Guy, I am just catching up with the forum and see that you have moved back to the UK. I can understand that it will be a real change for you. I am sure that you will make the most of the (relatively) limited number of butterflies there, although you probably have almost double the number of species ...

What a great variety of butterflies. I have enjoyed looking at your pictures. What dates were you there? We always go on holiday to Spain during the first two weeks in July and I usually see the same species each time. Maybe, now the kids are grown up we can go on holiday a little earlier or later t...

Beautiful shots. I particularly like the first valezina picture. I wasn't aware that the underside was so different from the normal form.

There are still plenty of butterflies flying around East Lothian despite the recent cloud and rain. I was lucky with today's transect with the sun staying out most of the time. 7 Large Whites, 36 Small Whites, 18 Green-veined Whites, 4 Small Coppers, 4 Peacocks, 2 Commas and 7 Speckled Woods. I walk...

More brilliant information. Thank you Paul. I have lost two elms this year to DED, sadly both in lovely sunny locations. I am wondering if I should start to coppice the remaining elms to try to ensure their survival. Of course the risk is that if there are any larvae they would be killed in the proc...

I was delighted to see Mother-of-pearl Blues for the first time this year in the Sierra Nevada. I am looking forward to the rest of your report. All of our holidays have been to Southern Spain and now that the kids are grown up I think that I should be able to persuade my wife that there is a lot mo...

I use a Panasonic Lumix FZ150. It allows me to photograph the butterflies from about 2 metres away, so I don't disturb them. The quality is good enough for me and it save lugging heavy equipment around. I imagine it is now superseded by another model by now, as mine is over six years old.

Chris - try Paul Browning, "Butterflies of the Iberian Peninsula" - photos, habitat, distribution, flight times, ID hints, everything you need in compact form. Way down south the flight times are often rather longer than indicated, but otherwise really handy. Nick - thanks for posting tho...

You do realise don't you Paul that you'll not be able to stop now until you have covered every Elm in Hampshire :wink: :lol: ....and then every couple of years you'll have to update that info :lol: Seriously, you're doing the work of a whole team of observers and I'm sure I'm not the only one who a...

I have seen wasps attempting to land on Peacocks and Green-veined Whites in the past. I have never been clear about what they were trying to achieve. The butterflies have always been feeding and it looks as though the wasps have deliberately flown at the butterfly as if they saw it as prey. However,...

Chris,
A little out of date, but as it doesn't cost anything, this is worth a look: http://sea-entomologia.org/PDF/MSEA11Le ... iurnos.pdf

Looks like a great trip, David. I was in southern Spain at the same time as you were away and I also found that the number of butterflies was lower than I had previously experienced there. They had experienced a cool, damp spring, which I had thought may have been a good thing for butterflies, but i...

I think Jack is right. Last year I received a record of a Small Tortoiseshell roosting in an old castle on 17th August and it appeared to remain there for the rest of the year. The summer last year was awful, but there were plenty of days that it could have been out and flying around through to Octo...

I have certainly noticed that the Common Blues here in Southern Spain are considerably smaller than those found back home. I have always assumed that this is down to their food plants being dried up here and less nutritious.

There were a lot more Clouded Yellows higher up in the Sierra Nevada on my next visit. The majority were cream in colour.

OK, let's try with this one. Also seen in the Sierra Nevada. Marbled Skippers, or maybe Southern Marbled Skippers?

I saw these two in the Seirra Nevada a couple of days ago. Pretty sure the lighter one will be helice, but how can I tell the difference between that and Berger's?
Thanks

Wow, David! That sounds like a great trip. You managed to get so many good pictures, too. I think I have seen less than half of the species you saw.

Lovely to see the butterflies you saw in the US. I spent three months touring the States in 1995 and I remember seeing a number of butterflies at the time. Sadly, I wasn't quite to obsessed with butterflies in those days, so didn't identify any and I didn't have a camera suitable for photographing t...

Brilliant project. I wish it every success.
I imagine that the reserve will require continued management to prevent bracken and birch scrub taking over and smothering the violets. I wonder if some light grazing would be beneficial?

Thanks Dave and David,
I was very excited to see it. Typically I had a new phone so struggled to take a picture, but at least I have a bit of a record.
I went back on Monday with my camera, but didn't see it again. I will have another look tomorrow.