and more sites now. After much hanging around a large patch of crown vetch (loitering with intent!!!) I found one each of male and female Reverdin's Blue looking reasonably fresh. Here's the female underside and after a deal of patience the upperside. She was inspecting crown vetches and curling her abdomen in an ovipositing gesture on the plant, as was a female Green-underside Blue which I had not until now seen choosing a plant for egg laying. Apart from these odd blues all the others seemed to be Adonis with equal numbers of males and females.

10/6/06.....First Marbled White of the year in the garden.

9/6/06.....During my lunch hour I found this male Bath White enjoying thistles on some wasteland. Lots of Large Whites.

7/6/06.....Wandered up into the hills where there was really very little flying. However I did find a few Piedmont Ringlets which were very difficult to photograph without falling down a steep, crumbly bank into the road! Also one spring Map, a few Black-veined Whites and a reasonable colony of Meadow Fritillaries.

6/6/06.....Quick stop returning from work. Saw three still fresh looking female Green-underside Blues. Here's a nice female Adonis Blue on crown vetch. And a clever crab spider on ragwort devouring a male Sooty Copper. Heath Fritillaries starting to appear in force.

5/6/06.....The first male Idas Blues are now appearing. Here's the upperside and underside of the same individual and here's another male (just visible in the foreground) against a backdrop of the habitat; dry grasses interspersed with broom bushes and some bare earth areas on the ground. A new site for Black Hairstreak too.

4/6/06.....Trip to the Jura where I met up with Philippe Bricaire who is amazingly efficient at spotting caterpillars and even chrysalises like this one of Black-veined White. The special damp habitat was clearings in forests in which the grassy tussocks are surrounded by a network of channels which support the water. Whilst most of the moisture was lying below the surface today, the channels must be flooded at other times of the year. This very particular habitat is home to the extremely rare and endangered Scarce Heath of which we found numerous individuals. They were very wary and difficult to approach for photographs, generally taking to the air before we could get closer than about 3 metres away. They would often settle well down in the grasses or disappear into trees and bushes when disturbed where they were happy to rest fairly high up. The largest habitat area had been replanted with small conifers and the long term future of the species looks uncertain. In these damp areas we found generally few other species; Pearl-bordered Fritillary (a few) and here's another, Marsh Fritillary (2 or 3) and this one, Woodland Ringlet, Duke of Burgundy (quite common throughout the afternoon everywhere), Chequered Skippers (here's an underside) and a couple of large female Speckled Woods of the yellow subspecies tircis. Along the footpaths and flowery roadsides there were numerous Brimstones (particularly males but also a female which we witnessed being captured and devoured by a large dragonfly), and also small numbers of Wood White, Grizzled Skipper, Scarce Swallowtail, Green-veined and Small Whites, Orange Tip, Green Hairstreak, Red Admiral and Painted Lady. At a small quarry we first predicted (?!) and then witnessed (!!!!!) the presence of a couple of male Large Wall Browns though the megera we imagined would be there too were not! Away from the damp areas there was a serious calcareous influence with plentiful horseshoe and kidney vetches providing the foodplants for Small Blue and Berger's Clouded Yellow (a couple of nice males zooming about.) In more classic meadows we found Sooty Copper, Mazarine Blue, Common Blue (including this intensely blue female), Brown Argus, Small Heath, Glanville and Meadow Fritillaries, though the general low density of most species gave the impression that the weight of the emergence is yet to come.  

30/5/06.....A rare opportunity to photograph the underside of Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper. And here's a Black-veined White. The weather is really unseasonally cold.

29/5/06.....After work this morning I wandered around a new area in extremely changeable weather conditions but found reasonable numbers of butterflies including numerous meadow dwelling fritillaries and plentiful Meadow Browns which have emerged in force now. Also both a male and a female Large Skipper and a male Brimstone which I see rarely. Afterwards I just had time to visit a nearby crumbly field full of horseshoe vetch and wild thyme and found it buzzing with a whole colony of Provence Chalk-hill Blues! Here is the male upperside and underside and the female upperside and underside. Some books do note it this far north but confirming that is a tremendous discovery. One fresh male Adonis Blue was there too.

