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Trip Reports
Butterfly - watching Holidays
France : the Auvergne
August 2008
( with species lists
July 2006 /
August 2008 )
a small
group tour operated by
Massif Nature Holidays
a trip report by
Graham Thompson
all photos on this page Copyright
©
Graham Thompson 2008
This is a report on the second of two
butterfly-watching weeks led by Graham and Theresa Thompson of
Massif Nature Holidays in 2008, situated in the Auvergne region of
central France (a large part of the Massif Central), and which
took place between the 30 July and 05
August 2008. We amassed a satisfying 78 species of butterfly.
Hautes Chaumes
On the first full day we undertook a walk in the
vicinity of our base at Novacelles. Following a rather wet spring
season, some species that we would normally expect to see in
profusion were conspicuous by their absence. However, a sunny
trackside bank began to show promise, as the first emerging
Gatekeeper butterflies danced back and forth, along with a few
meadow Browns. Then, in a sunny, sheltered woodland clearing, we
were delighted to see a splendid wildflower meadow that was
clearly “alive” with butterflies and other insects. We found
numerous Map, Pearly Heath, Scarce Copper, Purple-shot Copper, and
Spotted Fritillary butterflies amongst them. And sat on a
tree-leaf at the edge was a White-letter Hairstreak, a species
never particularly easy to see. In the evening we again did the
first section of our morning walk, and discovered a number of male
Mazarine Blue butterflies to make a splendid finale to our first
full day.
orchids and cotton grass in an Auvergne meadow
The next day, we drove up to the pastures of the
Col de Supeyres in the Forez Mountains (40 minutes away). My
favourite roadside ditches – sheltered and normally full of
flowers and butterflies – had been dug out in the previous few
days, much to my disappointment. However, on a flowery slope just
adjacent to the car park, which included the beautiful pink
Dianthus superbus, we
were treated to a tremendous display of butterflies that included
Tufted Marbled Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Wood White,
Meadow Fritillary, Heath Fritillary, Purple-edged Copper and Idas
Blue. A short roadside walk later and we had amassed more species
for our list: Dark Green Fritillary, Niobe Fritillary, Marbled
Fritillary, Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Titania’s Fritillary, Queen
of Spain Fritillary, Large Ringlet, Arran Brown, Bright-eyed
Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Swallowtail (
egg-laying on Mountain Fennel )
and Small Heath.
Descending to a splendid peat bog, we had hoped to
find Cranberry Fritillary but were to be disappointed (
there were, until recently, many sites where this splendid
little butterfly was found, but sadly they have been overgrazed in
the last few summers, resulting in the loss of the nectar-bearing
plants that the adult butterflies have to visit frequently
). However, we did add to our list with Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Silver-spotted Skipper, both species
frequenting the flowers of Marsh Thistle.
The following morning, continuous rainfall dictated
that we should go searching for Salamanders in a splendid local
Silver Fir woodland. A stroll that brought us lots of fungi,
Creeping Ladies’ Tresses and both Common and Pool Frogs but not
our main target was aborted due to the rain becoming a
thunderstorm. In the evening, we glimpsed our two resident Eagle
Owls as they flew from their cliff roost sites.
The following morning we headed off to the banks of
the River Allier, but en route we stopped off at a woodland
pool I’d wanted to check for years. Situated on the edge of a Fir
wood, it seemed an ideal spot for Salamander to breed in. We were
not surprised to find at least 4 half-grown larvae, and an
abundance of other animal life. Continuing on to the riverside,
our first target was a bird – the European Bee-eater. At a
splendid location we counted at least 10 pairs visiting their
nest-holes in a sandbank. Suddenly, alarmed birds alerted us to
something overhead – the spectacle of a pale-phase Booted Eagle
circling with a Common Buzzard. This was soon to become even
better – a Honey Buzzard joined them, and for a few minutes we
were totally mesmerised as they soared above us! Butterflies
were not in abundance here – the newly-cut meadow was virtually
flowerless, and the Bee-eaters were also taking their toll- but
nevertheless we saw Mallow Skipper, Brown Argus, Common Blue,
Clouded Yellow, and Great Banded Grayling. Then, a roadside bank
with much Bramble in flower had us stopping rapidly – another
White-letter Hairstreak, Holly Blue, Speckled Wood, Brimstone,
Sooty Copper and Small Copper were present, amongst others.
We
finally got to our destination, but a cloudy sky did us no
favours. We were expecting to see Tree Grayling and Black Satyr,
but it was not to be. We did find Lulworth Skipper, Wall and
Marbled White, which were great of course, but little else. We
decided to retrace our steps and search for hotspots roadside. We
travelled 200 metres before the sun reappeared, and a field full
of Lucerne caught our eye. Wow! There were masses of butterflies
including Provençal Short-tailed Blue, Violet Fritillary, Comma,
Clouded Yellow, Pale/Berger’s Clouded Yellow and Mazarine Blue.
