Provence Hairstreak (Tomares ballus)
2011 photos highlighted in green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
|
|
|
|
| 19758_male_Var_19Apr10 | 24097_male_Var_16Apr11 | 24113_male_Var_16Apr11 |
|
|
|
|
| 14526_male?_Var_14Apr09 | 9864_female?_Var_21Apr08 | 19553_female?_Var_14Apr10 |
|
|
|
|
| 14499_female_Var_13Apr09 | 14500_ovum_Var_13Apr09 |
|
This is a butterfly of the southern Iberian peninsula with a very localised presence in Var. It broadly has the underside forewing of a Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) and the hindwing of a Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) and never settles with open wings. It has a very early flight season from late March to the end of April. 2007 seemed to be an early season and I saw one individual (the first ever, always a thrill), and it was quite worn even on 19 April. In 2008 I revisited the same site and found at least two individuals, and the same in 2009 plus I found several spread over a wide area at another site. Since then, another two locations have been identified. |
It is noticeably hairy, quite strange for a species that
occurs only in very hot climates. T&L shows the female upperside as being largely bright orange, the
male as a consistent darkish brown, and the female as being rather larger than the
male. I first saw females for certain in 2009 and they were clearly lighter in
flight, the orangeness of the uppersides being apparent if not clearly visible. It is also noticeable that the hindwing is a bright yellow-green when fresh but upon ageing, loses the yellow tinge and takes on a bluish hue. |
| ref | sex |
observations |
alt. m |
| 19758 | M |
a male, I believe, a highly territorial pose. |
220 |
| 24097 | M | a rather aged male, hence the bluish tinge to the unh. | 185 |
| 24113 | M | possibly the same individual as 24113. | 185 |
| 14526 | M |
probably a male, based on its pose and its behaviour at the time. It appears to be quite fresh, judging from the yellowness of the unh. |
220 |
| 9864 | F |
this may be a female based on its pose and where it is i.e. in the undergrowth. The slight pointedness of the forewing tip may be a pointer to female, judging by the illustration in T&L. |
220 |
| 19553 | F |
possibly a female, largely based on its behaviour at the time, and possibly also the rounded shape of the hindwing at the anal angle. The forewing apex is not pointed as I would expect from a female (see 14499), though. |
140 |
| 14499 | F |
clearly a female, as it is ovipositing. The forewing appears quite pointed and the forewing costa slightly convex at the apex, so maybe this feature is a semi-reliable clue to the sex. I am puzzled as the plant it is laying on; Lafranchis gives several larval hostplants (of genus Anthyllis, Medicago, Hippocrepis, Onobrychis, Dorycnium, Lotus), all of which are low-lying, but the plant in 14499 and 14500 does not appear to be any of those listed and does not appear to be low-lying. I have not yet been able to identify this plant, so any help here would be welcome. |
140 |
| 14500 | OVUM |
an ovum, not necessarily the one laid by 14499. |
140 |
