MikeandCarolgoEast: Invertebrate pix

We are beginners at this and we are taking photos in an attempt to improve our knowledge about butterflies & drafonflies. Our tentative identifications are shown in the caption. We would value advice from anyone who knows better. Ufortunately our only butterfly ID book just gives the scientific name so we are unable to add a common name for those we are unfamiliar with - any help appreciated with this too.

Russia - W Siberia to Ukraine border (posted 16 Sep)

A few more from NW Mongolia (posted 14 Sep)

Altai-Khovd (W Mongolia), early August (posted 16 Aug)

As we travelled further west there were increasing numbers of ponds, lakes, rivers and streams and although we haven't seen many butterflies there were suddenly lots of dragonflies and damselflies:

UB to Altai, late July (posted 16 Aug)
We saw very few butterflies and no dragonflies in this area generally - it is pretty dry - the following were all taken on two mountain walks:

West of Ulaan Baatar (posted 17 July)

This type of Ringlet seems to love coming and checking us and the vehicle out - easy to photograph as it settles a long time - as on our towel here

This butterfly, and the one below, always settled on rocky areas were they were well camouflaged and difficult to find once they had landed

A rather ragged Blue but they always seem very photogenic

Northern Mongolia (posted 6 July)

The Black-veined whites? seem to have an orange tinge here

Type of Clouded Yellow

Lake Baikal area

Siberia

When we were at the Naurzum reserve in Kazakhstan we were told that there was a plague of this butterfly Aporia cragaegi - probably called something like Black-veined White in the UK where according to our guide book it is now extinct. It was also referred to as vermin as it destroys the crops there. By the time we left Kazakhstan it was noticably down in numbers as the season progressed. Now we have come north to Siberia though it is now early in its season again and it is much more obviously plague numbers here. Driving along, particularly early in this leg the roadsides, lorry fronts, flowers, you name it, were covered in them. Amazing to think we struggled to get a photo of one the first time we saw it.

The last couple of weeks various different Ringlet type butterflies have appeared:

And a few other new sightings:

Limenitis populi, E of Moshkovo, W Siberia (above & below)

Skipper sp (above & below)

And finally a Dragonfly which isn't a Four-spotted Chaser, a Damselfy which isn't aCrescent Bluets and a Demoiselle

Erythromma sp (think Najas)/ (Large) Redeye

These Whitefaces (all Ruby type I think) seemed to like settling on anything pale in colour from this old bit of material,to scraps of paper & plastic, birch tree bark and rocks. The yellow one is female and the red one male