12654_male_Isère_11Jul08
Poplar Admiral (Limenitis populi)
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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12654_male_Isère_11Jul08 |
22506_male_Isère_17Jul10 | 22768_male_Isère_18Jul10 |
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| 22512_male_Isère_17Jul10 | 22706_male_Isère_17Jul10 | 12668_male_Isère_11Jul08 |
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Forget Purple Emperors (Apatura iris)! This butterfly is the real emperor, dwarfing iris for size, if not for iridescence. Its flight is magnificent, unforgettable. I had not seen one before 2008 and then saw three within one week. I thought then that it may be years before I see one again - but I did see one in 2009 alongside a river in the Alpes, which circled me a few times but sadly did not settle, and in 2010 I saw three individuals, possibly four, in the same location as 2008. |
The female is even larger and very rarely seen, and I have yet to see one. The underside is just as magnificent as the upperside, being a beautiful strong orange ground colour contrasting with a pale grey-blue hindwing border. The underside shows why it is an Admiral, a member of the Limenitis family, rather than an Emperor of the Apatura family - compare the design with the White Admiral (Limenitis camilla) and the Southern White Admiral (Limenitis reducta). |
| ref | sex |
observations |
alt. m |
| 12654 | M |
at a fantastic riverside puddling place a rather large but battered populi came down to take salts and gave a good photo opportunity while engrossed. The next day, I revisited the site and another populi dropped down, the magnificently fresh male 12654. Again, it was difficult to approach for a photo, disappearing as soon I got within 2m, but it did return each time (received wisdom says that it does not return to the same place if scared off, but maybe this does not apply when it's puddling), and patience was rewarded. The uph marginal markings were magnificent, much brighter than shown in T&L, especially the double blue lines. Just incredible. |
1120 |
| 22506 | M |
a male, with very much reduced white markings especially in the discal area of the uph. This was taking salts on the ground at a nearby camp site, where the shower and toilet block were a magnet for 22506 and several other species. |
1120 |
| 22768 | M |
a male, not quite as strongly marked as 12654, especially in respect of the uph orange submarginal crescents. |
1120 |
| 22512 | M |
a male, the underside of 22506. |
1120 |
| 22706 | M |
a male, the underside of 22768. |
1120 |
| 12668 | M |
a male, the underside of 12654. |
1120 |
