Great Banded Grayling (Brintesia circe)
2011 photos highlighted in green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 4045_female_Var_31Aug06 | 25143_male_Var_25May11 | 21093_sex?_Var_24Jun10 |
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| 16606_sex?_Var_24Jun09 | 16682_sex?_Var_25Jun09 | 9612_female_Var_10Sep07 |
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A quite magnificent butterfly, which could easily mistaken for a Purple Emperor (Apatura iris) on a first fleeting sighting because of its huge size and strong white band on the upperside, as well as the powerful and often soaring flight, which is very un-grayling like. Generally widespread and quite common and I have seen them in large numbers only in the lavender fields of Provence. They never rest with open wings and have a habit of resting on the trunks of trees. |
It cannot really be confused with any Hipparchia species as the short white unh band in the basal region clearly differentiates it from any other species. Sometimes, however, this short band can be quite greyish rather than white, so a close look may be necessary. In 2010, which was generally a poor year for spring butterflies because of the cold and wet early spring weather, circe did not seem to be affected and was one of the few species to thrive in 2010. |
| ref | sex |
observations |
alt. m |
| 4045 | F | this female seems to contradict my earlier statement about resting with open wings, is not, in fact, resting - it was settled with closed wings on a tree trunk but I noticed that every 30 seconds or so it flicked its wings open momentarily; I watched it closely and found that it was only flicking its wings open when an ant went too close. I got the photo using the five frames/second rapid-shoot feature on my camera. | 60 |
| 25143 | M | this is a very fresh, dark, male with rather creamy white unh markings. It is sampling rotting banana laced with rum. | 60 |
| 21093 | ? |
this is more of a greyish colouring, rather than the browner tone circe can often have. |
10 |
| 16606 | ? |
a rare shot with the forewing extended upward. Circe normally rests with the forewing down, as in 9612, presumably for camouflage reasons. |
60 |
| 16682 | ? |
also sampling the alcoholic mixture. |
60 |
| 9612 | F |
this was very large, as I recall, and therefore almost certainly a female. The unh had very little contrast and the basal white mark is quite inconspicuous, given that it is often cited as a key means of identification. |
430 |
