European Butterflies - A personal diary

[David M]

Strange to see such grassy slopes in Greece, Paul, although I believe there's a decent amount of rain in that part of the country over the course of the year.

I'm looking forward to finding out what else you saw - there are quite a few endemics in those mountains!

[selbypaul]

Strange to see such grassy slopes in Greece, Paul, although I believe there's a decent amount of rain in that part of the country over the course of the year.

I'm looking forward to finding out what else you saw - there are quite a few endemics in those mountains!

Absolutely! Day 3 was arguably the best day in Greece, I'll leave you waiting with anticipation.

In terms of the greenery, I am told that up until late June and early July there is enough rain. Its later in August and September that things get parched, albeit there are thunderstorms.

[Roger Gibbons]

Hi Paul,

The white spot on the inside of the antennal club says sinapis to me, whereas duponcheli is brown at this point. Maybe worth another look?

Roger

[selbypaul]

Hi Paul,

The white spot on the inside of the antennal club says sinapis to me, whereas duponcheli is brown at this point. Maybe worth another look?

Roger

You are correct Roger, my mistake!

[David M]

...Absolutely! Day 3 was arguably the best day in Greece, I'll leave you waiting with anticipation.

You sure know how to build the suspense, Paul! Put me out of my misery please.

[selbypaul]

...Absolutely! Day 3 was arguably the best day in Greece, I'll leave you waiting with anticipation.

You sure know how to build the suspense, Paul! Put me out of my misery please.

It's not intentional David, trust me! I've had to focus my free time this last week on my day job! Aiming to spend some time on this in the next two weeks!

[selbypaul]

Thankfully, Day 3 was a much better day weather wise. Despite more forecast thunderstorms, they never actually happened, and we had sunny spells for most of the day.

We spent the morning focused on walking up and down two gullies in the north eastern foothills of Mount Chelmos, then a return to the known Odd Spot Blue location from the day before, just after lunch.

It was a very successful morning, seeing lots of different species, but the most prized being two different individual Chelmos Blue (polyommatus iphigenia), and a single Odd Spot Blue (turanana taygetica). Given how rare these species are in Europe, and how many are trapped and killed by collectors each year, we were very lucky indeed. One wonders whether they’ll both be extinct in Europe in the not too distant future.

View of Mount Chelmos from the first gully in the morning

Our first butterflying gully in the morning

Our second butterflying gully at lunchtime

View of Mount Chelmos from our stop just after lunch

The rest of the afternoon was spent at various scrubby meadows on the road back from the Mount Chelmos ski centre to Kalavrita. These areas had historically been pretty successful places for butterflying. But the grazing of livestock is in retreat here, as it is in many parts of Greece. As a result, the scrub growth had shaded out much of the previously flower rich meadow, and we saw very little butterfly life.

Over the course of the day, the group saw 29 species, of which I saw 26. Of the 26 I saw, five were new species for me, which were:
Clouded Apollo (parnassius mnemosyne)
Greek Clouded Yellow (colias aurorina)
Lesser Fiery Copper (lycaena thersamon)
Odd Spot Blue (turanana taygetica)
Chelmos Blue (polyommatus iphigenia)

Clouded Apollo

Greek Cloude Yellow

Lesser Fiery Copper

Odd Spot Blue

Chelmos Blue

[selbypaul]

Day 4 was varied day spent at six different locations around Kalavrita. There were sunny spells all day, and in the late afternoon, it became quite hot.

The first two stops in the morning were Aghia Monestary, and a school just before it. Both had scrubby garden meadows full of different butterfly species.

We then did a short river walk, in a known Iola’s Blue location, where we were successful in seeing this target species.

Lunch was eaten in very quiet (near abandoned) village called Souvardo, under a wonderful old Oriental Plane tree.

Oriental Plane tree in Souvardo

After lunch we walked along an open hillside track from this village, which proved quite successful.

View from the hillside track near Souvardo

Our final stop for the day was along another hillside track, lower down, which had a different cast of butterflies again.

In total the group saw 41 species, of which I saw 37. Five of these were new species for me, namely:
Grecian Copper (lycaena ottomana)
Iola’s Blue (iolana iolas)
Delattin’s Grayling (hipparchia volgensis)
Lattice Brown (kirinia roxelana)
Persian Skipper (spialia phlomidis)

Grecian Copper

Iola's Blue

Lattice Brown

Persian Skipper

[essexbuzzard]

I’ve done this trip myself, Paul, and I’m glad you have done it too.

I’m surprised how lush and green it looks, when we were there, same time of year,it was already very parched and brown.

We saw vast numbers of Large Tortoiseshell and Zephyr Blues, but we failed to find Chelmos Blues, so congratulations for that, I’m delighted for you-a moment to treasure!

I was also surprised how many British species we saw, in a climate so very different to ours!

[selbypaul]

I’ve done this trip myself, Paul, and I’m glad you have done it too.

I’m surprised how lush and green it looks, when we were there, same time of year,it was already very parched and brown.