27/5/06.....A very pleasant afternoon with all sorts on the wing. Here's a Scarce Swallowtail taking minerals from damp ground. I discovered a new site for Black Hairstreak where a handful of adults were flying around abundant stands of blackthorn. I've never seen any Satyrium in May before. At the same site there were a few Black-veined Whites, a couple of Southern White Admirals and one each of Green-underside Blue (this one is cropping up more this year), Mazarine Blue, Marsh Fritillary and Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper.  First local Meadow Browns are out too. I was surprised that first brood Map was over already as they were numerous at this site in mid-May a couple of years ago. I moved on to an isolated patch of calcareous terrain which I discovered not long ago and is home to a nice colony of Green-underside Blues which were still looking reasonably fresh today. I was delighted to discover an Adonis Blue there and equally happy to find my first Southern Small White (a female) of the year resting on a false acacia tree; this plant from the pea family is abundant in the region and I discovered today that its blooming white flowers are an attractive nectar source for various species of butterfly. It is certainly worth glancing at them when passing.....and one doesn't always think to pay attention to tree blooms when there is an array of wild flowers at ground level.   

24/5/06.....Relatively little flying today despite the sunshine (nonetheless only about 20°C max.) This morning there were a few Chequered Blues including this one which might be a female and is resting on what I believe is the larval foodplant Sedum telephium which appears to have white eggs on it though I saw no laying. Later mainly migrators on show with Painted Ladies everywhere and several Clouded Yellows too including a female of the form helice. On one very localised patch of south facing hillside at around 530m there were a handful of Black-veined Whites bounding over the meadows. I watched them for some time through the binoculars.......this is always one of my favourite moments in the butterfly year.

21/5/06.....The first Green-underside Blue I've ever seen in the garden this afternoon. A male nectaring on Geranium sanguineum.

17/5/06.....Found a new site in the hills for Duke of Burgundy. Also, at last a first Peacock of the year!

16/5/06.....Went to visit a place apparently cherished by local lepidopterists in the past. Whilst I was pleased to find things still in tact, the fields were basically invaded by long grasses with few flowers and it didn't look like there would be many butterflies around. However, as the sun warmed everything up I found my first Provençal Short-tailed Blues for this year (here's a male nectaring on the larval foodplant Medicago lupulina), an early Heath Fritillary and paradoxically, in the historical field, a modern day butterfly: the Geranium Bronze. I moved on to meet Jenny Scott who kindly showed me around some more of the Rhône's calcareous habitat. There was a splendid array of foodplants for many blue species here. Here's a female Chapman's Blue, a Small Blue on the larval foodplant Anthyllis vulneraria and a pair of mating Common Blues. Saw two Mazarine Blues; a female laying into a young flower head of red clover and a male nectaring on the same plant. There was a tremendous colony of Berger's Clouded Yellow in the area; here's a female and a male. In a nearby field of agricultural set-aside we found this female E.alcetas.

11/5/06.....An overcast morning but wandering through lush meadows produced a few species. Here's the first Meadow Fritillary for this season. Also popped in on one of the Green-underside blue colonies.

