By Bruce Hyde
There is always something very special about nature in Roussillon. Whether it is the clarity of the light that brought the Fauvists to Collioure or the clean air itself in the higher Pyrenees, one is always rewarded with something unusual if one looks carefully around. We have found the area near the Tour de Batère to be particularly fortunate for us with the range of less common wildlife we have seen. I have photographed golden eagles and griffon vultures, but for sheer numbers the top prize goes to butterflies.
Butterflies have been around for a long time with fossils dating to the Palaeocene, about 56 million years ago. With the clean Pyrenean air at the height of La Batère, around 1300 metres, vegetation is lush where sheltered out of the wind. This means plenty of wild flowers, whose nectar is one of the main foods for butterflies.
On a single visit to the area in early autumn last year Lesley and I counted 29 different species of butterfly. Some of these were firsts for me, and consequently I had occasional difficulties in making identifications. In this I was helped by Roger Gibbons whose extensive website http://www.butterfliesoffrance.com/ is an excellent resource. I am relatively happy about the identifications, and such errors as there may be are wholly mine.
This blog includes photos of each species we saw and photographed, in no particular order with a few hopefully interesting facts about each.
Blues are a large family, and are well known for sometimes perching on wet ground. Here are some Adonis Blues taking in nutrients from the damp soil.
Butterflies have been around for a long time with fossils dating to the Palaeocene, about 56 million years ago. With the clean Pyrenean air at the height of La Batère, around 1300 metres, vegetation is lush where sheltered out of the wind. This means plenty of wild flowers, whose nectar is one of the main foods for butterflies.
On a single visit to the area in early autumn last year Lesley and I counted 29 different species of butterfly. Some of these were firsts for me, and consequently I had occasional difficulties in making identifications. In this I was helped by Roger Gibbons whose extensive website http://www.butterfliesoffrance.com/ is an excellent resource. I am relatively happy about the identifications, and such errors as there may be are wholly mine.
This blog includes photos of each species we saw and photographed, in no particular order with a few hopefully interesting facts about each.
Blues are a large family, and are well known for sometimes perching on wet ground. Here are some Adonis Blues taking in nutrients from the damp soil.
 Adonis Blue male (Polyommatus bellargus) |  Adonis Blue male (Polyommatus bellargus) |
In addition we saw Brown Argus (a type of Blue despite the name), Turquoise Blue
and Common Blues.
and Common Blues.
 Brown Argus (Aricia agestis)  Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) |  Turquoise Blue (Plebicula dorylas)  Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) |
The Ringlet family is quite diverse. A new species to me was the Autumn Ringlet, which has a very restricted distribution in France, seemingly limited to the South and the Pyrenees. This specimen looks to be a dark example.
 Autumn Ringlet (Erebia neoridas) |  Autumn Ringlet (Erebia neoridas) |
Another Ringlet we saw was the Piedmont Ringlet. Its range is slightly less restricted than its Autumn cousin.
 Piedmont Ringlet (Erebia meolans) |  Piedmont Ringlet (Erebia meolans) |
The Oxford English Dictionary derives the name "butterfly" straightforwardly from Old English butorfleoge, butter-fly; similar names in Old Dutch and Old High German show that the name is ancient. A possible source of the name is the bright yellow male of the Brimstone. Although not as yellow as they can come, this one demonstrates the point. A similarly yellow butterfly is the Clouded Yellow.
 Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) |  Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea) |
The Comma is widespread; with its ragged edges it resembles a dead leaf when the wings are closed. It is so called because of the white mark resembling a comma on the underside.
 Comma (Polygonia C-album) |  Comma (Polygonia C-album) |
There are nearly 50 different members of the fritillary family in Europe, of which over a quarter are known in our area of France. We saw five different fritillaries during our visit, plus one sub-species. The Dark Green and High Brown were firsts for me.
 Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja) |  High Brown Fritillary (Argynnis adippe) |
Glanville and Queen of Spain fritillaries are quite widespread and not uncommon at lower levels.
 Glanville Fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) |  Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia) |
The Silver Washed fritillary is quite common throughout Europe. As it is normally not seen above around 1,500 metres, the examples we saw were near the limit of its height range. We saw the main species Argynnis paphia as well as the dimorphic sub-species Argynnis paphia valezina, which is differentiated by its duller colouring and a greenish cast overall.
 Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) |  Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia valezina ) |
Common enough at low levels is the Great Banded Grayling. It has a habit of perching on tree branches, presumably for camouflage.
 Great Banded Greyling (Brintesia circe) |  Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) |
The Painted Lady is a remarkable butterfly. It exists all around the world with the exception of S. America. It indulges in sometimes massive migrations. The migration, which is a return event, can cover 6,000 kilometres. The life span of a Painted Lady is only 5-8 weeks so the migration is a multi-generational happening, with the finally returning individuals being 6 generations removed from their ancestors. For more information see my blog "Butterflies" (click to go to the blog) of 31st August 2015.
The Large Skipper is actually tiny, but well named as it skips very rapidly from plant to plant. Also quite small is the Sooty Copper, which is widespread in France and can be seen up to around 2,500 metres.
The Large Skipper is actually tiny, but well named as it skips very rapidly from plant to plant. Also quite small is the Sooty Copper, which is widespread in France and can be seen up to around 2,500 metres.
 Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) |  Sooty Copper (Lycaena tityrus) |
The Browns (Satyrinae) is a sub-family of the Nymphalidae. There were some lovely examples three of which were new to me - Large Wall (sub-species Lasiommata maera adrasta, which is limited to Spain and the Mediterranean), Pearly Heath and Small Heath.
 Large Wall (Lasiommata maera adrasta) |  Pearly Heath (Coenonympha arcania) |
Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)
Although their names are similar the Large White - also called Cabbage White - and the Marbled White come from completely different families (Pieridae and Nymphalidae respectively). About 10 years ago Marbled White and its close relative Iberian Marbled White were very common around our area; they now seem to be a lot scarcer.
 Large White (Pieris brassicae) |  Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) |
Two related butterflies are the Peacock and Red Admiral. Both are well known and widespread throughout Europe. They both hibernate as adults over the winter, reappearing between March and May; they have one brood each year.
 Peacock (Aglais io)  Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) |  Peacock (Aglais io) - plain underside.  Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) |
There are plenty of Scarce Swallowtails in mainland Europe despite the name, but they are absent from UK (which is possibly how they got the name in the first place). This specimen is from the Scarce Swallowtail subspecies Iphiclides podalirius feisthamelii, which is restricted to the SE. Pyrenees and Spain.
 Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius feisthamelii) |  Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius feisthamelii) |
As well as the Blues seen taking salts and minerals from damp soil we came across the Small White, probably the most common butterfly in Europe.
 Small White (Pieris rapae) |  Small White (Pieris rapae) |
Related to each other and similar in size are Gatekeeper and Speckled Wood. Both are quite common throughout Southern France.
 Gatekeeper (Pyronia tythonius) |  Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) |
While not taken to appreciating volume when I observe nature, I have to admit to being rather happy with having seen so many different species of butterfly at one fairly brief visit. We were there in early autumn, and a return visit in late spring seems like it will be time well spent.