Large Cone-head Bush-cricket and a mating pair of Orange-spotted
Emerald dragonfly were super bonuses !
Rocher de Prades
A local day ( we’d
decided to alternate travel days of about 1 hour’s drive each way
with very short drives /
local walks ) began with a
10-minute drive down to the River Dore. Two Little Owls were
perched on farm buildings as we descended. At the river, Golden
Orioles were singing, but not seen. Despite the overcast
conditions, numerous Dingy Skippers were found to add to our list,
and a splendid male Moustached Darter posed for photographs.
Unfortunately a super Gentle Hawker
Boyeria irene did not remain
still for long, but we did obtain super views. An immature
Goshawk gave decent views too – a bird that is always great to
see. Then the sun appeared. As if by magic, so did the butterflies
– Mallow Skipper, Sooty Copper, Painted Lady and Peacock amongst
them.
In the afternoon we headed off to a splendid ancient
woodland, consisting mainly of Silver
Fir trees, but with wide rides teeming with flowers… and
butterflies of course. A Purple Emperor took off from the ground
at the car park as we arrived ! There
were many Green-veined White butterflies, all beautifully-fresh
whereas a single Black-veined White was rather worn, no surprise
as the species had been coming to the end of its flight season for
a few weeks. In similar condition were Piedmont Ringlets, the
first of the local Erebia
species to emerge locally. We came across more species that we
had already encountered on our few outings thus far – Map, Small
Skipper, Marbled White etc, but soon started to find
additions that we’d been hoping for, in the form of High Brown
Fritillary, Southern White Admiral, White Admiral, and Lesser
Purple Emperor. A streamside clearing with masses of flowering
Meadowsweet had many Lesser Marbled Fritillaries, clearly enjoying
the abundance of the species’ larval foodplant. A roadside walk
brought us super views of a Swallowtail taking nectar from Purple
Lettuce, plus a single, worn Titania’s Fritillary and a super male
Scarce Copper.
A free morning was followed by another local trip,
this time to a deserted and now ruined village in the valley of
the River Dolore, where we watched Purple Hairstreak butterflies
at eye level, and found a Dewick’s Plusia moth. At the riverside
there was a Lesser Purple Emperor that posed for photographs. The
woodland rides had plenty of White Admiral butterflies, and upon
emerging from the wood we had fleeting but satisfying views of a
male Cleopatra butterfly and 4 Honey Buzzards soaring overhead.
We returned to base to find a female Spotted Fritillary in the
garden.
For our penultimate day we headed down to the
sun-drenched Limagne Plain, more specifically to an area of
calcareous hills. The south-facing slopes are wine-growing sites,
but the meadows, scrub and woodland areas are havens for
wildlife. Here we strolled along tracks with sides adorned with
wildflowers, and we found 39 species of butterfly, with the
following additions to our list: Scarce Swallowtail, Berger’s
Clouded Yellow, Glanville Fritillary, Lesser Woodland Grayling,
Woodland Grayling, Long-tailed Blue, Chalkhill Blue, Adonis Blue,
Chapman’s Blue. The Red-belted Burnet moth
Zygaena ephialtes was another
nice find.
Long-tailed Blue Lampides boeticus
all photos on this page courtesy Graham Thompson
Finally we went to a spectacular basalt hill on the
River Allier. After crossing an upland plateau we began the
decent from 1200 metres, with a spectacular view of the Allier
Gorge below us. A stop at a rocky roadside area brought us fine
views of another spectacular Burnet Moth in the form of
Zygaena carniolica, and
butterflies again included Lesser Woodland Grayling, Woodland
Grayling, Silver-spotted Skipper and Lulworth Skipper.
On the top
of the basaltic rock, with the sun beating down, we saw plenty of
butterflies, including Black Satyr, Cinquefoil Skipper and Baton
Blue, new additions to our list. But the heat quickly got the
better of us, and so we dropped down to the riverbank (
where just three weeks previously we’d found a colony of
the Large Chequered Skipper Heteropterus
morpheus, a new species for the department
). The shade afforded by the Poplar trees was welcome
relief, and we admired numerous Sooty Copper, Queen of Spain
Fritillary and Marbled Fritillary butterflies visiting the flowers
of Hemp Agrimony, and chased around trying to photograph
Cinquefoil Skipper (we did eventually succeed!).
Another satisfying week of butterfly-watching, a
number of species freshly emerged that we didn’t see on our
previous trip a few weeks before, but no
new species for the region this time!
