Voronezh Region

oh, another report)))))))

there will be a sequel soon)))

I managed to visit Divnogorie twice, on June 6 and 12.
I must say that for quite some time I wanted to go there for the relict pigeon Agriades pyrenaicus ergane - a narrowly oval subspecies, several populations of which are known in the Voronezh, Kursk and Belgorod regions in our country and in the Kharkiv region - in Ukraine.
When I learned about the trip, I was very happy, of course, but I didn't have much hope of catching Agriades - all the specimens from this place that I saw were caught in May and, according to my ideas, the year should have already ended.
So, June 6, 2008
We arrived at the place at 12 o'clock, after 3 hours of driving in PAZIK.



Seeing a lot of pigeons flying down the slope (as it turned out later, Glaucopsyche alexis), I quickly began to lay out the aluminum hoop of the net, and suddenly it broke in my hands... The crowd of classmates was horrified by my failure and even began to sympathize with me when I took out the second net.
The tour guide aunt came running and started telling us about the history of Divnogorye and the cave monastery that we were going to see soon. Taking advantage of the moment, I caught the alexis.
Chalk scree

A monastery cut down several centuries ago right in the chalk cliff.

Meanwhile, the tour dragged on - we spent about an hour in the monastery. Once out, we continued climbing.
Plain view

At the top of the hill, we were given a new lecture, this time about the flora and fauna of Divnogorye (for example, about Apollo, who supposedly lives here, which I strongly doubt). Then I couldn't stand it any longer and rushed to catch didim flying everywhere. Several times my aunt pointed out a sign that said something like "Collecting insects is prohibited" (a national park, after all!), but, not meeting the proper attention from me, she left this idea.
At last I came to the edge of the hill, where the chalk scree began. Then I saw the first few Agriades flying low over the ground... I rushed to catch them, but the butterflies were very agile, and then completely disappeared. But I caught Pseudophilotes vicrama. After about 30 minutes, I finally caught one male-quite fresh. With a sense of accomplishment, I went on a guided tour, catching infrequent Cupido osiris and Callophrys rubi along the way.
With 1.5 hours left before departure, the group had just reached the edge of the hill, and everyone was allowed to go for a walk. I, of course, went to the scree. What I saw startled me. Small butterflies - Agriades pyrenaicus ergane-were flying everywhere, low over the chalky ground overgrown with thyme and buckthorn.

Apparently, the timing of summer due to the cold spring shifted by a couple of weeks, there were very fresh individuals.
Then I went down to the gully, where I caught a couple more pseudophilotes and Pyrgus alveus.






To be continued.

On June 12
, something changed during the week in Divnogorye.
The Agriades summer season was drawing to a close, and I hardly saw any fresh males.
Lysandra bellargus has just taken off.
The years of Didim, kallofris and Alexis continued.
Got a couple more Cupido osiris and 3 pseudophilotes.
At the bottom of the beam, I caught a badly beaten Tages.




With raznoustykh same-a complete failure: I hoped to find a scoop, bears, but there was nothing at all.

Now let's talk about the trip that brought the most unexpected results.
June 16, mela in Ostrogozhsky district of the region.


We went there to collect steppe herbs. "Well, yes, Mela, it's funny, but I don't think it's going to be very interesting," I thought. We arrived around 11. Without much enthusiasm, I got off the bus and began to wander around the neighborhood. I collected a net. I caught a couple of alexis, which were also plentiful here. At the foot of the hill, I came across Caragana frutex bushes and began to examine them.

Quite suddenly, a small brown butterfly with whitish spots appeared above them and just as suddenly disappeared... Naturally, the first thought was - Neolycaena rhymnus, the second-that a glitch.
So these two thoughts fought until I caught the first butterfly. Absolutely freaking out, I started looking around and saw about a dozen Neolithic trees slowly fluttering over the bushes to the side. When the sun went down behind the clouds, the butterflies sat down in the grass and on the branches of the caragana, letting them get close to them. I managed to take a few pictures. Unfortunately, I only had a soap dish with me, so I had to settle for it. Butterflies did not fly far from the bushes of caragana (a forage plant).


On the slope, which was entirely covered with flax and zopnik, there were practically no Neolicenes, there were isolated specimens, but bellargus and argyrognomons appeared. After crossing a low "ridge", we found ourselves on a slope with a different type of vegetation-thyme began to predominate. Here I came across a male and female Maculinea arion.

Finally, to top it all off, I caught Nordmannia acaciae at the top of one of the hills.


I must say that apart from pigeons, there was practically nothing at all - sometimes Coenonympha pamphilus and Ochlodes sylvanus came across. Caught 1 Colias hyale. And everything. In the mass, only Alexis, icarus and argyrognomones flew on the hills and neolicens - from below. These are the strange melas.

