First no clouds whatsover, then so many clouds that this field trip ended five minutes earlier than usual. With 21°C (10:51 AM) and weak to moderate winds, I had to observe a little faster because the "guys in orange" came over to mow everything down again.
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+ | Species | Location | Status | +-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+ | Araschnia levana (lev) | Zone III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Coenonympha arcania | Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Coenonympha pamphilus | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Maniola jurtina | Zone I | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Melanargia galathea | Mixed Field / Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Ochlodes sylvanus | Zone III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris napi | Mixed Field / Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Pieris rapae | Mixed Field / Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Plebejus argus | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Thymelicus lineola | Zone I / II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Thymelicus sylvestris | Zone I / II / III | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Calopteryx splendens | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Coenagrion mercuriale | Zone II | Adult | |-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------| | Ischnura elegans | Zone III | Adult | +-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
As I was specifically looking out for M. jurtina due to having photographed two individuals with an additional black dot underneath their respective "underwing eyes", I managed to discover the third individual with this very same additional dot. On top of this, I came across three C. arcania with unusually dark underwings.
Five minutes into Zone III, not only did I accidentally made one A. levana move to another spot, forcing me to run after it, another butterfly quickly flew over my head that rsembled the still-missing A. urticae. Much to my own frustration, I couldn't make out much besides fractions of its wings, however this excludes most Nymphalidae with similar colors (V. atalanta and A. io in particular) but I was unsuccessful at finding a second individual that may have confirmed or disproved my suspicions.
Another unidentified butterfly was seen in Zone II and quickly disappeared in the bushes nearby. Due to its avoidant behavior, it may be possible that it was an individual of the also-still-missing S. pruni. Once again, though, I did not manage to test my hypothesis.
While M. galathea still is expanding its territories, P. argus currently records its worst season since 2022, alongside C. icarus and other blues that were not observed on this day. M. jurtina, despite demonstrating its aberration possibilities, also appears to be a little less common than in 2023. I assume that blues largely won't return until July.
---
A second trip was taken in the afternoon, this time passing my yard, the wild meadow near the main street and the cemetery. Contrary to my own expectations, most observations were made in my own yard and at a house across mine.
And, unlike a few hours prior, the weather stabilized itself. 25°C (5:39 PM), few clouds and virtually no winds.
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
| Species | Location | Status |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+
| Pieris napi | !another neighbor's front yard! | Adult |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Pieris rapae | Yard / Meadow / Cemetery | Adult |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Vanessa atalanta | Yard | Adult |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Ischnura elegans | Yard | Adult |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
It appears that not only am I accidentally breeding my own V. atalanta, this I. elegans was a female that remained at her preferred spot at one of my my bleeding hearts the whole time. Given that I have yet to do a proper check of what is swimming in my rain barrels (from what I can tell so far is that not all larvae appear to be mosquitos), it may be possible that I. elegans is about to become a permanent resident in my yard.