Friends of Groyne No.4: Butterflying in the Alpes-Maritime, Col de La Lombarde

Sunday, 8 July 2018

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

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.