Graham Hart has lived in Ariege since May 1998 and has known the area since 1991.He has a life-long interest in natural history, which started with butterflies and birds and now includes other insects (especially moths) and flowers. He leads butterfly watching holidays in the region and is writing a book on the butterflies of Ariège. When not out chasing butterflies Graham works as a vet in Ax-les-Thermes.
The weather has been like all over Europe exceptionally hot and dry. Limestone slopes normally full of flowers at this time are completely brown and dead, not a single green leaf to be seen. The leaves of trees on these slopes have turned brown and are starting to fall; on some hillsides there are swathes of forest that are brown in between patches of still green forest where there must be a bit more water. In normally wet places everything is drier than normal but still green, with a profusion of flowers and loads of butterflies. The newspapers here are talking about a drought worse than 1976 and as bad as 1947 which was the worst in living memory.
BUTTERFLIES
The drought is having an effect on the butterflies: it can be difficult to find any in dried up limestone habitats, but where there are flowers there can be loads. Even at altitude most places are very dry with hardly any flowers, but along stream sides and in damp areas there are lots of flowers and butterflies. I have been up to the reserve d’Orlu recently which was fantastic in damp areas--there were a lot of Turquoise Blues, Silver Spotted Skippers, Chalkhill Blues, also Dark Green Fritillaries. We spotted one Apollo, one Mountain Brown Argus, a number of Piedemont Ringlets several Small Heath and two Pearly Heaths.
At our house at Alas which is in a limestone area the garden was the best place to find butterflies because of its three buddleia bushes. Our land just near the house was totally burnt off, not a single flower, but the buddleias were in full flower and often had fifteen or twenty butterflies on at a time. Lots of Silver Washed Fritillaries, some High Brown and Dark Green and Weavers Fritillaries. Lots of Painted Ladies which are very abundant this year, their caterpillars being easy to find on Thistles; Red Admiral, Small Tortoishell, Peacock and Comma. Second Generation Large Skippers and Mallow Skippers, Swallowtails and Scarce Swallowtails, Large, Small and Southern Small Whites, Brimstones, Wood Whites and Clouded Yellows, the occasional blue; Common, Adonis, Short Tailed, Province Short Tailed, Long Tailed and Holly Blues and Brown Argus and I saw one Geranium Bronze. There were a lot of day flying moths visiting the buddleias also, mostly Humming Bird Hawks and Silver Y’s. Hawk moths seem to be having a very good year this year, there are loads of Humming Bird Hawks around as well as well above average sightings of Convolvulus Hawks and I saw my first ever Striped Hawk moth, it was flying in the day at about 1000m visiting thistles, I saw it up close and there was no mistaking the patterning of its wings, the pink of the hind wing stood out very clearly.
One very interesting find was whilst descending from the Pic de St Bartelemy one very hot day. Large areas were very dry and virtually devoid of flowers but some areas were still green and in one such area beside the path the Marjoram was in full flower, on it sat about ten Silver Studded / Idas Blues. On looking at them closely there was no hind of metallic blue at all in the sub marginal lunules. I caught one to study it closer; even under the hand lens no blue scales at all. I reluctantly kept a voucher specimen for further examination, it looks as if its either just a form of the Silver Studded Blue or possibly a species not previously recorded in the Pyrenees the Zephyr Blue, which is found in the area of the alps and also in Spain
FLOWERS
The drought has not done much for the flowers, large areas of land being burnt off; however Scabiouses seem to be pretty drought resistant and sometimes are to be seen in otherwise totally brown areas providing valuable nectar for butterflies. Also in these areas is the Field Erygno and sometimes its close relative the Blue Erygno, a very striking looking plant, like Sea Holly only with a definite bluish tinge and blue flower heads.
In damper areas there are a lot of flowers about, very obvious at the moment is the Purple Lustrife with its tall pink inflorescences of flowers. Right at the end of the month I found a few Autumn Ladies Tresses, delicate little orchids with tiny white flowers that spiral around the stem in a most characteristic fashion.
BIRDS
This is a quiet time of year for the birds, swallows are starting to flock, getting ready for their migration south. Honey Buzzards are migrating now and the Black Kites have already gone. On the other hand there are fabulous views to be had of Griffon Vultures and Lammergeiers at certain high places such as the Plateau de Beille. The Lammergeiers will soon be starting the preparations for their nests. Red Kites are also very much in evidence at the moment, cruising over our village on the look out for tasty scraps.
Pied Fly Catchers have been going through on migration, though I only ever seem to see females or young for some reason.