Thursday, August 2, 2018

Doings in the Eastern Pyrenees...

Greetings from the Catalan Pyrenees, where iris is at peak season 1000m up, breeding on sallows in steep-sided riverine woodland. 

25 were seen today, most of which were feeding on Woolly Thistle heads which had been damaged, I think by a weevil (I've photoed the weevil and sent pics through to Andy Foster, weevil expert). 14 were feeding on Woolly Thistles in one small meadow, including three on one head -



Here's a close up of what they are probing -



Both males and females were doing it. Here's a girl - 



Various other butterflies doing it too - White Admiral, Red Admiral, Comma, a Morning Cloak (much better name than Camberwell Beauty), and the biggest female Large Tortoiseshell ever seen -



Here's the habitat -



And in case you're wondering whether iris has finally lost its marbles altogether, they were also feeding on stone & concrete (not lime mortar) on buildings -



I remain, determined to get plastered this evening... ... ...


2 comments:

Mike Coleman said...

That answers a question I've long pondered... " why on earth do Hoopoe - yes Hoopoe !!!! feed on those thistle heads ?
I've observed them balancing on and probing them in Spain.
Now I know - weevils !

Matthew Oates said...

Woolly Thistle heads are infested by a whole host of insects, including weevils & click beetles which attack the sap and opportunistic flies and Leps which then home in on the exposed sap...