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Field Notes

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, June/July 2007

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

Valais, Switzerland, June 2004

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

This individual is starting to look intermediate with the Alpine Heath, C. gardetta

Valais, Switzerland, July 2005

Note the red mite sitting patiently on the flower head. These are a common sight parasitising many meadowland butterflies in summer.

Valais, Switzerland, July 2005

Valais, Switzerland, June 2003

Valais, Switzerland, June 2003

Valais, Switzerland, June 2003

Valais, Switzerland, June 2003

This butterfly is very closely related to the Alpine Heath, C. gardetta. Usually this species is noticeably more orange where gardetta is a rather cool yellow-green or grey on the underside. The width of the white band on the hind wing is not uniform as it usually is in gardetta. The submarginal area of the underside forewing is generally the same orange as the ground colour in darwiniana where in gardetta this is clearly grey. Yet another difference is the position of the spot in space 6 relative to the white band - in gardetta it is well to the outer edge of the band, in darwiniana it is at the internal edge.

Both species fly in the Alps. The ranges seem to overlap around the rather small range of darwiniana, which is centred around the Simplon Pass in Valais, Switzerland. This could indicate these are possibly subspecies or even just local forms of the same species. 50km E or W will see gardetta exclusively. It doesn't seem to cross the Valais valley to the north but it does extend southwards into the neighbouring Italian valleys.

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