...Simon Coombes Picture Gallery I

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

Scotch Argus - Erebia aethiops

Widespread across Europe but only found in Northern England and Scotland within the British Isles. This photo was taken in July 1996 in a very warm summer. Thousands of them were on the wing in Goen Fhinnlaidh near Fort William on the West coast of Scotland. Unfortunately, so were swarms of horseflies and we got very badly bitten. It was worth it, though.

Brown argus - Aricia agestis

A widespread and reasonably common butterfly in Europe and Britain. There can be some confusion with a close relation to the Mountain argus (Aricia artaxerxes), but in Britain, the latter only occurs in the North. This photo was taken in July 1996 in the extensive Grovely Woods near Salisbury, in the South of England. I was actually hoping to see the elusive Purple emperor (Apatura iris) but failed.

Dark Green Fritillary - Mesoacidalia aglaja

The Dark Green Fritillary is one of the most widespread of its group within Europe and also within Britain, ranging from the far south right up into the Highlands of Scotland.

This picture was taken on West Down on the edge of Dartmoor in South Devon. This is a very special site that is home to five species of fritillary, including the declining High brown fritillary (Fabriciana adippe). I have been involved with some management on this site, which incolced cutting little paths through the tall Bracken to encourage the butterflies foodplant (Viola) and make them more easily accessible for egglaying.

Mallow Skipper - Carcharodus alceae

The Mallow Skipper is widespread and common throughout Europe, but is not present in the British Isles. This specimen was captured in Turunc in SW Turkey (actually in Asia) during an Easter holiday in 1995. This was my first use of an autofocus camera. It seems to have the sharpness as well as I could possibly have hoped for.

References

• Simon Coombes, Photographer

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