9/5/06.....Whilst most of France continued to wallow in unseasonal chilliness I nipped down to Provence for a day with Roger Gibbons and his new supersonic camera! It seems the weather is rarely poor in this part of the world, but mind the wind. The ground was a little damp in places after rain in the night but otherwise Provence was looking typically dry and smelling of aromatic vegetation. These 35 species flitting around........Dingy Skipper (a couple), Tufted Marbled Skipper (2), Mallow Skipper (a couple), Red Underwing Skipper (common), Grizzled Skipper (occasional and sometimes quite large), Yellow-Banded Skipper (a few typically nectaring on the foodplant Potentilla hirta and becoming commoner during the afternoon), Southern Festoon (my first and only one of those to date!!!....looking tired at the very end of the flight period), Spanish Festoon (numerous but huge differences in colour intensity and freshness....one or two very yellow with vivid red spots, others with only vestigial red areas and the one in the photo looks as if it's been on the wing as long as the Z.polyxena?), Scarce Swallowtail (a few), Swallowtail (1), Large White (4 or 5), Bath White (a handful in late afternoon), Orange Tip (a few), Provence Orange Tip (several, here's a male and a female), Berger's Clouded Yellow (colourful, large males patrolling up and down throughout the day, occasional females of which this one was  seen laying on Hippocrepis comosa), Cleopatra (mostly females flitting around bushes, occasional males), Green hairstreak (a couple hanging on), Small Copper (here and there), Osiris Blue (this female and this male), Green-underside Blue (a few mostly very small), Baton Blue (numerous), Chapman's Blue and Common Blue (seemingly abundant though not sure in which proportion), Provence Chalk-hill Blue (probably the most abundant species on show especially around patches of H.comosa, here's a male and a female), Adonis Blue (1 male), Brown Argus (occasional), Wall Brown and Small Heath (quite a few), Meadow Brown (a couple freshly emerged here already), Southern White Admiral (a couple looking very fresh aswell), Painted Lady (occasional, very active), Glanville Fritillary (quite common) and Knapweed Fritillary (just a couple), Spotted Fritillary (a few very fresh males), Marsh Fritillary (quite common and very orange looking with very large females.) Roger saw a Purple-shot Copper while I'd wandered off elsewhere.   

7/5/06.....Fellow lepidopterist Philippe Bricaire came down to look for Chequered Blues. Weather was very 50/50 and mostly cloudy but with a few odd sunny moments, no wind and temperatures just warm enough we managed all right and saw quite a few S.orion amongst 22 species seen during the day, starting in the Rhône valley then working our way back across the plateau du Lyonnais. Meadow species are beginning to show now. Sooty Copper was common with many males and just one female, few Common Blues including a blue female, just one Knapweed Fritillary and a few Glanville. Here's a nice female Brown Argus. Then we were lucky to find about 10 Green-underside Blues at two sites containing sainfoins. Here are two males of different dimensions resting under cloud, then the sun came out, here's an underside and a female.      

27/4/06.....My survey of the Rhône département has encouraged me to make full use of my lunch hours with surprising results. This involves driving for a couple of minutes in the car and then mooching around a 'green' area edging the suburbs whilst munching on my sandwiches. Often these places are open areas with large signs offering land for future exploitation or indicating planning permission already granted for construction. Butterfly diversity could be short term at these sites if the land use changes are extreme. Today I found this embankment to be chock-a-block with sainfoins and a buddleia bush thrown in! There was a good colony of Red Underwing Skippers in there (plenty of salad burnet), a few Mallow Skippers, two Small Coppers, one Red Admiral and even a Western Dappled White!!

25/4/06.....On my way home from work at 3 p.m. I stopped at a rather nice spot which I'd investigated early in March. I wasn't really expecting much except maybe that elusive first Peacock......no such luck! However, I got rather more than I'd imagined with 20 species turning up including a bagful of Large Tortoiseshells; goodness knows where they're all coming from. Also many more Dingy Skippers than I've ever seen at any one site. A single, female Map butterfly was inspecting some nettles before retiring to shade. A male Brimstone was nice and quite a number of small fritillaries were very flighty, all those I got close to were C.dia. Found a very interesting slope with plenty of wild thyme and horseshoe vetch where there were a couple of Brown Arguses and this Bath White.  As yesterday a single Small Heath again so those are really only just thinking about emerging and second Clouded Yellow of the year.

24/4/06.....The continuing good weather seems to be bringing out species on a daily basis. This afternoon a 20 minute coffee break and a brief wander to the edge of some set-aside/wasteland brought a first Small Heath for this year. As it skipped along the poor thing was mobbed by a Mallow Skipper and then a Small Copper (neither of which I would otherwise have seen) before it bounced off at great speed to safety!!

