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Post by luehdorfia on May 18, 2019 16:15:16 GMT
As promised here some of my best photos from the provence. I was staying in the south slopes of the Mont Ventoux, for 8 days, and although there was Mistral on three days (a very cold and very dry wind/storm), I could still find plenty of butterflies during sunshine. Highlights were Zerynthia rumina in all stages, Melitaea deione, Anthocharis euphenoides and Zygaena lavandulae!
One of my favorite spots during the stay was this very small clearing in the forest with old dead olive trees, and the white top of the Mont Ventoux shining in the background. In this spot you could find, Melitaea dydima, Zerynthia rumina, Gonepteryx cleobule, Anthocharis euphenoides and some Lycaenidae, although most Lycaenidae were already very worn.
A copula of Melitaea dydima in the grass.
My second best locality was an old wine yard, completely overgrown with grass and wild thyme bushes. There was so much blooming thyme that one was constantly inhaling the provence, just great. Also again in the background the Mont Ventoux, height was about 400m.
One of the many thyme bushes exemplary, filled with Melitea deione and dydima, all completely fresh and just beautiful.
All the locations where butterflies were flying were around 400-500m height above sea level. I drove to the top of Mont Ventoux at 1900m, but it was still extremely cold, minus 3 degrees celcius. The mistral was blowing so strong that it was almost impossible to get out of the car. A friend of mine had told me about some Parnassius apollo spots on the top, and some around 800m height, but it was so cold and the ground still frozen that the apolos must fly quite late. My guess is probably around mid of July.
And in the end, on the last day before leaving I found a perfect spot for Zygaena lavandulae. I love this Zygaena, this blueish black shine on the wings, and the white neck. They are also quite big and very fast and strong fliers. They look like black big bumblebees when they fly. And then this photo was the real highlight of the stay. I only had my iPhone with me, since it was just next to a parking spot after going to the supermarket, and it was the only lavandulae that was sitting quietly and letting me take a photo from 10cm distance.
All in all, I can really recommend for anyone to visit the Provence around the Mont Ventoux. If you come in July, it would also be possible to see all the Lavendel fields between Bedoin and Sault and then Digne.
Of course wine of the Mont Ventoux is also highly recommendable, after my daily expeditions I "collected" some new wine every afternoon, and tested it during dinner.
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Post by trehopr1 on May 18, 2019 22:03:15 GMT
That is a simply stunning Zygaena species ! Hope you managed to take a few specimens .... Beautiful pictures throughout. Thanks for sharing your trip.
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Post by jmg on May 19, 2019 0:15:47 GMT
Gonepteryx cleobule (Hübner, 1824) – Canary Island
Gonepteryx cleopatra (Linnaeus, 1767) – Provence
P. apollo does not fly in May : end of June and July in Provence. Best spot for apollo in Provence : the Montagne de Lure.
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Post by luehdorfia on May 19, 2019 7:23:21 GMT
Thanks for the correction. Yes cleopatra it is. I wasn’t looking for the adult apollos, I just wanted to find caterpillars. Theoretically that should have been possible, end of June as time for the adults the caterpillars should be medium sized now. But all the habitats at the mont Ventoux we’re still frozen.
I also went to the Gorge de La Nesque, the Nesque Canyon, which is considerably lower and also should be a good habitat, but the localities with Sedum were too steep to have a close look.
Is it easy to find in the Montagne de lure?
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Post by luehdorfia on May 19, 2019 10:03:42 GMT
trehopr1 yes, I took some, some fresh ones. I also collected some very nice Anthocharis euphenoides, and Melitaea deione. All not that easy to catch, except of thyme there weren’t that many blooming flowers yet. All butterflies including the lavandulae were flying around fast most of the time. In July and August it must be fantastic to just walk through the lavender fields and collect nectaring butterflies. The once mentioned above were all very fresh. I didn’t collect any Iphiclides podalirius, they were very worn already, and almost no Lycaenidae, they were also very worn, summer species not emerged yet and spring species came out very early.
