Silver-washed Fritillary (argynnis paphia)
2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 2355_male_Var_5Jul06 | 03_12F_male_Dordogne_Jun03 | 2661_female_Var_11Jul06 - the form valezina (or valesina) |
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| 6549_female_Var_6Jun07 | 11591_female_Var_27Jun08 |
A common species almost everywhere. 2661 is 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".
2355: a typical male with very heavy sex brands on veins 1-3 and a smaller one on s4.
03A_12F: this has a brownish uns ground colour, with transverse markings that were more white than silvery; this was how it looked at the time, so I don't think it's trick of the camera. An old photo, but opportunities to photograph the underside seem rare.
2661: a female upperside of the form valezina.
6549: a typical female of the nominate form. Altitude 220m.
11591: there is a form argyrea which occurs in north Africa and southern Europe, and 11591 matches the illustration of this in T&L very closely. I had originally assumed that it was an underside of the form valezina, but T&L does not give an illustration of this so I am uncertain. I suspect it is a female, for no convincing reason.
