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Post by wollastoni on Jun 9, 2013 6:57:38 GMT -8
Hi friends, Just back from a fantastic week in Luberon. Great collecting trips everyday in the small local mountains (between 600m and 1200m altitude) I had 2 main objectives : - finding Polyommatus aberrations : I found one rare antistriata aberration of Polyommatus bellargus male. - finding Polyommatus polonus : I found 3 males of bellargus with black spots. Currently on board, I will send pictures to a specialist to know what they are. (Claude, prepare some ketchup to eat your shoes ! ) Also find some blue forms (like ceronus, semiceronus) of bellargus females, and blue icarus females. I also met some wonderful leps like Zerynthia rumina rumina, Euphydrias aurinia provincialis, Lycaena alciphron gordius... It was too early to see Papilio alexanor or Parnassius apollo venaissinus. I will post pictures once the specimens will be out of board. Cheers
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Post by nomihoudai on Jun 10, 2013 14:03:14 GMT -8
but...;but...; I confused them with Polyommatus cormion. The black spots are no guarantee for P. polonus as regular P. bellargus also have black spots very often. I hope you are lucky and they are genuine, actually you should be able to tell them to be a hybrid by an altered blue color. I am awaiting the pictures when they are off board.
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Post by wollastoni on Jun 10, 2013 23:22:50 GMT -8
Confusion is no excuse my friend ! I will send the pictures to Y. Diringer before posting them here to know if they are polonus or bellargus with black points... but they really look like the polonus of my books...
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Post by lepidofrance on Jun 14, 2013 9:01:05 GMT -8
Please, dear Wollastoni, tell me the location for Euphydrias aurinia provincialis. Small or Great Lubéron ? Elevation ?
Thanks so much !
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Post by wollastoni on Jun 14, 2013 10:11:19 GMT -8
Vitrolles en Lubéron, 800m I saw only one in 3 days there.
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Post by timmsyrj on Jun 24, 2013 4:29:02 GMT -8
Are permits required to collect in France, thinking of getting back over there next year for blues and coppers ova for breeding and some fresh specimens if I time it right. If anyone in the UK is interested let me know as its a long drive on your own or maybe a collector in France I can meet up with to show me the good sites.
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Post by wollastoni on Jun 24, 2013 4:58:37 GMT -8
No permits needed in France. As proposed to other British members, I can show you good spots in Fontainebleau forests (1 hour from Paris) but it has to be this summer (next year I won't be in Paris anymore)
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Post by timmsyrj on Jun 28, 2013 10:23:10 GMT -8
It's probably a little late to organise anything for this year i'm afraid all my holidays are either taken already or have plans for but the offer was great and I would have taken you up on it, I collected in a forest in the loire valley 15 years ago some very nice frits, Chamborde forest I think if memory serves.
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Post by timmsyrj on Jun 29, 2013 12:16:56 GMT -8
Is any where a no go for collecting in France, i.e national parks etc and what species are protected.
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Post by wollastoni on Jun 30, 2013 10:39:41 GMT -8
Yes it is forbidden to collect in national parcs. The list of protected species is here. www7.inra.fr/opie-insectes/lip-fr.htmIt is a very badly made list, some common species are protected, some rare ones aren't... The ALF (French Lepidopterist Association) is trying to make this list improved, but those bureaucratic things seem to take years...
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Post by nomihoudai on Jun 30, 2013 12:16:27 GMT -8
Please correct me when I am wrong,
as far as I know you can go on google maps and then switch from "satellite view" to "map view". The nature reserves can now be seen in solid green (do not confuse with light green for forest). You are not allowed to collect in these. Finally I have some holidays now and will also collect in France next week. I plan to avoid the solid green areas and only collect around them.
Rgds Claude
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Post by wollastoni on Jul 1, 2013 0:59:35 GMT -8
Sorry Claude, I have never used google maps and I cannot help you. But you don't need to go near to national parcs to find good spots in France. All mountain ranges are fantastic spots + some calcaire areas like Fontainebleau, Dompierre...
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Post by nomihoudai on Jul 1, 2013 2:20:38 GMT -8
Lorraine is rather flat compared to real mountains, this is where I will go as I want to save gas. There should be chalk areas but I don't know where.
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Post by wollastoni on Jul 1, 2013 3:25:52 GMT -8
I will ask my friends.
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Post by lepidofrance on Jul 1, 2013 8:32:10 GMT -8
I don't know good spots in Lorraine (I never collected there). But not far from Lorraine, go to the Forêt de Châtillon. On Google Earth, ask for Châtillon-sur-Seine : the forest is just south-east. Go there before the transformation of the Forest into a Park or a Rservation area.
Many butterflies there including eastern species like Lopinga achine.
BTW, in Google Earth or Google Maps, I don't see the parks within a specific colour ! Preparing a collect journey, I use always Google Earth !
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