...Heath Spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata)...
...and Lesser Butterfly-orchid (Platanthera bifolia).
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Life on the edge
I went with Steve and Dick to deepest Argau in search of the Woodland Brown butterfly (Lopinga achine), a central European species that extends west into Switzerland. We went to the grassy, bushy clearings on the edge of coniferous forests where it likes to live - in the early evening, at the end of June, when it likes to fly.
The grass was littered with orchids: Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis)...
...Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea)...
Hellebores. They look like orchids, but are actually in the buttercup family. We saw the Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) - even more beautiful than the orchids.
Looking for a brown butterfly with yellow and black eye spots, there were many false alarms from the Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) which shares the same habitat - even this one, with only half a hind wing.
But no mistaking the magnificent Woodland Brown, when we saw it settled.
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Nice account! It worked out well!
ReplyDeleteI found the Ringlets easier to separate than the Meadow Browns.
Yes, me also. The Meadow Browns also have a pale patch on the wing. I should have photographed one for comparison!
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