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I'm back in the Netherlands and since days I'm very busy removing the weeds around my house. Five weeks vacation means a lot of work ;-). Exactely one week ago, I was at my favorite Aosta spot and I found a fresh Turquoise Blue which was roosting on Black Rampion. I took some photos with closed wings and searched for other roosting butterflies. Two hours later it was time to return to this butterfly as I wanted to catch him with open wings. When the sun came over the edge this little beauty opened his wings and it became clear why his name is "Turquoise Blue".  Turquoise Blue - Polyommatus dorylas That day I also found a freshly emerged Scarce Copper and Damon Blue and I wished I could have stayed another week. The counter remains at 96 butterfly species, not bad but I missed at least 10 other species.
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The last week of my Aosta trip has started. I’m here now for four weeks and until now I counted 86 butterfly species. I still miss a lot (mostly blue) species. Very slowly it’s getting warmer but finding roosting butterflies early in the morning is still hard working. Normally around the accommodation there are always roosting butterflies/nice species to find but now it seems to be ‘off season’ and it took until yesterday before I spot the first Apollo. This morning we visited on other valley than usual and after a long walk we entered the world of the Glandon Blue. Actually I was hoping/searching for the Alpine Blue but unfortunately we did not find this species; instead we found at least 15 Glandon Blues. The majority of the Glandon Blues were roosting on Alpine Cat’s tail (phleum alpinum) and photographing them on this plant was due to the heavy wind almost impossible.
Fortunately I found two Glandon Blues roosting on other (with a thicker stem) plants. As the sun almost touched the mountain edge I choose the butterfly with the purple flower in the hope that it was male. Very quickly the sun came over the edge and within a minute the complete flower field was sunny; the butterfly next to me opened the wings first….it was a brown female. After two minutes ‘my’ butterfly opened the wings and it was a male….I created some shadow and he allowed me some images before he left.
Maybe in a few days I will return to this place as photographing the Alpine Blue again is on my wishing list for years.
My wish list for Aosta included three things: the Iolas Blue, the caterpillar of the Piedmont anomalous Blue and the caterpillar of the Apollo. One and a half week ago I visited the hotspot of the Piedmont anomalous Blue and very soon I noticed three ants on Sainfoin and when I looked closer I saw a beautiful caterpillar. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me so I had to get it first...when I returned one ant was still protecting the caterpillar. As no image of the caterpillar of this species was available on internet, nor in books, I contacted one of the researchers of this species and she confirmed that this was the caterpillar of the Piedmont anomalous Blue.  Larvae polyommatus humedasae - caterpillar Piedmont anomalous blue I was very happy that I found the caterpillar of this species and with the confirmation I also knew that I photographed this caterpillar before in 2021.
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Jibt dir dit Leben mal een Buff, denn weene keene Träne. Lach Dir'n Ast und setz Dir druff und baumle mit de Beene.
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