Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia)
2009 photos highlighted in yellow. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 18256_male_Isere_12Jul09 | 2355_male_Var_5Jul06 | 18246_male_Isere_12Jul09 |
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| 18401_male_Isere_13Jul09 | 16342_female_Var_20Jun09 | 16322_female_Var_20Jun09 - form valezina |
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| 16498_female_Var_23Jun09 - form valezina | 2661_female_Var_11Jul06 - the form valezina | 11591_female_Var_27Jun08 |
A common species almost everywhere. The last four photos show the form valezina, a variant of the female where both surfaces have a bronze-green suffusion, giving it a superficial similarity to the Cardinal (A. pandora). I have only seen one in England, where it is comparatively infrequent, but in one small locality in Var, valezina consistently makes up around 30% of the female paphia population of 20-30, and this has been consistent every year for the past few years. Valezina is sometimes spelt valesina. The male paphia has very pronounced sex brands, giving it a more "streaky" appearance, whereas the female seems more "spotted".
18256: a male, fresh and quite heavily marked. Altitude 1120m.
2355: a typical male with very heavy sex brands on veins 1-3 and a smaller one on s4. Altitude 450m.
18246: a male, nice developed silvery-white unh streaks. Altitude 1120m.
18401: a male, very limited silvery-white streaks on the unh - contrast with 18246 from the same location and time. Altitude 1120m.
16342: a female of the nominate form, quite heavily marked. Altitude 220m.
16322: a female of the form valezina, very heavily marked and appearing almost black in flight. Altitude 220m.
16498: a female of the form valezina taking moisture from a damp mud puddle. Altitude 450m.
2661: a female upperside of the form valezina. Altitude 450m.
11591: T&L says there is a form argyrea which has no silver streaks on the unh and occurs in northern Italy and spain, and 11591 matches the illustration of this in T&L quite closely. H&R refers to this for am anargyria. I am inclined to assume that it is an underside of the form valezina, but T&L does not give an illustration of this so I cannot be 100% certain, although I cannot see what else it could be, on the assumption that H&R is correct regarding the distribution of anargyria. If it is valezina, it has to be a female. Altitude 220m.
16322_female_Var_20Jun09 - form valezina
16498_female_Var_23Jun09 - form valezina