Rimnus and perineicus ata kruta!
I can imagine what kind of kortoderki are sitting in that beam... ох

Is it possible to meet Neolycaena rhymnus in these places at the end of May?

I think so, they normally fly just in late May or early June. Last year, as far as I understood, was abnormal, and still most of the individuals were already beaten.

In the Kharkiv region, in a similar biotope, rimnus fly somewhat later than Pyrenaicus. I've never seen Rimnus in May. But this, of course, does not exclude the possibility...

In the Kharkiv region, in a similar biotope, rimnus fly somewhat later than Pyrenaicus. I've never seen Rimnus in May. But this, of course, does not exclude the possibility...

I looked at it on your website: summer time of Rimnus from late May to mid-June. So you still didn't meet him in May and these data are taken from literature sources?

I looked at it on your website: summer time of Rimnus from late May to mid-June. So you still didn't meet him in May and these data are taken from literature sources?

Exactly. I apologize for the partial misinformation.

My "specific" dates are very stable: June 8, 2006, June 8, 2007, June 7, 2008... While in the last days of May (25th-30th) in these years, rimnus was not observed (and Pyrenaicus was already flying with might and main).

31.05.09 Report on a trip to the chalk mountains in the south of the Voronezh Region in the town of Divnogorye.
The purpose of the trip was to see and photograph the pigeon Agriades pyrenaicus ergane Higgins, which was described from there only recently (1980)
I arrived at the place at 08: 00.
Almost immediately, a female Erynnis tages L. was caught.
Then I went up to the top of the hill, where a magnificent view of the river opens up. Don and the river Tikhaya Sosna.
There were many Gonospileia triquetra D&S scoops flying on the hill. By the way, this is the only species that I have observed on a cretaceous slope with sparse vegetation, besides Agriades pyrenaicus ergane. Here they flew on a mixed grass meadow.
After walking a few hundred meters along the edge of the cliff, I came across Setina roscida D&S.
Finally, I saw the first female Agriades pyrenaicus ergane. There were also many forage plants of this interesting butterfly.


At the top of the hill is a stretch of steppe. Glaucopsyche alexis Poda, Coenonympha pamphilus L and to my delight Polyommatus thersites Cantener flew here. The background view was Vanessa cardui L. From raznousyh came across a new moth for me Heliomata glarearia D&S.


Large dragonflies were flying everywhere.
There were also interesting beetles. Unfortunately I don't know much about them…

Can I find the point where the last beetle was caught?

Can I find the point where the last beetle was caught?

Kravchik, then? They appeared in the fall and I have them from your region thanks to A. Y. Elez.
Thank him so much for that
You have them: ask Andrey in the personal account.

Yely paly, and that we on this page do not lay out the Voronezh entomofauna!?? Places without words - wonderful! Here you will find a red devil not like perineicus - I wonder why our luminaries did not describe this subspecies of a wonderful pigeon themselves? And what kind of bees and shiny wasps will be here!!!
Oh, I would like to find an acacia tail at home.... We don't have such chalks, alas.

Here you will find a red devil not like perineicus - I wonder why our luminaries did not describe this subspecies of a wonderful pigeon themselves?

So it's not entirely clear to me, especially since the Moscow State University Zoo Museum has pyrenaicus specimens collected in the 70s...

<<Ely paly, and that we on this page do not lay out the Voronezh entomofauna!??>>


well, then:
yesterday on a birch tree, in a mixed forest. Voronezh
despite the rain the weather is quite warm and the moths have just started to come out

Archiearis parthenias (Linnaeus, 1761)




Achlya flavicornis (Linnaeus, 1758)


This post was edited by Collector-09.04.2012 15: 48

<<Ely paly, and that we on this page do not lay out the Voronezh entomofauna!??> >
well, then:
yesterday on a birch tree, in a mixed forest. Voronezh
despite the rain, the weather is quite warm and moths have just started to come out
Archiearis parthenias (Linnaeus, 1761)
Achlya flavicornis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Well, this is our suburban banals
Here you are not surprised

and so)
all but the average male deer from the Voronezh region.

and so)
all but the average male deer from the Voronezh region

Well this is a different matter compared to the Moscow region
Although some of them are real here, too.
A couple of examples:
http://molbiol.ru/forums/index.php?showtop...ndpost&p=937567
http://molbiol.ru/forums/index.php?showtop...ndpost&p=931055

Well, I haven't seen rhinos myself in a long time.. already 4 years probably..

Well, I haven't seen rhinos myself in a long time.. already 4 years probably..

And I had a point almost next to the house, mass. Just over a kilometer: annoyingly

and I used to be able to say almost in the window did not fly.. it was possible to go out into the yard any day and they were always circling somewhere near the lanterns.. and then the private sector was demolished,built high-rise buildings.. and I haven't seen them since=((