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Butterflies & Moths from Lesbos (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Dave Hutton
- Start date
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
1. Looks like an Escher's Blue (Agrodiaetus escheri) spp. dalmaticus. A pic of the upperside would help to confirm.
2. It belongs to 'Lysandra' genus but without a view of the upperside is almost impossible for me to be possitive in the ID. Probably L. coridon or L. bellargus, but cannot be sure at all.
No idea about the moths, sorry :-C
If you can post pics of the upperside of those butterflies, even if they are poor quality, it would be a great help.
2. It belongs to 'Lysandra' genus but without a view of the upperside is almost impossible for me to be possitive in the ID. Probably L. coridon or L. bellargus, but cannot be sure at all.
No idea about the moths, sorry :-C
If you can post pics of the upperside of those butterflies, even if they are poor quality, it would be a great help.
Dave Hutton
Warwickshire Birder
1. Looks like an Escher's Blue (Agrodiaetus escheri) spp. dalmaticus. A pic of the upperside would help to confirm.
2. It belongs to 'Lysandra' genus but without a view of the upperside is almost impossible for me to be possitive in the ID. Probably L. coridon or L. bellargus, but cannot be sure at all.
No idea about the moths, sorry :-C
If you can post pics of the upperside of those butterflies, even if they are poor quality, it would be a great help.
Hi Gavia,
Thanks for trying i was posting for someone else & that was the only photos he posted,I'll try & see if he has any other upperside shots,ive got 1 showing 1/2 of the upperside for No1
Best wishes,
Dave
Attachments
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
Dave,
That pic showing 1/2 of the upperside of No1 is exactly what I needed
I am 98% sure it is Escher's Blue. If I cannot be 100% sure is only because I am not familiar with greek butterflies and I don't know if there are variations in other species that can get too similar to Escher's Blue.The funny thing is that if you post this 1 month ago, I wouldn't have been able to help at all. Blues are my Nemesis (along with Grizzled Skippers, Hairstreaks, Ringlets,... :-O ) But for a extrange reason, and after months of fighting against ID tips, I finally started to recognize Agrodiaetus Blues about 15 days ago o
This has been a good exercise :t:About No2, an upperside view would be definitive. L. coridon and L. bellargus are pretty different in the upperside. The specimen in the pic is a female, by the way. I will keep an eye on this thread just in case you post another pic
Hope somebody can help with the moths. Good luck with them!
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
Hey, Dave!
I have been having a second good view at No2 and almost had a fit when I realized it isn't a Lysandra at all. How could I make such mistake? *blushes* It is very confusing when you don't actually see the creature in real life. It looked like a bigger butterfly than it really is.
The good news is that I know what it is It is a Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) or at least that is what it looks like.
Sorry for the mistake.|:S|
I have been having a second good view at No2 and almost had a fit when I realized it isn't a Lysandra at all. How could I make such mistake? *blushes* It is very confusing when you don't actually see the creature in real life. It looked like a bigger butterfly than it really is.
The good news is that I know what it is
It is a Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) or at least that is what it looks like.Sorry for the mistake.|:S|
Steve Dudley
aka The Toadsnatcher
1. Sorry, I'm not sure this is Escher's Blue. I dont know of any records of this species from Lesvos. It is said to occur at altitudes of over 1000m, which excludes anywhere on Lesvos which is all below 800m. Also, dalmaticus has a broader, more diffused black border to the upperwings, not the thin, clean line of this insect. I'll have to look at it a little further to see if I can put an ID to it - need more time than I have now nad a few references which I dont have on my desk.
2. agree, Brown Argus which is common across the island.
Moths - sorry I dont know them. I've only trapped once on the island in autumn and didnt manage to ID much of what I caught either! Oleander Hawkmoth was the aim, and when I caught one I didnt need any help!
2. agree, Brown Argus which is common across the island.
Moths - sorry I dont know them. I've only trapped once on the island in autumn and didnt manage to ID much of what I caught either! Oleander Hawkmoth was the aim, and when I caught one I didnt need any help!
Hi Dave, #5 looks like it could be Rhodostrophia calabra, i had a similar looking species in France last year. If you look on www.leps.it you will see that species & the other possibility, both taken in Italy though, so no indicator of what may occur on Lesbos. Using this site you would probably be able to id the other moths on your post, but its probably an awful lot of photos to go through
Dave Hutton
Warwickshire Birder
Cheers Rob,
Bobs got it down as a Bloodvine (But I can't find that anywhere!!) Looks spot on for Rhodostrophia calabra
All the best,
Dave
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
No problem, Steve. I am not surprised somebody with more knowledge than me of greek butterflies would desagree. My only problem is that, as far as I know, none of the other similar Blues that might be in Lesvos fits the Butterfly in that pic.
Anyway, all you told us is very interesting. I am going to do further research. Now I really want to know that on earth that Blue is! :-O
Gavia_immer
Loony the Loon
I already have done a bit more research and I have found another possibility. What about Chapman's Blue? I don't know if it is normally recorded in Lesvos but at least it seems to be in the area. Besides, it is a lowland species, which fits better.
I completely ruled out Chapman's Blue at first because the orange dots of the underside are big, long an triangular, which is the best ID tip for the species, at least here in Spain. In the pic, they are not so big and they are rounded. Perhaps it only works in Spain and not in the more eastern forms. Besides, I have seen pics in the net where Chapman's Blue has the fine line Steve mentioned before. It seems to be a variable feature anyway.
Looking forward to other's opinion. Butterflies ID can be very frustating but it is fascinating too! o
I completely ruled out Chapman's Blue at first because the orange dots of the underside are big, long an triangular, which is the best ID tip for the species, at least here in Spain. In the pic, they are not so big and they are rounded. Perhaps it only works in Spain and not in the more eastern forms. Besides, I have seen pics in the net where Chapman's Blue has the fine line Steve mentioned before. It seems to be a variable feature anyway.
Looking forward to other's opinion. Butterflies ID can be very frustating but it is fascinating too! o
Surreybirder
Ken Noble
I'm pretty sure it's not a bloodvien - unless the Greek ones are very different from UK ones. I cannot help with the other moths but the yellow and pink one is one of a group that should be easy to track down on leps.it
Ken
Steve Dudley
aka The Toadsnatcher
I think Gavia has solved the blue. Look at a near identical image (inc yellow flower) here .
Moth 1 is clearly a 'beauty' type (Peribatodes/Deileptonia/Alcis, etc)
Moth 2 feels like a pyralid to me
Moth 3 is definately not a blood-vein. Rob's right in that it is a Rhodostrophia, but I dont think it is right for Rhodostrophia calabra as this species lacks the single spots in the fore and hind wings.
Moth 1 is clearly a 'beauty' type (Peribatodes/Deileptonia/Alcis, etc)
Moth 2 feels like a pyralid to me
Moth 3 is definately not a blood-vein. Rob's right in that it is a Rhodostrophia, but I dont think it is right for Rhodostrophia calabra as this species lacks the single spots in the fore and hind wings.
Brian Stone
A Stone chatting
Don't think #2 is a pyralid. Sure it's an Idaea sp.; probably Bright Wave Idaea ochrata (which I have recorded in Spain) or a close relative.
Steve Dudley
aka The Toadsnatcher
Hi Brian. I'll bow to your superior moth knowledge here! I've spent too long trying to get these to species - time to move on!
