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Matt Rowlings

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Mellicta asteria

Little Fritillary

Field Notes

Albula Pass, Switzerland, July 2003

Peter Rowlings

Albula Pass, Switzerland, July 1997

The very windy location made photography nearly impossible.

Albula Pass, Switzerland, July 2003

I've only ever found this butterfly at one place - the Albula Pass which is mentioned in many of the guide books. Even here it took us the whole morning to find them. The colony is small and the butterflies extremely small and inconspicuous. They look more like flies buzzing across the turf rather than butterflies. In 2003 the couple we found were in very poor condition. Those of 1997 were more numerous and in good condition. Such is the variability of flight season between the years.

It is the only Mellicta that is easily identified - it is so very small, covered with grey scales on the upperside and has only a single (not double) black marginal line on the underside hindwings.

There is a deliberate mistake on one of the photos - it had me fooled upto the point I was about to publish this page. I wonder how long it will take for someone to point it out to me. Please e-mail me!

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