Lepidigi
Butterflies of Europe and the Tropics
SWITZERLAND, 14 - 22 JULY 2024, VALAIS AND TICINO WITH ALAN BERNARD
at Ulrichen in the Goms Valley, our excellent base for the first four nights
still a lot of snow around, 15 July
first stop shortly out of Ulrichen en route to the Nufenenpass
Purple-edged Copper
Purple-edged Copper
Asian Fritillary
Asian Fritillary
False Heath Fritillary
False Heath Fritillary
False Heath Fritillary
Yellow Alpine Pasque Flower
Arran Brown
Alpine Heath
Small Blue
with Ulrichen in the distance
Purple-edged Copper
Lesser Mountain Ringlet
Black-veined Whites
start of the day, 16 July
Mountain Ringlet (possibly malampus, Lesser Mountain Ringlet, tricky to tell apart)
Mountain Ringlet
Purple-edged Copper
a soaking wet site where Matt Rowlings and Guy Padfield had taken a group of us in 2008
Lesser Mountain Ringlet
Lesser Mountain Ringlet
and the famous Hospix Hotel in the centre of the photo
Dewy Ringlet
Dewy Ringlet
Dewy Ringlet
sparse vegetation, apart from drifts of Kalmia procumbens, the Alpine Azalea
Holly Blue, in Goms valley meadow near Wiler
Queen of Spain Fritillary
with bell, a pleasing sight and sound to end the day
where the road takes a sharp left turn over a stream before ascending the Furkapass, 17 July
Trumpet Gentian
Trumpet Gentian and moth larvae
dramatic scenery
Dusky Grizzled Skipper
cloaked in low cloud
Shepherd's Fritillary
Shepherd's Fritillary
Grizzled Skipper
travelling west up the Furkapass
Large Skipper, female
an inquisitive, and noisy, Marmot keeping an eye on us from the top of its rock
the same rodent
Mountain Argus
Mountain Argus