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Matt Rowlings

 

           
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Field Notes

Cluj, Romania, May 2009

Cluj, Romania, May 2009
A near albino form, all the orange was severely washed out.

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Cluj, Romania, June 2006

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Female showing broad submarginal orange band.

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Male is much darker with more extensive black marks.

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Occasionally they would take salts from bare patches of ground.

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Low Ash on right, butterflies would feed on Compositae low down or Elder along the woodland margin.

Photo by Mauro Gianti

Cuneo Province, Italy, June

Photo by Mauro Gianti

Cuneo Province, Italy, June

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Often they would settle on white and take salts from clothing or bags.

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

Côte d'Or, France, June 2005

There were 8 butterflies on this bush, all taking nectar at about 4 metres above ground level.

This appears to be a very scarce species, at least in western Europe. It has suffered serious decline during the last century and it can now only be found in a few small regions of France, Germany and Austria, becoming slightly more easily found in Hungary and Romania. It is also widespread in S Finland although I don't believe it is very common here.

I am very pleased to report that I have recently received remarkable information about a single colony in the province of Cuneo in Italy. This is very remote from all other known populations and much further south than the nearest populations in France (see photos above). I am indebted to Mauro Gianti, co-author of the paper "Sulla Presenze in Italia di Euphydryas maturna" published in Doriana, Vol. III, n.355 for this reference. He has also allowed me to use the photos above from Italy, the first time I have included any photos on my site not taken by my father or me. He has very wisely taken the precaution of not publishing detailed site information to protect this unique colony from damage/ destruction by the small but very dangerous army of professional collectors that operate across Europe with no regard the butterflies, only for their own profits. Please don't buy any dead-stock from such people!

My experience from the Côte d'Or is one of meeting butterfly enthusiasts! Nowhere else can I almost guarantee meeting other lepsters. I am please to say most of these people appear to be intent on seeing the butterfly rather than to collect it.

It flies along woodland edges. It feeds frequently and for long periods on flowering shrubs, often at significant heights but will also fly over neighbouring flowery meadows and roadside verges (even in villages!) and take nectar from Scabious, Daisies and other low plants (mostly Compositae). A pre-requisite appears to be fresh growths of Ash trees, perhaps between 1 and 5 meters high but these can be some distance from the feeding locations. This, I understand, is the preferred egg laying situation.

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