David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
_____________________________________________________________________________
Butterflies 56 – Cardinals
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis
pandora
CARDINAL Argynnis pandora
·
The handsome Cardinal Argynnis
pandora is also sometimes known as the Mediterreanean
Fritillary and it is one of the largest and most impressive of the European
fritillaries. These photographs were taken in the South of France and Portugal.
Males are characterised by black sex-brands on their forewings but these are
less obvious when the butterflies are moving than those of the Silver-washed
Fritillary A. paphia, the most likely
confusion species and one that shares the same habitat as the Cardinal for much
of its range other than southern Iberia. The ground-colour of the upperside of the Silver-washed Fritillary is a brighter
orange and it lacks the beautiful pink contrasting patches on the undersides of
the forewings that become evident when the wings of the Cardinal are raised. Even
in worn specimens this area of the forewings is relatively well protected
against wear and tear and it is the most obvious identifier in areas where these
species overlap. The freshly emerged female shown taking a drink in the final
photograph (taken in Portugal) had but a few seconds left to live as moments
later a large Iberian Water Frog Pelophylax
perezi leapt across and swallowed her – the unfortunate
consequences of which may be seen here: http://davidelement.net/amphibians16.htm! The effectiveness of the greenish
underside as camouflage is evident in the previous photograph. These
butterflies are attracted by nectar-rich flowers (they find the non-native
invasive Buddleja davidii to be irresistible) but they can be elusive
subjects for photography as they are highly mobile and fast-flying.
·
David’s
short film of Cardinals may be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI3qbbvCxyY&list=PL4AirIEc0NofhDbxohAG_PoMc7P2iGR5N&index=80&t=0s.
-> Butterflies 1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20,
21,
22,
23,
24,
25,
26,
27,
28,
29,
30,
31,
32,
33,
34,
35, 36,
37,
38,
39,
40,
41,
42,
43,
44,
45,
46,
47,
48,
49,
50,
51,
52,
53,
54,
55,
56,
57,
58,
59,
60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
-> Species
Index, Common Names
-> Species
Index, Scientific Names
-> Site Index
-> Home