Friday 15 February 2013

Mexico selixico

Yes, we have had snow this week in the UK, but what is that to me? Ha! Nothing, because P and I have been in Mexico visiting our son and daughter-in-law - and the mariposas which (older readers may recall) we last enjoyed two years ago when Tom and Abi took us to see the amazing Monarch migration in the mountains of Michoacán.

This time we were in Mexico City - a great place which suffers from a skewed and decontextualised image in the same way that the North of England does - and on the coast of Oaxaca where we saw these lovely creatures. We're only just back home in Leeds with the usual catching-up to do, so I'm posting them for now and will attempt to identify later.





I can at least say with certainty that this is one of Mexico's many beautiful fritillaries, top and underwing.



Here is a Clouded Yellow of some Mexican sort.





These are two tropical species which you often see in UK butterfly houses.



And here is a tattered but delicately patterned woodland species which looks as though it may have a couple of small tails - one lost in this case, through the trials of a butterfly life.

And just to end with, from the sublime to the corblimey, back in Mexico City this very English-looking moth found a refuge in our family laundry...



4 comments:

Unknown said...

Looks like a nice trip.

The two you mention as being seen in UK butterfly houses are, I believe, Heliconius erato and H. chariton.

The top one, possibly Agraulis vanillae and the yellow one, one of the Phoebis sp.

Pass on the Noctuid for now.

Regards

Dave

Ray Walton said...

Martin

Looks like the Noctuid could be from Mehico hass whell

Ray Walton

MartinWainwright said...

Hi both - and thanks so much for such prompt help. I'm still making my way slowly through all those things which pile up when you go on holiday, plus a bit of mild jetlag, so that's a great start.

I remember from last time we went to Mexico, getting absorbed in an online site which listed the many and beautiful fritillaries they have. I'll check out A. vanillae there. Shame the poor old moth rather lets the side down in terms of Mexican-style colour; I guess it represents the way that a lot of their modern concrete houses are left undecorated outside while others - notably Freda Kahlo's Casa Azul in Coyoacan but with millions of more modest examples - are ablaze with blues, oranges, greens, reds and purples. Like the butterflies.

All warmest wishes and thanks again

Martin

Banished To A Pompous Land said...

Martin, looking at your very tattered specimen it looks a lot like a well worn Long Tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
The species does run right down into and indeed through Mexico. A less worn one looks like this

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARTqGp5pqyM/UH2NyMsGjiI/AAAAAAAAA_4/CpvgHSoAcow/s1600/038.JPG