Species recorded in the Auvergne in
August 2008
All species listed
below were identified by Graham and Teresa Thompson.
|
Papilioninae |
Swallowtail |
Papilio machaon |
|
Papilioninae |
Scarce Swallowtail |
Iphiclides podalirius |
|
Pieridae |
Large White |
Pieris brassicae |
|
Pierinae |
Black-veined White |
Aporia crataegi |
|
Pierinae |
Small White |
Pieris rapae |
|
Pierinae |
Green-veined White |
Pieris napi |
|
Coliadinae |
Clouded Yellow |
Colias croceus |
|
Coliadinae |
Berger's Clouded
Yellow |
C.
alfacariensis |
|
Coliadinae |
Pale/Berger's
Clouded Yellow |
C.
hyale/C. alfacariensis |
|
Coliadinae |
Cleopatra |
Gonepteryx cleopatra |
|
Coliadinae |
Brimstone |
Gonepteryx rhamni |
|
Dismorphiinae |
Wood White |
Leptidea sinapis |
|
Theclinae |
Purple Hairstreak |
Neozephyrus quercus |
|
Theclinae |
White-letter
Hairstreak |
Satyrium w-album |
|
Lycaeninae |
Small Copper |
Lycaena phlaeas |
|
Lycaeninae |
Purple-shot Copper |
Thersamolycaena alciphron |
|
Lycaeninae |
Scarce Copper |
Heodes virgaureae |
|
Lycaeninae |
Sooty copper |
Heodes tityrus |
|
Lycaeninae |
Purple-edged
Copper |
Palaeochrysophanus hippothoe |
|
Polyommatinae |
Long-tailed Blue |
Lampides boeticus |
|
Polyommatinae |
Holly Blue |
Celastrina argiolus |
|
Polyommatinae |
Provençal
Short-tailed Blue |
Everes alcetas |
|
Polyommatinae |
Baton Blue |
Pseudophilotes baton |
|
Polyommatinae |
Idas Blue |
Plebejus idas |
|
Polyommatinae |
Mazarine Blue |
Cyaniris semiargus |
|
Polyommatinae |
Brown Argus |
Aricia agestis |
|
Polyommatinae |
Chapman's Blue |
Polyommatus thersites |
|
Polyommatinae |
Common Blue |
P.
icarus |
|
Polyommatinae |
Chalkhill Blue |
P.
coridon |
|
Polyommatinae |
Adonis Blue |
P.
bellargus |
|
Apaturinae |
Purple Emperor |
Apatura iris |
|
Apaturinae |
Lesser Purple
Emperor |
A.
ilia |
|
Limenitidinae |
White Admiral |
Ladoga camilla |
|
Limenitidinae |
Southern White
Admiral |
Azuritis reducta |
|
Heliconiinae |
Silver-washed
Fritillary |
Argynnis paphia |
|
Heliconiinae |
Dark Green
Fritillary |
Speyeria aglaja |
|
Heliconiinae |
High Brown
Fritillary |
Fabriciana adippe |
|
Heliconiinae |
Niobe Fritillary |
F.
niobe |
|
Heliconiinae |
Marbled Fritillary |
Brenthis daphne |
|
Heliconiinae |
Lesser Marbled
Fritillary |
B.
ino |
|
Heliconiinae |
Queen of Spain
Fritillary |
Issoria lathonia |
|
Nymphalinae |
Map |
Araschnia levana |
|
Nymphalinae |
Red Admiral |
Vanessa atalanta |
|
Nymphalinae |
Small
Tortoiseshell |
Aglais urticae |
|
Nymphalinae |
Painted Lady |
Vanessa cardui |
|
Nymphalinae |
Comma |
Polygonia c-album |
|
Nymphalinae |
Titania's
Fritillary |
Clossiana titania |
|
Nymphalinae |
Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary |
C.
selene |
|
Nymphalinae |
Violet Fritillary |
C.
dia |
|
Nymphalinae |
Glanville
Fritillary |
Melitaea cinxia |
|
Nymphalinae |
Spotted Fritillary |
Didymaeformia didyma |
|
Nymphalinae |
Heath Fritillary |
Mellicta athalia |
|
Nymphalinae |
Meadow Fritillary |
Mellicta parthenoides |
|
Satyrinae |
Marbled White |
Melanargia galathea |
|
Satyrinae |
Lesser Woodland
Grayling |
Hipparchia genava |
|
Satyrinae |
Woodland Grayling |
H.
fagi |
|
Satyrinae |
Black Satyr |
Satyrus actaea |
|
Satyrinae |
Great Banded
Grayling |
Brintesia circe |
|
Satyrinae |
Arran Brown |
Erebia ligea |
|
Satyrinae |
Large Ringlet |
E.
euryale |
|
Satyrinae |
Bright-eyed
Ringlet |
E.
oeme |
|
Satyrinae |
Piedmont Ringlet |
E.
