Subject: Hungarian Butterflies
Geographic location of the bug: Hungary May 2018
Date: 08/15/2018
Time: 03:18 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hello there!
I have sent a few of my butterfly pictures to you in the past and I thought you might like a couple more for your site from a trip I made to Hungary earlier this year. The first is a Common Glider, the second is a Scarce Swallowtail
How you want your letter signed: Butterfly watcher
Dear Butterfly watcher,
Thank you so much for clarifying the date of this sighting, which differs considerably from your submission date. The Scarce Swallowtail, Iphiclides podalirius, is a new species for our site. According to Learn about Butterflies: “Iphiclides podalirius is distributed across most of central and southern Europe, excluding the British Isles, Ireland and Fennoscandia.
Its common name Scarce Swallowtail refers to the fact that it has on extremely rare occasions been recorded in Britain, e.g. in 1895 two specimens were captured, one in Devon and the other in Kent. These may however have been ‘fake’ captures, a practice common in the Victorian era when collectors would do almost anything to raise their status among their contemporaries. There is no evidence that the species was ever a resident or regular migrant to the British Isles.
In Europe the butterfly is widespread and fairly common, although it has become much scarcer in recent years as a result of the removal of blackthorn bushes and hedges.” The site also states: “Both sexes are usually encountered singly. Males visit seepages and patches of damp soil where they imbibe mineralised moisture. At such times they keep their wings firmly closed. Females are more often seen nectaring at the flowers of trees and bushes including apple, pear, cherry, lilac and Buddleia, but also visit herbaceous plants including valerian, bugle, thistles, knapweeds, ragwort and stonecrop. When nectaring the wings are usually held at a 45° angle.” It is also pictured on UK Butterflies.