15714_sex?_Doubs_03May09

15717_sex?_Doubs_03May09

A species of the wetlands of the northern areas of Europe, with very limited distribution in north-eastern France. It occurs in the UK only in parts of the north of England and in Scotland (where the form scotica occurs, which has virtually no unh ocelli). I have only seen it in one location, and only for the first time in 2009, so my experience is very limited. It is also very difficult to photograph as it flies almost constantly and when it does settle, it is low in short grass.

It appears to be very variable in terms of the unh ocelli (as evidenced by these two individuals from the same location) and the unh discal line. It is, however, quite noticeably large in flight.

It could be confused with the more widespread Chestnut Heath (C. glycerion) with which it sometimes flies, but the distinguishing characteristic is that the white discal line reaches the unh costa in tullia but not in glycerion. Also, looking at 15717 below, the discal line looks remarkably like that of the Small Heath (C. pamphilus), perhaps not surprisingly as they are closely related. Pamphilus can occasionally be quite large, so the capacity for confusion is not diminished on the grounds of size, but the well-developed ocelli of tullia means that there is no doubt about 15717.

observations

a complete absence of ocelli, but the unh discal line reaches the costa, thus confirming tullia.

quite well-developed ocelli, but still some way short of most illustrations in books and on websites.