05-09-2021 Sympetrum depressiusculum - Spotted Darter

Like the rest of this year, I took few photos at the end of the summer. I went out with Jordi again to look for dragonflies in the Weerribben. Now I didn't take any nice pictures here either, but I was positively surprised by the enormous quantities of the Sympetrum depressiusculum - Spotted Darter. Years ago we had to go all the way to the south of the country for this species to find a handful of specimens with great difficulty. As you can see in the photo below, things are a bit different now.

Sympetrum depressiusculum - Spotted Darter
Sympetrum depressiusculum - Spotted Darter



Summerholiday on Elba, Italie

After a tough year, the four of us are finally going on holiday to Italy to stay on Elba for a while and then take a tour through Italy.

In the car to Italie
In the car to Italie


As far as butterflies go, this holiday is terribly bad. I haven't made any plans anyway, and I don't have the energy or desire to go looking. One morning I take the time to take a look here, but it turns out to be completely pointless. There are almost no butterflies to be found, and the two finders I find are already completely worn out. Because of this I decide not to attempt to take any other photos. Coincidentally, I occasionally come across an Colias croceus - Clouded Yellow, of which I quickly take a picture. But it turns out to be the only butterfly photo of the entire trip. Hopefully next time it will be better.

Colias croceus - Clouded Yellow
Colias croceus - Clouded Yellow


Fortunately, the holiday is wonderful, and like every year we make some wonderful memories.

Beautiful holiday
Beautiful holiday



18-07-2021 Maculinea alcon - Alcon Blue

Almost every year I try to take a better photo of the Maculinea alcon - Alcon Blue. What is clearly noticeable is that the number of butterflies is declining rapidly in all places, and that in most places nothing flies at all anymore. I remember well that the first year I looked for the Maculinea alcon - Alcon Blue, I had no problem finding a hand full of sleeping butterflies. Now, about 15 years later, I no longer have to search for this place early in the morning.

Since I don't actually know any more places where this butterfly flies, we started looking a little further north. Here too it was not a big deal, but it was still very nice to find about three butterflies. And it was also very nice that one of the butterflies cooperated well so that I could take a nice photo. I'm very curious how much longer I can take pictures of this butterfly in the Netherlands...

Maculinea alcon - Alcon Blue
Maculinea alcon - Alcon Blue



10-07-2021 Maculinea teleius - Scarce Large Blue

Like almost every year, Jordi and I once again attempted to take a nice photo of the Maculinea teleius - Scarce Large Blue. Since it is quite a drive from Ermelo, it was quite early to get up again, but it is always worth it when you arrive at such a beautiful place. With quite some effort you can find a handful of sleeping butterflies. But the photo I always have in my head with a field of burnet flowers was not there. Very few flower buds and butterflies that were in the wrong places. In my opinion, the butterfly below was the only one that wanted to cooperate a bit. I'll probably try again next year...

Maculinea teleius - Scarce Large Blue
Maculinea teleius - Scarce Large Blue



19-06-2021 Germany

Went to Germany together with Peter with the aim of the Lycaena hippothoes. After an early but pleasant ride we arrived at our destination, but unfortunately the weather was not too good. The vegetation also seems to be a bit later this year, which meant that I didn't feel like taking the camera out of my bag. When we barely found Lycaena hippothoes, I was pretty much done. In the end I put a lot of effort into a nice photo of a Cupido minimus.

Cupido minimus - Small Blue
Cupido minimus - Small Blue


We actually planned to stay all day, but we were already having lunch in time to think about what we were going to do next. Ultimately we decided to look for the Limenitis camilla in the south of the Netherlands. Neither of us had ever been to this place before, and we were positively surprised when we came across these butterflies at the parking lot. In the end we saw dozens of these butterflies flying around. As is often the case, this time there is a but... The forest was so full of mosquitoes and it was simply impossible to take a photo in peace. And if you wanted to try that, the butterflies would have returned to the tree long ago. So I didn't manage to take any nice pictures, but I did find a very nice spot.

The only photo is the photo below, I liked the idea but it actually just turned out to be a boring picture.

Limenitis camilla - White Admiral
Limenitis camilla - White Admiral



02-06-2021 Boloria selene - Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary

Unfortunately I didn't actually take any photos this spring. But now I finally went out again to photograph the Boloria selene - Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary. As always, we got out of bed early and drove towards Overijssel. Once we arrived, we were able to find a handful of sleeping butterflies without too much trouble. Most butterflies are in boring places, but I also find one that hangs beautifully between the flowers. If the sun rises beautifully colored, it is still a nice picture.

Boloria selene - Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary
Boloria selene - Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary



26-04-2021 Frozen Anthocharis cardamines - Orange Tip

It's the end of April again, so like every year the Oranjetipjes are flying again. The temperature and weather are great, creating a nice layer of frost over the landscape. We find a bunch of Orange Tips without too much difficulty, but most butterflies are crawled too far away. I can't make anything very exciting from the photo, but I still find it fantastic to see how the butterfly is cobered with ice.

Anthocharis cardamines - Orange Tip
Anthocharis cardamines - Orange Tip