Alpine butterflying part 1

As mentioned in my first Alpine post, the main purpose of this trip was to see some new butterflies.  With 176 species on the Haute Savoie list, almost two thirds of which I'd never seen, there was plenty of potential but the one species I especially hoped to find was the Apollo.  This distinctive butterfly is restricted to mountainous areas yet all of my previous visits to the Alps have been in the spring, well before its flight period.  Within half an hour of our first morning in the mountains, we already saw two in flight and our hike then took us through a valley which was full of them.

Mission accomplished!  Of course, I wasn't going to stop there, however, and I ended up with a final list of 70 species for the week, 31 of which were new for me. With almost 40 different species in the area, I really struggled with the blues although I eventually managed to identify most of the pictures I took.  This one shows, from left to right, Mazarine (two), Chapman's and Idas Blues.

The fritillaries were also a challenge but I tentatively identified 12 species, half of which I'd not seen before.  The next instalment will be a gallery featuring some of my favourite butterfly photo's from my week away.