23/4/06.....Down to the Rhône valley this morning from 10 a.m. to noon. Despite the warmth there was little on show for the first hour and things only really got busier a little before midday. Continuing the saga over vineyard extension here is a photo of sacrificed woodland (bare patch behind the central tree and below the road), which two weeks ago looked identical to the opposite side of the valley where I took the first picture (you can see a couple of remaining tree stumps in the foreground.) Today's only really common species was Wall Brown, half-a-dozen Scarce Swallowtails, Large Tortoiseshell (1), Orange Tip (few males), Queen of Spain (a handful), Mallow Skipper (a small colony in the corner of an abandoned area of vineyard), Red Admiral (1), Speckled Wood (in cooler corners), Chequered Blue (fantastic discovery of new site, up to 3 males seen at any one time and often ascending in aerial dispute), Green Hairstreak (1), Holly Blue (1), Painted Lady (1), Small White (1 for sure.) 

22/4/06.....Very hot today. Several Western Dappled Whites flying across rather bare, stoney areas bordering small patches of heathland. Also this female Clouded Yellow who was laying eggs on clover leaves....she wasn't very sprightly but the forewing seems damaged. Back in the garden several species passed through including two Swallowtails (one tried the aubrieta), a couple of Holly Blues and a Green Hairstreak high up in the neighbour's tree.

21/4/06.....Two Scarce Swallowtails seen today flying energetically and gliding around the tops of some high bushes in flower. One with tails in tact and the other, as is often the case with this species, with tails already removed. 

20/4/06.....Five species in the park over lunchtime including, naturally, Large Tortoiseshell!

19/4/06.....Virtually all the species on the year list were seen today (not Brimstone which is peculiarly uncommon here) in super, warm sunshine confirming that spring has caught up to about normal now in many respects. Several species were gathering to sup minerals from a damp, woodland footpath including the most Wood Whites I have ever seen in one go. Also several Grizzled Skippers which, interestingly, are the first I've ever seen locally in April. (Those first two photos taken by my son Thomas.) One Green Hairsteak, two each of Mallow and Dingy Skipper. Occasional large, pale orange butterflies zoomed high overhead and my impression was they were Painted Ladies? We did of course see one Large Tortoiseshell which I would have thought was the commonest hibernator if I were starting butterflying this year. Still no Peacock actually. Nice to pick up an odd Western Dappled White which was zooming typically across a patch of very open heathland. You can pick them out amongst the commoner whites as they fly so much faster (Bath White as fast maybe?)

18/4/06.....There's real daily change in the natural world here now with new flowers continuing to show; common vetch and meadow clary today for example. Most of yesterday's species about today though a noticeable increase in the number of Wood Whites. A single Small Tortoiseshell and a couple of Large too, though those were only seen ghosting treetops today. One each, and first of the year, of Wall Brown (a male), Small Copper and a rather agitated Painted Lady.....this first observation perhaps marking a comeback after last year's extraordinarily poor showing.

17/4/06.....The vegetation is really thickening up all of a sudden though the sun was only partially showing itself today amongst harmless clouds. Here's a view south with the Massif du Pilat in the background and another west looking at the summits of the Monts du Lyonnais. All of this along the eastern flank of the Massif Central. We took a walk at a site with a mixture of dry/damp/grassy/bushy/wooded bits and found a handful of species, notably numerous Orange Tips including a couple of females and this male with the left forewing missing. It looked like a malformation rather than a predatory consequence. Contrary to a Large Tortoiseshell we found with the left hindwing absent!!! Whatever the defect, they always still manage to fly! A few Speckled Woods and first Wood Whites for this season. This one is resting on ground ivy. Small White, Green-veined White, Comma and Red Admiral. A single Holly Blue flying through was the only lycaenid on view.

