butterfly mating and marmots at the alps
Posted by rocksea on 29 Jun 2009 | Category: italy, photography, prakriti
The male orange tip butterfly, striking a majestic pose, with its legs firmly placed on the plant and err.. the female orange tip below…
Orange tips (anthocharis cardamines) are common across Europe and found in some regions of Asia with temperate climates. The male has the characteristic orange tip on its forewings while the tips are greyish for the female.
and… for a better view of the tranquil mating…
Well, somebody else is not quite happy with their tranquil mating. Another male orange tip flies on to interrupt the pair.
All these happened in this beautiful valley of the Alps, at Valsavarence, Vale d’Aosta in Italy.
The Alps host a wide range of endemic species of the animal kingdom, including the alpine marmots (marmota marmota). Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. You can see the main burrow of a marmot family here. This burrow is just a part of their larger underground networking system. The whole terrain would be full of holes and burrows interconnected. We found this while following an ibex, an alpine antelope, and my foot got into many of those numerous marmot holes.
Interestingly, close relatives to the alpine marmots are found at Ladakh in India too.
More pictures from Aosta Valley are at our Nature Italia Gallery <<< 
Aosta Valley is 2 hours from Turin, and near the French border. We were stationed at Valsavarenche, in the Gran Paradiso National Park, which is the oldest national park of Italy.
hary shetty on 