10th: A day on my local hill with Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, Glanville Frillaries, Checquered, Small, Adonis and Green-underside Blues, Orange Tips and a single Nettle Tree Butterfly.
14th : First days of a period spent in the southern part of Lazio. Here is a view of the hill which I climbed several times (photo) and my fisrt photos this year of a Black-veined White (photo) and a Red-underwing Skipper (photo). Sorry about the poor quality image.
27th: Italian Marbled Whites are now out and about (photo)!

4th: A trip inland to the foothills of the Appenines brought sightings of Southern White Admirals, Lulworth Skippers (photo)(I saw 20 plus), Large Chequered Skippers (photo), Ilex Hairstreaks, an Eastern Bath White and a Violet Fritillary (photo). Here is the lane with the bushes where most of the butterflies were (photo). One particular bar/restaurant in the middle of the countryside where we stopped for a drink had a fine water spray on the roof near the door to cool the air. This had moistened the ground just outside the door and was a major attraction for local species. Here is a Large Tortoiseshell  which spent over an hour there (photo). There was also a Nettle-tree butterfly, a Comma, a Large Wall Brown and what I believe is a Silver-studded Blue (photo).
5th: Here is another shot of an Italian Marbled White (photo) There are now lots of them on the wing along with Black-veined Whites and Cleopatras (photo).
12th-14th: Travelling back from southern Lazio, we stopped in the very centre of Italy, where the hills and mountains are still wild and unspoilt. 2 nights in Borbona, in the Province of Rieti, gave me the opportunity to spend an hour or so in the local meadows, which were full of butterflies. Unfortunately, it was hot and most species were very active so photographing them was not easy. Hist is a list of those identified: Large White and what I believe is a Mountain Small White (photo), Clouded Yellow, Black-veined White, Ilex Hairstreak (photo), Green Hairstreak, Red Admitral, Peacock, Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Southern White Admiral, Spotted Fritillary, High Brown Fritillary, Silver-washed Fritillary, Marbled Fritillary, Glanville Fritillary Common Blue, Adonis Blue, Silver-studded Blue, Amanda's Blue, Small Heath, Speckled Wood, Wall Brown, Large Wall Brown, Large Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, Mallow Skipper, Grizzled Skipper. Slighlty higher up from the village (photo of the area) was this Large Blue (photo) and this pair of Berger's Clouded Yellow (photo).
14th-16th: We drove on through the earthquake-hit area of Amatrice (2016) to reach a campsite at the foot on Monte Vettore (part of the Monti Sibillini in Le Marche). There at about 1,400m asl, I was very pleased to come across a new species for me - the Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron)! (photo, photo, photo of underside). Here is the location (photo). I am always pleased to get up a high hill or mountain, not only because of the great views but also because there seems to be a far greater variety of species flying at altitude. As well as the Purple-shot Copper, there were also several  Purple-edged Coppers (Lycaena hippothoe)(photo) on the wing and slightly lower down (1,300m) Twin-spot Fritillaries (Brenthis hecate) (photo)(the first I have seen outside of Trentino) and  False Heath Fritillaries (Melitaea diamina)(photo, photo) (please confirm my ID on this one because the Tolman Butterfly guide says that the species is absent from peninsular Italy).
19th: Back here in Trentino, I was pleased on my return to still see a couple of male Iolas Blues (Iolanda iolas (one poor photo here) near the Bladder Senna bushes not far from my house. The bush was looking very sorry for itself mainly due to the lack of water and also bccause of the lack of flowers (only 1 or 2 flowers left on theb whole bush). Nearby, the local meadows had already been mown (photo), leaving (luckily) only a few wilder areas where the local butterflies gathered. Here are some of the many Silver-washed Fritillaries that were there (Argynnis paphia) (photo), here is a closer photo of one of them (photo) and here is a Blue-spot Hairstreak (Satyrium spini)on a bush nearby (photo). Other butterflies around included White Admirals (Limenitis camilla), High Brown Fritillaries (Argynnis adippe) and Large Whites (Pieris brassicae)
22nd - 30th: Other trips to various locations in my local area brought new sightings for the year of Woodland Browns (Lopinga achine)(photo), Woodland Ringlets (Erebia medusa), a very late and ratherv worn Duke of Burgundy Fritillary (Hamearis lucina) (photo), Ringlets (Aphantopus hyperantus) (photo), a single old and worn Clouded Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne)(photo) and Great Sooty Satyrs (Satyrus ferula)(photo). However, although I went twice to the place where I have seen Poplar Admirals (Limenitis populi) at this time of the year 3 or 4 times, none were to be seen this year. Maybe, they were flying earlier than usual and I missed them.
