Moving on from my last stop, the A-402 road doubled back on itself and in ½ a mile I was pulling-in again at a higher elevation with the scrubby woodland still present. Scrambling down a small embankment I found myself among the thick scrub hopeful of encountering another Cardinal. No Cardinal but another butterfly did show up:- a cryptically coloured Tree Grayling (Neohipparchia statilinus (sub-species?) and third lifer for the day
. Although the first pic shows it on a tree (as you might expect to find it) it was initially on the ground but I couldn’t get near enough for a decent photo. Its seemed easier to approach when it was on the tree bark plus the shade helped with the photo. Like ‘our’ H. Semele Graylings it was doing its “you can’t see me routine”, keeping its forewing tucked in behind the hind-wing and blending in with its background. In all I saw three or four of these butterflies with their fast jerky flight followed by dropping to ground. The third shot shows an eye-spot flash (only partial in this pic) when Graylings feel their camouflage has been rumbled.
- Tree Grayling habitat
While searching the thicker shadier part of the scrub I saw another brown butterfly but was only able to get this blurred record shot. I’m certain it is
Maniola jurtina hispula the Meadow Brown. I’d seen this sub-species in the Ariege region of Southern France.
Climbing back up the embankment and walking inside the crash barrier to get back to the car I spotted yet another Brown butterfly this time noticeably smaller. Again, it dived into the shade for cover and settled at an obtuse angle. This was another lifer,
Coenonympha dorus, the Dusky Heath
.
Continuing on I arrived at Alhama de Granada a sleepy picturesque town in the heat of early afternoon.
There was barely any sign of life (time of day) until I went into a bar for lunch and walked into a ‘wild-west saloon’, a vibrant and colourful atmosphere of noise and activity
. The Spanish are very sociable people in their restaurants & café bars. The serrano ham; olives and battered King Prawns were delicious and reasonably priced too, being away from the coastal tourist areas
.
Body re-hydrated and appetite satiated I continued my journey along the A-402 then onto the A-338 through the rolling hills stopping wherever I thought I might encounter butterflies and to take pictures of the countryside.
After leaving the A-402 and taking the A-338 My next big stop was by a reservoir at Panatano de los Bermajales. The water was a bright cerulean blue and the evidence suggested that it had retreated substantially from where it’s normal level would be.
In blistering heat, I searched the parched ground and scrub, encountering loads of grasshoppers the odd fly-by Small Whites but not much else. Eventually persistence paid off when I came across a blue butterfly which initially excited me as I thought I was onto something new. However, it turned out to be a male Adonis blue, (
Polyommatus bellargus), a first for the holiday. His wings remained clamped shut with only the briefest glimpses of the blue as he gyrated his hindwings wings in the way that many of the small lycaenid butterflies often do. The butterfly was smaller than the ones I see at home with larger spotting and (perhaps) bolder black banding on the fringes.
- Antlion imago’s seen frequently on my forays
The heat was starting to take its toll again so I made my way back to the car, and then came across another butterfly a Scarce Swallowtail, (
Iphiclides podalirius absolutely no doubt about this one). I followed its somewhat lazy effortless floating yet progressive flight, as it sailed over the tops of scrubby trees, looking like it would land but not doing so
. Unfortunately, I would have to wait for another time to get a picture. This species I had seen in France again without a confirmatory picture, …. but definitely not a lifer.
Driving across a dam bridge into a Pantano de los Bermajales I considered stopping again but there were a lot of people cars and cyclists around so I decided it would be better to keep moving. The A-338 turned onto the GR-3302 and I had a drink stop in Jayena at the hostal restaurant El Nota, where I was twice served Tapas with my cokes but refused the second one not realising they were free
. The serrano ham went the bin
.
I planned to take the GR-3302 to the junction with the A-4050 then head south to eventually get back on the A-7 “Autovia del Mediterraneo” heading west. In between Jayena and the A-4050 junction whilst driving through a landscape criss-crossed with olive trees, I found another place to pull in and look for butterflies.
In the dry exposed areas, except for a lone Brown Argus there was nothing but grasshoppers. However, under the shade of a tree, I came across lots more Brown Argus obviously sheltering from the heat
. A few metres further on were some small bushes, the flowers which looked like Alyssum. One bush in particular was attracting Common and Adonis Blues and (Southern) Brown Argus.
On the A-4050 the Olive groves had given way to conifers and rocky scrub land. Some of the conifers showed signs of being fire scorched. I pulled into the Restaurant Refugio de Piedra (again an oasis of unexpected human activity in a landscape of seeming emptiness) for yet another liquid top-up before making my way across the road to explore the ‘conifer heath’. Noticeable straight away was the fact that all the conifer trees in the vicinity were being tapped for their resin
. The collecting buckets contained small volumes of the resin and varying amounts of “crud”. I believe it’s used for Turpentine production for both for the paints and pharmaceuticals industries.
It wasn’t long before I put up a large ‘ground butterfly’ but this time it wasn’t a Tree Grayling but a rather more handsome looking Striped Grayling, Pseudotergumia fidia, my 5th lifer for the day
.
Throughout my searching of that area I probably came across 4 different Striped Graylings. They showed typical Grayling behaviour in as much as once airborne, they would try and land somewhere where they could rely on their camouflage. This habitat offered them plenty of choice. Sometimes they ‘blended-in’ with the rocks but once found were easier to photo. Others went into the brush were difficult to get to and avoid the annoying strands of herbage that spoils many a shot
.
- Striped Grayling habitat
There were the usual suspects like Brown Argus present too, plus a strange looking plant that looked like a pine cone growing directly out of the ground (any ideas
)
Another large brown butterfly was to capture my attention and add another to my life list: - a Rock Grayling
Hipparchia alcyone perched halfway up a tree trunk (the
Tree Graylings I’d seen earlier in the day spent most of their time on the
rocky ground).
- taken with the FZ-72 on zoom .. I couldn’t get near it
The heat wasn’t so bad by then but I still had a long way to go to get back to Las Farolas so I decided it was time to call it a day. Most of my Striped Grayling shots were not quite ‘on the money’ or the examples had wing damage (like the one below) so in hindsight I wished I’d squeezed in a bit more time with them
.
As I progressed along the A-4050 heading south to meet up with the A-7 (Autovia del Mediterraneo) the landscape changed to beautiful scenic limestone mountains as the roads skirted the edge of the National Park Sierras de Tejeda.
- tempted to explore ... perhaps another time?
The challenging twisty bits gradually straightened out as the road descended and soon I was approaching the A-7 ….. only with around 200m difference in elevation
. No intersection, as I drove under the ‘motorway’ I hadn’t reckoned on this
. The road then seemed to go on forever but eventually after going through Alumnecar town centre I found my way out on the N-340 back to the A-7 and westwards to home
. An absolutely cracking day out
.
In my absence, the ladies had taken the half-price ticket for the dolphin boat trip … and had got good sightings of dolphins
. Win win all round
.
Phil
. All the Graylings were a challenge and fun as Graylings are. The Striped is a handsome beastie (whose coloration perfectly matched both the rocks and scrub) and comes a very close second 