16/4/06.....The sun finally appeared nicely about 4 p.m. and a male Green-veined White circled the garden a few times, stopping to nectar on aubrieta and cherry blossom. A male Holly Blue whizzed back and forth, stopping occasionally on bushes for a moment. A couple of vanessids zoomed over, one of which, a Large Tortoiseshell, came to rest on the shutters where it basked in the sunshine and showed its extremely torn wings!!

14/4/06.....Female Green-veined White and male Brimstone in the park in warm sunshine. More poor weather forecast over the Easter weekend.

12/4/06.....Still cool and damp. Fields of cuckooflower now showing.

10/4/06.....Since yesterday it has been raining most of the time and there is snow from about 650m. Rather chilly! 

7/4/06.....During my lunch hour at work nipped down to the nearby park where I found Large White, Small White, Brimstone and Green-veined White nectaring on an assortment of wild flowers. All males. The Small White with characteristically faint, spring brood upperside markings which help to separate from A.mannii should one see any. Very faint markings on upperside of A.napi too but readily separable from A.rapae nonetheless.

5/4/06.....Rain.

4/4/06.....Terrific weather! Down to the Rhône valley where the flora and fauna has advanced significantly since my visit on 20/3. The expansion of the vineyards through deforestation on the hot slopes sadly continues and there were men with chainsaws and burning fires. Hopefully the steep, damp gullies (the dark brown bits between the light brown lumps in the photo) will retain enough cover for the various species that depend on them. There seems to be no compromise possible between nature and hard cash. As expected a handful of species flying at this very warm site, in particular a few Queen of Spain Fritillaries, quite small and very active. A number of whites flying of which at least two were Green-veined and two conspicuous male Orange Tips. One blue butterfly zipped past. Both types of tortoiseshell. Things starting to move down here now; I'm sure there were other species about but I only put absolute certainties on the year list!!

3/4/06.....Dull and almost cool, but occasional sunshine very warm. A walk in the woods from 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. produced 2 Commas, 4 Large Tortoiseshells, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Small Tortoiseshell and this Green-veined White.

2/4/06.....This afternoon in the garden and nearby footpaths there were several Large Tortoiseshells, a couple of which were sharing almond blossom with a Red Admiral. One Speckled Wood and two Small Tortoiseshells. 

27/3/06.....Rather overcast with very hazy sunshine and windier than yesterday. I couldn't resist another little look at yesterday's woods. When I ran out of fingers and thumbs I stopped counting the Large Tortoiseshells. More Commas than yesterday also. Saw three wandering whites today. Here's a Speckled Wood.

26/3/06.....Glorious sunshine for most of the day. Took a walk into the woods where quite a few butterflies were on show. One Small Tortoiseshell, at least six Large Tortoiseshells, a few Commas, a single male Brimstone flew through briskly and a couple of Speckled Woods were the first out of their chrysalises. There were other species about..........a solitary small, white pierid fluttered weakly well above head height and a couple of other large, dark vanessids vanished into the tree tops.....   

20/3/06.....Saw my third Large Tortoiseshell of the year and a flirting pair of Small Tortoiseshells amongst the vineyards of the Rhone valley. Rather windy with brief sunny spells.

16/3/06.....Another Large Tortoiseshell today!

15/3/06.....Still freezing in the morning but nice sunshine through the day today. We took a walk into a wooded valley and found this Large Tortoiseshell frequenting a length of footpath in a sun trap. Nice start to the season!

1/3/06.....No butterfly weather yet. It snowed this morning but bright sunshine has moved in to melt it all. Cold.

10/2/06.....Sunny but still bitterly cold.

19/1/06.....The first 'warm' day of the year with lovely blue sky and sunshine and ambient temperature probably around 10°C. A gentle cool breeze just taking the edge off the extra warmth of the direct sunlight which otherwise may have encouraged a couple of hibernators to poke their noses out for a moment. I took my first bike ride for quite a while and now my legs are like jelly! Whilst winter arrived late, since it settled in (c. mid-November) it has been rather constantly cold with little rainfall and some snow.