...Simon Coombes Picture Gallery II

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Larger images of most of the following butterflies and moths are available by clicking on the images shown.

Adonis Blue - Lysandra bellargus

The Adonis blue is one of the scarcer blues within the UK, only being found on a few hot, sparsely vegetated downs in southern England. It has declined in the past, probably due to the decline in Rabbits as a result of Myxomatosis. This particular specimen was photographed on Phoneme Down in Dorset using a 200mm macro lens to get a good size image. A fast shutter speed, 1/250 of a second was used as it was a windy, but bright, day.

Comma - Polygonia c-album

The Comma is a widespread and reasonably common species in Britain, emerging from hibernation in April and producing a generation in late Summer. The second generation is often lighter in color (f. hutchinsoni), of which this photo is one. There is another species of Comma (P. egea) which is found mainly in Southern Europe. I believe there are several close relations in the U.S. as well.

Orange Tip - Anthocharis cardamines

A common spring time butterfly with a delightful pattern on both the topside and the underside. The underside (first photo) is mottled green to make it difficult to pick out from a background of green leaves and shoots. While the topside (second photo) is white with orange tips, giving the butterflies common name. There are several related species in Europe, some of which have a yellow ground color with orange tips.

Eastern Festoon - Zerynthia ceriysi

One of a group of three Zerynthia species found in Europe, this one is most common in, not surprisingly, the East of Europe. This particular specimen was photographed in SW Turkey, where it was relatively common. The female of the species came in several forms, some of which were so dark that I was confused as to whether they could have been another species!

Woodland Grayling - Hipparchia fagi

This large, by European standards, Satyrid was quite numerous in the Pyrenees Orientales in South France. Like many of its close relations, it never settles with its wings open and tries to angle its wings so as not to cast a shadow. You can see the purpose of this when it's settled in amongst stones and earth; it is certainly well camouflaged.

Green Hairstreak - Callophrys rubi

This is a very distinctively colored little butterfly. Widespread and often common in Europe and relatively common in the UK, it emerges in May and has a prolonged flight period (mid April to mid July) considering it is univoltine (only one brood per year). Like most "hairstreaks", it has a rapid jinking flight, which make them hard to follow,but one gets the hang of it with a little practice.

Lesser Fiery Copper - Thersamonia thersamon

This is a copper of south eastern Europe. I happened across one specimen early in April in SW Turkey, which was kind enough to allow photographs to be taken. It was flying with several small coppers (Lycaena phleas), shich I believe is one of those species that flies both sides of the Atlantic.

References

• Simon Coombes, Photographer

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