Raison d'être

These photographs were taken over 2006-2024 (a few are from earlier years) mostly in southern France, principally Var. 

The website is principally for interest and to actively invite comment and feedback. The commentaries are largely based on my own observations, in particular the comparison of identification and distribution/altitude information given in leading reference books with my own experiences - which sometimes diverge. 

I hope that the more people who see the beauty of these fascinating creatures, the more it will lead to an appreciation that we need to be more pro-active in protecting them against the actions of humans. This is particularly true in the UK, where species are declining at alarming rates, resulting in a number of extinctions in the past two or three decades. The work of Butterfly Conservation is vital - if you feel strongly about this and are not already a member of BC (http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/) I urge you to join.

Equipment

I use a Canon 70D camera with a Sigma 150mm macro lens.

Why France?

Butterfly watching in England has been (and still is) highly enjoyable over the past four decades but you know you’re unlikely to see anything unexpected. And that’s the thing about France – there are just so many species (about 237 mainland species, plus a few Corsica endemics) that you never know what you’re going to see. Much of France is under-recorded and it is quite possible to see species in areas where they are "not supposed to be".

Reference works

I principally use the Collins guide by Tolman and Lewington (1997) (on species pages referred to as "T&L") and the learned work by Higgins and Riley (1971) (on species pages referred to as "H&R").

T&L is the best European publication for illustrations, which include most major variations, absolutely necessary for identification purposes. Richard Lewington’s illustrations are superb - you have to look twice to realise that they are drawings, not actual photographs. This easily compensates for the text part of the book, where my experience is that the information regarding distributions, altitudes and flight periods is often unreliable.

The book "Les Papillons de Jour de France" (in French) by Tristan Lafranchis (on species pages referred to as "TLFr") is very thorough and is packed full of very accurate and current information on distributions by département, larval hostplants, flight periods and altitude ranges. Available from the author at lafranch@otenet.gr.

In 2004 Lafranchis published (in English and other languages) "Butterflies of Europe", focusing on identifying European butterflies (on species pages referred to as "TLID"). At 350 pages it is generally considered to be the best European identification field guide. It is available from the author lafranch@otenet.gr.

The taxonomy of European butterflies is a highly contentious subject and there were numerous differences between experts until 2010, when a "final" consensus was reached among taxonomists, resulting in new scientific names for many species. As the long-established scientific names were generally well-known, I retained these until 2015 when I changed all scientific names to the new taxonomy as it was by then generally recognised and in wide usage. The species list shows the scientific names for those species that were renamed, together with their previous names for reference purposes.

Pictures and identification

Photographs are shown at the top of each species page as a grid of 400x267 pixel images for comparison purposes, with larger versions below - click on the grid image to go to the larger image. Some early (pre-2005) photographs do not have enlarged versions.

Even with the aid of enlarged photographs, it is still quite difficult to identify certain species with any degree of certainty. So the identifications are my “best guesses” in many cases and any comments are welcome – via the contact page. I am indebted to several experts, in particular Tim Cowles, Guy Padfield and Matt Rowlings. They all have excellent web sites and there are links to them on the links page.

I have used the standard notation to describe wing-areas, e.g. upf for upperside forewing, uph for the upperside hindwing and similarly unf and unh for the underside. The areas of each wing are defined as basal, discal, marginal etc and the specific locations (especially relevant with regard to the positions of eye spots or "ocelli") by the “space” between veins e.g. s6. For simplicity, the wing diagram from Butterflies of Europe by Tristan Lafranchis can be found here. Permission has been granted by the author for the use of this diagram on this web site.

I have endeavoured to differentiate between "subspecies" and "form" as defined in H&R, in that a subspecies relates to differing populations of a species that occupy separate although often contiguous areas, and, as such, may be considered separate geographical races. A form may be any recognisable variant, e.g. female form, seasonal form i.e. different broods, local forms that co-exist with the nominate form, or a variety or aberration.

Incidentally, I would not catch any butterfly for the purposes of identification or photography. I have no problem with the use of nets for scientific purposes such as identification of species where photographs alone would not be enough. Every photograph was taken in the wild without disturbing the subject.

All photographs are copyright Roger Gibbons. I am in principle happy to grant permission for non-commercial use; contact me via the contact page.

Please do not ask me for location information. I have, in the past, given information in good faith to persons who turned out to be collectors, so I now have - of necessity - a blanket principle not to divulge locations even though the vast majority of visitors to this site share the same conservation attitudes as I have.