Striped Grayling (Hipparchia fidia)
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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| 13695_male_Vaucluse_22Aug08 | 13891_male_Vaucluse_24Aug08 | 19151_sex?_Hérault_28Aug09 |
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A very distinctive jagged “V” shape in the unh discal line, and a quite light underside generally, makes fidia easy to identify. Prior to 2009 I saw it only rarely, once in 1999, another singleton in 2003, and not again until 2008 when I saw several in two localities in the Vaucluse, and once in northern Var. |
It seems to be becoming increasingly uncommon even in its stronghold areas. However, in 2009 I travelled across the Cevennes in late August and it was encountered in several locations. It is perhaps surprisingly large when seen in the field. |
| ref | sex |
observations |
alt. m |
| 13695 | M |
a very lightly coloured male. |
410 |
| 13891 | M |
a male, in a typical pose, unfortunately next to a discarded plastic bag in a car park. |
280 |
| 19151 | ? |
this may well be a female, because it was at the end of the flight period but also because it was rather browner in colouring, which may or may not be indicative. |
360 |
