Male gatekeeper (underside)
Dear Readers, can I have a big round of applause for Mike at Alittlebitoutoffocus who got 30 out of 30 for this week’s quiz. I didn’t think anyone would manage to get all of the answers correct, so very well done!
Dear Readers, here are the answers to Sunday’s quiz, which I think was a stinker if you also decided to try for the sex of the butterflies. The answers are below, and if you look at the photos, you’ll see that I’ve included a photo of the opposite sex, where relevant.
1) h) Clouded yellow (Colias croceus) – Male
2) i) Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) – Female
3) j) Large white (Pieris brassicae) – Female
4)m) Small white (Pieris rapae) – Male
5) o) Orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) – Female
6) g) Purple emperor (Apatura iris) – Male
7) f) Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) – Both sexes the same
8) k) Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) – Both sexes the same
9) n) Small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene) – Female
10) e) Silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia) – Female
11) c) Camberwell beauty (Nymphalis antiopa) – Both sexes the same
12) b) Brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae) – Female
13) a) Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) – Female
14) l) Adonis blue (Polyommatus bellargus) – Male
15) d) Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) – Male
1) h) Clouded yellow (Colias croceus) – male
1) ii Clouded yellow – female
2) i) Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) – female
2) ii – Brimstone male
3) j) Large white (Pieris brassicae) – female
3) ii Large white – male
4)m) Small white (Pieris rapae) – male
4) ii Small white – female
5) o) Orange tip (Anthocharis cardamines) – female
5) ii – Orange tip – male
6) g) Purple emperor (Apatura iris) – male
6) ii Purple emperor – female
7) f) Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) – both sexes the same
8) k) Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) – both sexes the same
9) n) Small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene) – female
9) ii – small pearl-bordered fritillary – male
10) e) Silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia) – Female
10) ii – Silver-washed fritillary – male
11)c) Camberwell beauty (Nymphalis antiopa) – both sexes the same
12)b) Brown hairstreak (Thecla betulae) Female
12) ii – Brown hairstreak – male
13)a) Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) – Female
13)ii- Holly blue male
14) l) Adonis blue (Polyommatus bellargus) – male
14) ii) Adonis blue female
15)d) Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) – male
15)ii – Gatekeeper, female
Photo Credits
Photo 1 by By Hectonichus – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56275091
Photo 1)ii by Colin Knight from https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/album_photo.php?id=15605
Photo 2 from https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/brimstone
Photo 2 ii) by Neil Hulme from https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/album_photo.php?id=22501
Photo Three by By I, S Sepp, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2439462
Photo 3 ii) by Dave Miller from https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/album_photo.php?id=14552
Photo Four by Zeynel Cebeci / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Photo 4 ii) by Vince Massimo from https://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/album_photo.php?id=14119
Congratulations, Mike – that is quite a feat!
He is a star isn’t he 🙂
Thank you Anne and Viv for your kind words. Until now I was quite happy just to identify the butterfly (and I’m sure I still get some wrong) but henceforth I shall be doing my best to include the sex too (where relevant of course). So it’s been both educational (for me) and inspiring. 😊
Stunning collection of pictures.That Camberwell Beauty is something to behold – as they all are (except the cabbage whites). Is it true that you only get blue butterflies on chalk. Certainly I would notice one if I ever saw it in Scotland.
They do like chalk, but I get holly blues in my garden (on heavy clay) all the time. They are stunning, aren’t they.
I’ve just had a quick flick through my Collins Butterfly Guide at the distribution of the ‘blues’ and you should be able to see a Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) anywhere in Scotland. There are 2 others, but they are only found to the east of Scotland and both are mostly brown! They are the Small Blue (Cupido minimus) and the Mountain Argus (Aricia artaxerxes). Chalkhill Blues are only seen in the SE of England and the Holly Blues are mainly in Wales and the south of England, (i.e. south of a line from say Fleetwood to Scarborough excluding the Pennine area. The Small Blues are very small (no bigger than your little finger nail when the wings are closed up) and quite hard to spot. You might also easily mistake one for a small moth.
Well, my gast is truly flabbered! I was pretty confident about which one was which, but I’m amazed I got all the sexes right. It feels great to actually win one of these quizzes, so many thanks for setting them. I shall celebrate this evening with a beer or two! 😊 Cheers! 🍻