Due to my EF-S zoom lens having revealed a nasty surprise from its previous owner in the shape of old and mold-attracting soap, with my used EF L from a different owner seeming to suffer from similar but less catastrophic issues that only forced me to stop my field trip on 20 July, I had to rely on my old kit lens to capture those butterflies requiring a closer look for proper diagnosis.
With partly cloudy conditions, weak to moderate winds and 22°C (11:39 AM), the weather was much less of an issue than the traffic that will last until the end of the month and return in mid-August.
For the first time ever I witnessed a wasp spider (Argiope bruennichi) catching and feeding on a male C. mercuriale. Two wasp spiders were present in one of C. mercuriale's preferred spots, though the other caught a grasshopper, instead, and at least one other male C. mercuriale was alive and a solid distance to both spiders. One C. splendens was seen hunting through the bushes in Z II.
P. edusa continues to migrate northwards but once again I was unable to get a photo of it. To my own surprise, C. pamphilus, now only reaching their minimum size, still is active and two individuals appeared to just have hatched a few days ago. Meanwhile, all P. icarus individuals are noticeably smaller than usual due to the rather sudden lack of host plants, though they still show a funny preference for neon pink objects – this time one male P. icarus was feeding off the sweat stains on my neon pink lighter, rather than my damaged neon pink shoes that I haven't worn in a while.
---
As mentioned, the trip on 20 July had to be cancelled in the midst of analyzing "Mixed Field" due to my EF L causing errors after pressing the shutter. Coincidentally, the winds and traffic also picked up and the hot and humid air instantly made me want to go home before developing a migraine.
For the sake of transparency, the following species were recorded up to this point (9:48 AM):
I ordered a Sigma hyperzoom lens and it won't arrive before Friday. I usually carry only one lens with me for the sake of flexibility when physically moving and to not increase my chances of dehydrating due to carrying heavy equipment whilst climbing up hills. While the EF-S zoom is damaged due to soap from the previous owner having leaked through the inner lenses and two screws that cannot be removed anymore, I cannot even re-assemble it as the moldy and stinky soap leftovers now block parts of the lens barrel from moving (and two other plastic pieces with visible damages having fallen out of the lens barrel out of the blue). The EF L lens, though also affected by some fungi but to a much lesser degree, now suffers from connector issues on my 60D alone; no such issue occurs on my 700D which I did not use on 20 July due to assuming that it would not cause any problems on my 60D after successful tests with my smaller Rebel.