High Brown Fritillary (Argynnis adippe)
2009 photos highlighted in yellow. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
|
|
|
|
| 18628_male_Isere_15Jul09 | 2126_male_Isere_30Jun06 | 18909_female_Dordogne_20Aug09 |
|
|
|
|
| 04_51-10_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_29July04 | 2117_male_Isere_30Jun06 | 18395_male_Isere_13Jul09 |
|
|
|
|
| 18457_male_Isere_13Jul09 | 03_13D_male?_Ariege_Jun03 - form cleodoxa |
A seriously threatened butterfly in the UK, with a rapidly
receding range, but thankfully not so in France where it is quite widespread if
rarely common.
It is superficially similar to the
Dark Green Fritillary (A. aglaja)
and
There is also the form cleodoxa found principally in the south in which the silver unh spots are replaced by buff, as can just be seen in 03-13D above. I have found cleodoxa to be predominant in the Pyrenees but I have not encountered it (yet) in Var. There is also an intermediate form cleodippe which I have seen in the Pyrenees also.
18628: a male, as indicated by the heavy sex brands. Quite lightly marked. Altitude 1230m.
2126: the same male as 2117. The upf sex brands on v2 and v3 are strong and clear. Altitude 1020m.
18909: a female, more heavily marked than the male. Altitude 80m.
04_51-10: a fairly heavily marked female. The absence of the sex brands (see 2126) point conclusively to female.
2117: a typical male underside, easy to photograph when they are preoccupied taking salts, except that the photographer has to lie prostrate (often in the road) in
order to get a straight-on shot. Altitude 1020m.
18395: a male, puddling. Rather delicate beige markings. Altitude 1120m.
18457: I suspect on closer study of the markings, that this male is the same individual as 18395. Altitude 1120m.
03_13D: the buff colouration, clear even from this angle, confirms cleodoxa.
04_51-10_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_29July04