meolans |
|
Satyrinae |
Meadow Brown |
Maniola jurtina |
|
Satyrinae |
Ringlet |
Aphantopus hyperantus |
|
Satyrinae |
Gatekeeper |
Pyronia tithonus |
|
Satyrinae |
Small Heath |
Coenonympha pamphilus |
|
Satyrinae |
Pearly Heath |
C.
arcania |
|
Satyrinae |
Speckled Wood |
Pararge aegeria |
|
Satyrinae |
Wall |
Lasiommata megera |
|
Satyrinae |
Large Wall |
L.
maera |
|
Pyrginae |
Cinquefoil
Skipper |
Pyrgus cirsii |
|
Pyrginae |
Mallow Skipper |
Carcharodus alceae |
|
Pyrginae |
Tufted Marbled
Skipper |
C.
flocciferus |
|
Pyrginae |
Dingy Skipper |
Erynnis tages |
|
Hesperiinae |
Lulworth Skipper |
Thymelicus acteon |
|
Hesperiinae |
Essex Skipper |
T.
lineola |
|
Hesperiinae |
Small Skipper |
T.
sylvestris |
|
Hesperiinae |
Silver-spotted
Skipper |
Hesperia comma |
|
Hesperiinae |
Large Skipper |
Ochlodes faunus |
Species recorded in the Auvergne in July 2006
|
Site |
Family |
subfamily |
Genus |
species |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Papilionidae |
Papilioninae |
Papilio |
machaon |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Papilionidae |
Papilioninae |
Iphiclides |
podalirius |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Pieridae |
Pierinae |
Pieris |
brassicae |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Pieridae |
Pierinae |
Aporia |
crataegi |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Pieridae |
Pierinae |
Pieris |
rapae |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Pieridae |
Pierinae |
Pieris |
napi |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Pieridae |
Coliadinae |
Colias |
croceus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Pieridae |
Coliadinae |
Colias |
hyale / alfacariensis |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Pieridae |
Coliadinae |
Gonepteryx |
rhamni |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Pieridae |
Dismorphiinae |
Leptidea |
sinapis |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Theclinae |
Satyrium |
acaciae |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Theclinae |
Satyrium |
ilicis |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Theclinae |
Neozephyrus |
quercus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Theclinae |
Satyrium |
spini |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Theclinae |
Satyrium |
w-album |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Lycaeninae |
Helleia |
helle |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Lycaeninae |
Lycaena |
phlaeas |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Lycaeninae |
Thersamolycaena |
alciphron |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Lycaeninae |
Heodes |
virgaureae |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Lycaeninae |
Heodes |
tityrus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Lycaeninae |
Palaeochrysophanus |
hippothoe |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Polyommatinae |
Lampides |
boeticus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Polyommatinae |
Celastrina |
argiolus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Polyommatinae |
Plebejus |
argus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Polyommatinae |
Eumedonia |
eumedon |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Polyommatinae |
Aricia |
agestis |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Lycaenidae |
Polyommatinae |
Polyommatus |
icarus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Apaturinae |
Apatura |
iris |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Apaturinae |
Apatura |
ilia |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Limenitidinae |
Ladoga |
camilla |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Limenitidinae |
Azuritis |
reducta |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Limenitidinae |
Limenitis |
populi |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Araschnia |
levana |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Vanessa |
atalanta |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Aglais |
urticae |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Vanessa |
cardui |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Heliconiinae |
Argynnis |
paphia |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Heliconiinae |
Speyeria |
aglaja |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Heliconiinae |
Fabriciana |
adippe |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Heliconiinae |
Fabriciana |
niobe |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Brenthis |
daphne |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Brenthis |
ino |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Issoria |
lathonia |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Clossiana |
titania |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Melitaea |
cinxia |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Cinclidia |
phoebe |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Didymaeformia |
didyma |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Mellicta |
athalia |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalinae |
Mellicta |
parthenoides |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Melanargia |
galathea |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Hipparchia |
fagi |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Satyrus |
actaea |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Brintesia |
circe |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Erebia |
ligea |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Erebia |
euryale |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Erebia |
oeme |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Erebia |
meolans |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Maniola |
jurtina |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Aphantopus |
hyperantus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Coenonympha |
pamphilus |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Coenonympha |
gardetta |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Coenonympha |
arcania |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Pararge |
aegeria |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Lasiommata |
megera |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Nymphalidae |
Satyrinae |
Lasiommata |
maera |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Hesperiidae |
Pyrginae |
Pyrgus |
carthami |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Hesperiidae |
Pyrginae |
Carcharodus |
alceae |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Hesperiidae |
Hesperiinae |
Thymelicus |
lineola |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Hesperiidae |
Hesperiinae |
Thymelicus |
sylvestris |
|
Livradois-Forez |
Hesperiidae |
Hesperiinae |
Ochlodes |
venata |
|
