Butterflying in the Alpes-Maritime, Col de La Lombarde

Day 2 and the plan consisted of a trip to our first Col with the target being Cynthias Fritillary and possibly a scarce Pyrgus or two. Of course the journey up and down can be broken with frequent stops at riverside meadows and small but well populated sites adjacent to the road.

Last year our first roadside stop was memorable as I was totally overwhelmed by the number of butterflies present, I learned pretty rapidly that in a target rich environment you shouldn't attempt to photograph everything as all you get is a load of poor photos. Better to concentrate on a single quarrry and when quality has been achieved, move on to the next species.  So, when we stopped at the same location this year I was ready for action, unfortunately the late spring meant that the numbers were disappointing.

Still, it was nice to find a pair of Silver-studded Blues engaged in making more Silver-studded Blues, an extremely obliging Niobe Fritillary and a worn Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Every cloud as they say - it was nice to find a great stand of Martagon Lilies, last year they were well past their sell by date.

Silver-studded Blues

Niobe Fritillary

Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Martagon Lily

On up to the Col at an altitude on 2,350 metres or 7,710 feet in real money. Again butterflies were not numerous and every time a member of the group found a Cynthias Fritillary I seemed to be the furthest away, resulting in fleeting glimpses rather than photographic records. I consoled myself with a fairly fresh Grison's Fritillary, a worn high altitude Marsh Fritillary and some nice Vanilla Orchids. At first I thought they were Red Vanilla, Nigritella rubra but l now consider them to be Cornelias Vanilla Orchid, Nigritella corneliana. Happy to be corrected.

Grison's Fritillary

A bonus - a high altitude Marsh Fritillary on a Vanilla Orchid!

Nice to see Stemless Gentians, Gentiana acaulis in bloom, another species that had long gone last year. Sadly most of the blooms were a bit battered by the weather.

Then a drop down the valley to find Geranium Argus and a break for lunch. The sun disappeared and I struggled to find a single specimen, of course as soon as the sun re-appeared they emerged in good numbers. Added bonus was an Amanda's Blue, the Mazarine Blue that I tracked for some time was spooked just as I was about to operate the shutter.

Geranium Argus

Amanda's Blue

Amanda's Blue

Amanda's Blue

Another roadside stop above a fast flowing river, the grassy banks either side were alive with butterflies but it was a moth that stole the show, a Nine Spotted Moth or Yellow Belted Burnet, Amata phegea. 

Turquoise Blue

Turquoise Blue

Yellow Belted Burnet

Yellow Belted Burnet

Yellow Belted Burnet

Finally the ubiquitous Black-veined White and an obliging Heath Fritillary

Black-veined White

Heath Fritillary

Silver-studded Blues (II)

I awoke early this morning, not because I wanted to witness the sun rising over any prehistoric construction, but because the Blackbirds are obviously attempting a second brood adjacent to the back garden and the male was singing his heart out. It gave me an opportunity to make an early brew and check out the moth trap. Surprisingly, given the recent weather, there was little in the trap. My urban Sussex location is no substitute for previous Hampshire and Cornish venues when it comes to moth variety.

So, having got up, I decided that it would be a good idea to have another go at the Silver-studded Blues. My previous efforts had been disappointing, caused by a lack of care on my part, I think I got a little bit over confident and left most of the work to the camera. At 0800 I was parked at Iping Common and as I set foot on the common I knew that I should have been an hour earlier. Already Large Skippers were buzzing everywhere and Silver-studded Blues were also on the wing.

I had set myself three goals, roosting specimens, a freshly emerged female and a mating pair, all to be photographed in what was perfect light. I almost completed the hat-trick, falling short by finding two freshly emerged males rather than females. No problems as they are almost a substitute, in that their scent is attractive to other males and several would-be suitors landed close by, one obviously confusing denim for the delicate hues of a female.

Fairly fresh with ants about.



Soaking up the heat of the early morning sun.



At long last .... a freshly emerged male with ants in attendance. Lasius niger or alienus??

Attracting other males.



Climbing upwards for the sun.



Nearly there!

Finally he opened his wings - sorry about the shadows - happy just to capture the moment.



A bit more sun.

Just a moment longer.



Ready for first flight

Still attracting other males

 

 

Somewhat confused on the correct hue of blue

 I was quite pleased with the results and believe that at long last I have done these butterflies justice. I found the emerger at 0814 and stayed with it until it flew at 0911. I felt responsible for it because to obtain clear shots I had conducted judicious gardening with the scissors of my trusty Swiss Army Knife, and it was somewhat exposed to any marauding bird.

On the walk back to the car SSBs were lifting off everywhere and finally, as I was trying to photograph a female, a happy couple alighted in the bracken in front of me and obligingly posed.

Wood White and Silver-studded Blue

My antipodean reader may be forgiven for believing that I have been sent to a penal colony when I say that I spent the morning in Botany Bay. This one is a Forestry Commission wood in leafy Surrey, not a place of correction for those transported overseas. Due to holidays and other commitments I had missed the optimum time for catching up with the Wood Whites that reside there and, as Martin and I have a target of 40 butterfly species this year, I couldn't pass up any chance of a tick.

So we arrived about mid morning in glorious sunshine but not much was airborne, in fact we had strolled up the main ride to the triangle and seen just the occasional Speckled Wood. Finally, when I was beginning to doubt that I would see one, up popped a nice clean male specimen. This is a butterfly that will happily pose for the camera, that said, as Martin wryly observed, it only has one pose and it never opens its wings when stationary. So here is the pick of my shots, sorry they are so similar but I was happy to have it in the bag.

Next venue was Iping Common where the Silver-studded Blues have started to emerge. Out on the wide expanse of heath we found one tatty specimen and it was a little time before we found a dozen or more flitting about in the midday sun. Yet again not the best of quality and that means a revisit, obviously when more are on the wing.

On the way back to the car park a fairly large moth flew across our path and crashed into the heather - a Clouded Buff - not a species with which I am familiar but happy to capture it all the same.

Two venues and two species and still a good portion of the day left, this meant we could call into Lord's Piece on the way home to see what dragonflies were about. Straight away we had good views of both Four Spot Chaser and Broad-bodied Chaser plus a host of damselflies. Finally a single specimen of Golden-ringed Dragonfly alighted on the fence and posed, this time Martin was on it and it remained in our vicinity for some time. Final species for the day was a nice looking Downy Emerald, unfortunately this chap didn't hang around for long, just long enough for a reasonable shot.

 

On the way home we both agreed that it was yet again a cracking day out - that's two on the trot - whatever next?