Cardinal
Argynnis pandora
Switzerland, May 2005
The cardinal is allegedly widespread in southern Europe, though I have
obviously never been in the right place at the right time. The picture
above shows the first and to date only cardinal I have seen. It turned
up quite by surprise in the Rhône Valley when I was looking for iolas
blues. I was excited to find it but didn't realise at the time quite
what a rare event this was: the last cardinal recorded for Switzerland
was way back in 1947!
This butterfly is superficially like a silver-washed fritillary but
noticeably darker, visible even in flight, and with a striking rosy red
flush under the forewing. If you get a look at the underside there is
little possibility of misidentification.