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Post by jmg on May 20, 2019 0:25:23 GMT
"Is it easy to find in the Montagne de lure?" Do you mean to find apollo ? Yes, it's easy ! Several locations under the summit (south slope). But, the best places are the sleepy road when it runs along a cliff before the pass and especially, at the pass (Pas de la Graille, 1600 m) along the path (forbidden to cars) that leaves this pass. There, many apollo fly on the lawns. In 2016 and 2017, P. apollo was abundant at the end of June. By 2018, they had not emerged at the same time. P. apollo can also be found in the Monts du Vaucluse (between Ventoux and Montagne de Lure) around Lagarde d'Apt, but much more localized. Papilio alexanor also flies, at the end of June, on the same biotopes of P. apollo. It goes without saying that both species are protected and there is no question of collecting them. On the other hand, they are excellent locations for photography. Parnassius mnemosyne is known to fly on the northern slope of the Montagne de Lure: I have not yet discovered the precise location. It will be next June. I will be there for the whole month. See : www.lepido-france.fr/biotope-de-papilio-alexanor-esper-1799/And now, some of my pictures about the same matters: Le Pas de la Graille, Montagne de Lure (1500 m), (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), 21 juin 2017  Parnassius apollo mating ; Pas de la Graille, 23 juin 2015  Parnassius apollo provincialis Kheil, 1905, ♂. Montagne de Lure (1600 m), (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence), 21 juin 2017  Parnassius apollo provincialis Kheil, 1905, ♂. Lagarde d’Apt, 1200 m (Vaucluse), 11 juin 2017  Biotope de Zerynthia rumina (L., 1758). Plateau de Coupon (511 m), Viens (Vaucluse), 8 mai 2014  Zerynthia rumina (L., 1758), mâle. Plateau de Coupon (511 m), Viens (Vaucluse), 12 mai 2014  Zerynthia rumina (L., 1758) flying. Plateau de Coupon (511 m), Viens (Vaucluse), 8 mai 2014  Aristoloche, PHL de Zerynthia polyxenes et Z. rumina. Plateau de Coupon. Saint-Martin-de-Castillon (Vaucluse), 10 juin 2017  Lavander fields. Le vallon des Fouix depuis les Hautes-Courennes (550 m), Saint-Martin-de-Castillon (Vaucluse), 30 juin 2017  |
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Post by jmg on May 20, 2019 9:08:34 GMT
If we consider the last picture above (with the lavender fields): Zerynthia polyxena and Z. rumina inhabit the Coupon plateau above the last visible lavender field. Z. rumina also flies above the one visible in the foreground, but in a very restricted space. The altitude of the plateaus around this valley of Fouix is 550 m asl, so it is too low for P. apollo. It goes without saying that lavender in bloom (in fact, not lavender but lavandin) attracts many butterflies. In addition, the bottom of the valley contains a small lake and a stream that attract other species. Among the most common in these biotopes: I. podalirius, P. machaon, B. circe, G. cleopatra, L. reducta and N. polychloros (only in 2018). In the spring, besides the two Zerynthia, we find G. alexis, Euphydryas aurinia provincialis, Anthocharis belia euphenoides, Adscita statices, & c. Picture : Papilio alexanor alexanor Esper, 1799. Lagarde d’Apt, 1200 m (Vaucluse), 11 juin 2017 (not collected ! Just a visiting friend !)  |
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Post by luehdorfia on May 20, 2019 9:32:26 GMT
jmg absolutely beautiful photos! Concerning Parnassius mnemosyne I recently spoke with Jean-Marie Andre, who photographs Zygaena and is responsible for the database validation of butterflies records in Vaucluse for the future Atlas of the butterflies of Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur. He told me at Mont Ventoux there are no records of Corydalis, so probably no mnemosyne, the Montagne de Lure are very close, so perhaps that’s the last location before Mont Ventoux or the population extends further west? I really would love to go back to Vaucluse in June/July. Your photos are just making it harder to stay here in Germany or going to England for a business trip.
