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25 June

Now tat the heat wave is expected to peak on AND last until Sunday, I decided to do a field trip in the early morning. Without a single cloud moving across the sky, barely any winds and 26.1°C (9:28 AM) it was a rather wise decision to skip Zone I which remains partly blocked.

+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+
| Species                 | Location                        | Status |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------|--------+
| Araschnia levana        | Zone II                         | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Coenonympha pamphilus   | Zone III                        | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Maniola jurtina         | Zone II / III                   | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Melanargia galathea     | Zone II / III                   | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Pieris brassicae        | Zone II                         | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Pieris napi             | Zone II                         | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Pieris rapae            | Yard / Zone II / III            | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Thymelicus sylvestris   | Yard / Zone II / III            | Adult  |
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
|-------------------------|---------------------------------|--------|
| Coenagrion mercuriale   | Zone III                        | Adult  |
+-------------------------+---------------------------------+--------+

It was rather difficult to properly identify most P. rapae as they're less calm than usual and reach the average size of P. brassicae. There were vastly more P. rapae, however, and only one P. brassicae was recorded.

And as it turns out, most blues aren't early birds (early butterflies?) but just like every other species currently active they may prefer spots with a little more shade.