Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa)
2009 photos highlighted in yellow. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
|
|
|
|
| 18151_female_Isere_12Jul09 | 15025_male?_Var_08May09 | 05_27-29_male?_Hautes Pyrenees_27Jul05 |
|
|
||
| 05_26-03_male?_Hautes Pyrenees_27Jul05 |
An amazing butterfly. It is very large and glides majestically, settling only occasionally, and flying powerfully with a very fast wing-beat. In 2004 I saw the first antiopa for definite as there have been occasions in the past where I was sure it was antiopa gliding high overhead. I have read that they are only encountered in very small numbers, usually singly, but I saw two near Biot on 6 April 2005 and then several near Frejus on 7 April. It has been suggested (by Guy Padfield) that they may hibernate in communal areas and then disperse in the spring. Since then, I have seen antiopa on many occasions - 2009 was a very good year - but nearly always awakening hibernators in the forests near the south coast of France, often in the same locations every year. I have heard it suggested that antiopa needs to overwinter at very low temperatures in order to remain sufficiently torpid, but that has not been my experience. However, I have not seen second generation antiopa in the southern forests, so I am nonplussed as to where the hibernators go after they awake or indeed if they do produce a second generation that immediately heads northward for cooler climes and higher altitudes.
18151: a female, presumably taking moisture from the ground, as it was in the company of numerous males of many different species which were puddling, i.e. taking the salts, an activity unique to males. The body shape is clearly of a female and it is the first time I can say I have seen a female for sure. The borders are exceptionally wide (is this normal for a female?) and not as yellow as one would expect (contrast with 05_27-29) and the "tails" are very pronounced and quite rounded. So different to any other antiopa I have seen, but it was on the ground for some time, allowing a unique opportunity to enjoy its magnificence. Altitude 1120m.
15025: a rather more normal view of an overwintered antiopa, battered and with very tattered fringes. This was seen in a location where they clearly overwinter each year, and in 2009 I saw two at the same time. They spend most of their flying time gliding majestically and effortlessly around the tree canopy, settling on the ground only rarely, and then being very nervous and difficult to approach. Altitude 230m.
05_27-29: a male, I believe, as it is taking salts in the underside photo. These two photos are of the same individual, a second generation (I assume) with perfect bright yellow fringes. It was slightly sluggish on an overcast day and allowed me to get quite close for a photo or two and eventually decided to take the salts from my hand.
05_26-03: the underside of 05_27-29.
05_27-29_male?_Hautes Pyrenees_27Jul05:
05_26-03_male?_Hautes Pyrenees_27Jul05:
