Michel Tarrier has done some fantastic work in Morocco, I would highly recommend his books and specimens, all first rate.

Extinct in Britain for over a century, the top specimen is almost 140 years old and still looks superb.

They weren't that expensive from memory. When they first came up for sale they were fetching silly money but then it dropped, which is when I bought these, they seem to have gone back up in price again now.

One more, this one is 110 years old.

While temperature shocked specimens are spectacular there is something rather satisfying about forms that occur naturally.

A wild caught specimen almost devoid of blue.

An interesting specimen that I caught in the back garden a few years back, completely uneven and antenna a different size.

A couple of special specimens with enlarged blue spots.

A few more.

I've been fortunate to acquire quite a large series of telling, here are a few pictures of mine including one from the great L W Newman,

An extremely local species

Superb

The fens were drained for agriculture. What is left is managed for the butterfly and it's now more abundant than at any time in the last 50 years. It's so hard to get because all specimens must be sold under licence, all of mine are old and historic apart from one that I obtained from a pupa from Wo...

A few more

The sole member of the family in the British Isles, exceedingly local entomologists travel a long way to see it.

And pair

My specimens, pair are from the Campbell Black collection, he didn't do a very good setting job, the other female is ex BMNH.

Females of these are huge and the undersides are exquisite

Superb

One more