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Post by wollastoni on May 20, 2019 9:33:33 GMT
Another spot for apollo is the Mont Mourre Nègre in the path above the village of Auribeau.
apollo is resisting rather well in Provence despite the low altitude and climate change.
Why ?
Because the real enemy of apollo is not climate change but vegetation overgrowing due to the diminution of cattle.
In Mediteranean area (Greece, Provence, Spain, South Italy), as it is arid, overgrowing is impossible... in more temperate area (Alpes, Jura, Massif central, Germany, Central Europe), less cattle triggers overgrowing of vegetation and the disappearance of apollo in these spots.
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Post by jmg on May 20, 2019 9:52:32 GMT
Some others pictures from the same location : 1. The same valley at the end of May (May 26, 2018) when the lavender is not in bloom. We see very well the plateau Coupon and, in the background, the Grand Luberon (eastern part)  2. Here, the western slope of the valley of Fouix: the biotope to Z. rumina is located above the small clearing visible down the slope (end of May, 2018).  3. The lavender in bloom (end of June 2018)  4. Limenitis reducta Staudinger, 1901, ♀ et ♂. Les Hautes-Courennes (550 m), Saint-Martin-de-Castillon (Vaucluse), 15 juin 2018  5. Aporia crataegi (Linnaeus, 1758), mating. Les Hautes-Courennes (550 m), Saint-Martin-de-Castillon (Vaucluse), 1er juin 2018; very common in 2018.  6. Zygaena purpuralis purpuralis (Brünnich, 1763). Les Hautes-Courennes (550 m), Saint-Martin-de-Castillon (Vaucluse), 30 juin 2017  7. Nymphalis polychloros (Linnaeus, 1758). Les Hautes-Courennes (500 m), Saint-Martin-de-Castillon (Vaucluse), 14 juin 2018  8. Melanargia galathea (Linnaeus, 1758), ♂, capturé et dévoré par Empusa pennata (Thunberg, 1815). Les Hautes-Courennes (550 m), Saint-Martin-de-Castillon (Vaucluse), 20 juin 2017  9. Anthocharis belia euphenoides (Staudinger, 1869), mâle. Plateau de Coupon (531 m), Viens (Vaucluse), 8 mai 2014  10. Euphydryas aurinia provincialis (Boisduval, 1828), mâle. Les Hautes-Courennes (550 m), Saint-Martin-de-Castillon (Vaucluse), 7 mai 2014  |
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Post by jmg on May 20, 2019 9:58:46 GMT
"Concerning Parnassius mnemosyne I recently spoke with Jean-Marie Andre, who photographs Zygaena and is responsible for the database validation of butterflies records in Vaucluse for the future Atlas of the butterflies of Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur. " It happens that last year, near Lagarde d'Apt, on the biotope of P. apollo and P. alexanor, I met Jean-Marie André with whom I spoke at length. Moreover, one can, on the website of the ALF, see his photos of Zygaenidae of Morocco. The presence of mnemosyne on the northern slope of the Montagne de Lure is confirmed by lepidopterists in the region. I hope to discover the exact place next June! See : www.lepido-france.fr/zygenes-maroc-richesse-declin/ |
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Post by jmg on May 20, 2019 10:07:51 GMT
"Another spot for apollo is the Mont Mourre Nègre in the path above the village of Auribeau".
Right ! But the butterfly is much less present than in Monts du Vaucluse and Montagne de Lure. In the same way, we can meet P. mnemosyne on the Montage of the Sainte Baume where it is rarefied strongly and remains very localized.
Concerning P. apollo, the butterfly, always in Provence, is abundant on the eastern part of the Plateau de Valensole (East of the Manosque town, about 30 kilometers from this town).
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