1st-2nd: At last - an opportunity to go up to a higher altitude for a day and a half in a valley that we had never explored before!  Despite cool, cloudy and rainy weather for the first half day, the sun came out late afternoon and shone the following morning, giving me the chance to photograph a few species that were on the wing (photo)[I  probably need to apologise at this stage for the scarsity of recent photographs and the poor quality of some of them. My excuse - I have an injured knee and bending, kneeling  and crawling, which I tend to do a lot of when trying to capture butterflies on camera, has been  nearly impossible!] Having said  that, I enjoyed finding some Scarce Coppers (Lycaena virgureae) (photo), and Sooty Coppers (Lycaena tityrus), some Alpine Blues (Plebejus orbitulus) (photo) and Cranberry Blues (Plebejus optilete), lots of Small Pearl-bordered Friltillaries (Clossiana selene)(photo, photo), some Thor's Fritillaries (Clossiana thore) (photo), some Swiss Brassy Ringlets (Erebia tyndarus), a Lesser Mountain Ringlet (Erebia melampus), an Arran Brown (Erebia ligea) (photo), some Chequered  Skippers (Carterocephalus palaemon)(photo) and Dusky Grizzled Skippers (Pyrgus cacaliae) ((photo), and a single Moorland Clouded Yellow (Colias palaeno).
5th-6th: A lightning visit to Croatia to collect our grandchildren for an extended holiday with us. On the way, I came across a Great Banded Grayling (Kanetisa circe)(photo), what I believe is a Nickerl's Fritillary, (Mellicta aurelia) (photo), a Southern Comma (Polygonia egea), a Cardinal (Argynnis pandora)(photo)  a Hermit (Chazara briseis)(photo) and this lovely Zygaena carniolica (photo) - the first time I have seen this species. Here is a view of the Zrmanja river (photo), one of the places we stopped at.
16th: Monte Baldo and one of my target species for the day was the Ottoman Brassy Ringlet, the Monte Baldo form - Erebia ottomana benecensis. Success (photo). View with my grandson (photo)
18th-21st: A marvellous 3 days with our grandchildren up in my favourite mountain valley - the Val di Rabbi, where temperatures were much more bearable than down in the plain. Despite my painful knee, I still managed to walk up from the campsite (at 1,300m) to over 2,100m asl on one day (photo of view) and 2 days later up to 1,760m. I didn't see the quantity of butterflies this year that I usually see, but nonetheless I found a lot I hoped I would see. Here is a small selection of photos: Titania's Fritillary (Clossiana Fritillary)(photo), Apollo (Parnassius apollo) (photo), Geranium Argus (Aricia eumedon) (photo), a mating couple of Water Ringlets (Erebia pronoe) (photo) and a Camberwell Beauty (Nympalis antiopa) at the campsite (photo). Apart from the butterflies, the highlight of the trip was meeting and chatting with Deborah Crociani -  a  fellow butterfly enthusiast, who was busy  recording species in a meadow just beneath the Saent Waterfalls (Cascate di Saent). Hope we can meet up again, Deborah!
25th: In Tuscany. Disaster! I've broken my camera! A freshly-bought, badly-positioned bottle of wine in my rucksack activated my camera, which tried to open, but being blocked by the weight of the bottle, completely ruined the mechanism. Irrepairable, I fear! I will try my luck with my mobile phone for the next few weeks. At the campsite, on some damp grass  - 3 new species for the year  Purple Hairstreaks (Favonius quercus), Long-tailed Blues (Lampides boeticus) and Lang's Short-tailed Blues (Leptotes pirithous). Only 1 half-decent photo of  the Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus), taken with my mobile phone. (The other 100+ photos that I took are rubbish and I have deleted them. I obviously am more used to my camera, which I find much easier to use!)
4th: I am in southern Lazio and I am very pleased to say that I believe I have found 2 new species (new for me). The first is a Lesser Fiery Copper (Lycaena thersamon) (photo, photo). I came across 5 or 6 of them, mostly males, feeding on flowers in the middle of this dry, grassy meadow (photo). You can see more photos on the main species page. Just across the country road was a small strip of field with flowering clover (photo). Luckily it hadn't dried up, due to overspill from the irrigation system in a neighbouring field of maize and the clover flowers hosted hundreds of butterflies: several species of blues, Mallow skippers, Clouded Yellows, Scarce Swallowtails, Dingy Skippers,Whites etc, but what caught my eye was a small, brown Skipper, resting for a few seconds on a flower and then darting off. Was it a Mediterranean Skipper or a Pygmy Skipper? Standing in the bright, hot sun (without my glasses and with my bad knee!), I struggled for 2 hours with my mobile phone camera, but the photos on this particular day when I looked at them later on my computer were absolutely awful! Returning to the same site on two more occasions enabled me to get some slightly better shots and, at least confirm the identity of the second "new" butterfly - in my opinion, a Pygmy Skipper (Gegenes pumilio)(photo, photo). The 2nd photo here was taken on 21st August - a few days after some heavy rain and when the clover field was looking very much greener than at the beginning of the month (photo). Luckily the same species were still on the wing.
21st: My return trip today to the same location also gave me the opportunity to photograph a Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus)(photo) in the clover field and a Lang's Short-tailed Blue (Leptotes pirithous) (photo) in the dry meadow.
2nd: In a flowery meadow in Tuscany (photo), I managed to get upperside and underside photos of this Skipper (photo, photo), which on close examination looks to me like a Rosy Grizzled Skipper, (If correct, this is the first time that I have managed to photograph this species) The butterfly is obviously not a fresh specimen and the photo, taken with my mobile phone, is not brilliant but a nice find anyway!
3rd: A forced stop in Tuscany, due to our car breaking down on the motorway. Near the hotel, there was this very worn Great Banded Grayling sitting in the grass - with its wings open! (photo)
10th: I am now back iun Trentino and today I had time to go for an early afternoon drive and walk on my local hill. New for the year were lots of Scotch Arguses, several Dryad butterlies and 2 or 3 Silver-spotted Skippers. To complete the list for today there was also Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Queen of Spain Fritillary,  Meadow Brown, Wall, Small Heath,  Geranium Bronze, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Adonis Blue.
12th - Most of September here in Trentino has been wet (no vast quantities of rain, unlike other parts of Italy) and quite cool! 
3rd: A nice sunny day and a drive up to 1000m to look around the grassy meadows there. (photo) The grass was quite short with mainly dandelion flowers as the main source of nectar. The only species spotted were Clouded Yellow, Berger's Clouded Yellow, Small White, Wall, Dryad, Small Heath, Large Skipper and Common Blue. Here are a couple of views from the meadows (photo, photo).
12th: Another view (photo) from the hills looking along the main valley (towards the village where I live).
29th: It has been an incredibly hot October, with mild nights and temperatures up in the mid 20s nearly every day! I've been out for several short bike rides in the main valley particularly during this last week and have dressed as if it were mid-June! The main butterflies about have been Red Admirals, Clouded Yellows (photo of a male), Large Whites and Small Whites, Common Blues (photo of female), possibly some Silver-studded Blues (very worn adults) and the usual Geranium Bronzes on the geraniums in our garden. Here are a couple of views taken in the middle of the valley (photo, photo). When I am riding my bike I do have to take particular care of caterpillars crossing the cycle track - a fairly frequent occurence!. Here is a Ruby Tiger (photo) and here are 3 photos of Convolvulus Hawkmoth caterpillars each taken on a different day at various points along the cycle track (photo 14th) (photo 27th) (photo 29th)
30th: Another very warm day and up at 900m in a side valley from where we live, in addition to those mentioned yesterday there were many more butterflies on the wing, including Queen of Spain Fritillaries, Small Heaths, (photo of worn individual) and Brimstones. Here is a photo of a Female Clouded Yellow (helice form) - I believe - and a photo of the location.