We saw vast numbers of Large Tortoiseshell and Zephyr Blues, but we failed to find Chelmos Blues, so congratulations for that, I’m delighted for you-a moment to treasure!

I was also surprised how many British species we saw, in a climate so very different to ours!

Definitely a special day to see both Chelmos Blue and Odd Spot Blue, in the space of an hour! And I agree, I was surprised by the greenery of Greece!

[selbypaul]

Hi there
I had a private message from DCPDAVID (Dave), which I've tried to reply to, but it is showing as only being in my Outbox, not having sent. Not sure if this is because DCPDAVID hasn't logged on again, or his inbox is full and can't receive messages, or another reason. But just flagging this here, in case DCPDAVID is wondering why I've not replied.
Best Wishes
Paul

[DCPDAVID]

Dear Paul,

I have seen your message could you reply to suedaveplowman@btinternet.com

It may be a problem with my inbox.

Anyway thanks for letting me know I’m sure we will get there.

I can also help you with places to go also.

Dave.

[selbypaul]

Day 5 was transfer day between our two bases for the week. But we still had time in the morning for a quick walk along a farm track on the edge of Kalavrita, to a nearby scrubby meadow.

Farm track on the edge of Kalavrita

We then set off on the drive, from Kalavrita, to the Gulf of Corinth, across the big bridge in Rio, and then eastwards along the coast road to Delphi.

The bridge near Rio across the Gulf of Corinth

We stopped for a late lunch and a short walk in Galaxidi, and after arriving in Delphi, we did a very short walk around the edge of the town.

The harbor in Galaxidi

The weather all day was mostly sunny, and very warm.

Over the course of the day, the group saw 29 species, of which I saw 24. Only one was a new species for me, Freyer’s Grayling (hipparchia fatua)

Freyer’s Grayling

Our evening meal was in a restauraunt across the road from our hotel, with an outside balcony overhanging a steep cliff, looking out over one of the largest olive groves in Europe, and out towards the sea. Literally stunning.

View from the restaurant in Delphi

[selbypaul]

Day 6 was the best day for the group in terms of number of species seen. This was despite the weather in the morning being cool and overcast, to the point where there were virtually no butterflies seen until 11am!

The whole day was spent at various spots on Mount Parnassos. Firstly at a usually successful bramble patch near ski lodges. This proved unsuccessful due to the cold conditions.

Then we stopped at a large damp meadow in the pine forest. The initial 30 minutes were again cool, brightened by a great view of a Black Woodpecker. But as soon as the sun came out, things warmed up butterfly wise, and we saw many species.

Large damp meadow in the morning

We had lunch at a picnic site around halfway up the mountain, followed by a short walk in some rocky scrub.

Rocky track just after lunch

Our final stop was much higher up at a ski station near the summit, with the aim of seeing Blue Argus, which we were successful at.

A total of 50 species were seen by the group, 43 by me. Of the 43, two were new species for me:
Blue Argus (aricia anteros)
Hungarian Skipper (spialia orbifer)

Blue Argus

Hungarian Skipper

[selbypaul]

Day 7 was the final proper day. The morning was spent around the ruins of Delphi, the primary focus being the spectacular views and the ruins themselves. Whilst some on the tour thought the visit was a "waste" of a morning that could have been spent butterflying, I disagreed, with the history and views of the ruins being one of the highlights of the holiday.

Ruins of Delphi 1

Ruins of Delphi 2

We then made a late afternoon stop at a place nearby where Grass Jewel had been seen in the past, no luck sadly.

We revisited the bramble patch from the day before, where the much warmer conditions had brought out huge numbers of individuals of many species. We had a decent "fly by" by a Cardinal, and good views of a White Letter Hairstreak, despite there being no sign of any elm trees anywhere nearby.

Lunch and the early afternoon were spent in a meadow halfway up Mount Parnassos. Our final stop was at a ski centre just below the summit. Here we had our best views of Clouded Apollo all holiday.

Other than a 20 minute rain shower in the mid afternoon, it was very hot and sunny all day.

The group saw a total of 48 species on the day, 39 by me. Of the 39, two were new species for me:
Cardinal (argynnis pandora)
Oriental Meadow Brown (hyponephele lupina)

Cardinal

Oriental Meadow Brown

[selbypaul]

Our final day sadly didn’t leave any time for butterflying. The flight was at 2.30pm, and given the long drive from Delphi to Athens, other than a brief comfort break, it was mostly spent on the road.

Thunderclouds were towering above the airport, so I was very impressed at how the pilots skilfully steered the plane through the small gaps in the clouds and avoided any turbulence!

And so another Naturetrek holiday was over. Over the course of the week, the whole group saw a grand total of 86 species, which wasn’t bad considering some of the mixed weather we experienced. I missed out on just four of the 86 species, three of which I have seen either before or since. So the only one I was gutted to miss out on was Kreuper’s Small White (pieris krueperi), which I still need to see. Of the 82 species I did see, 19 were new species for me, so another excellent week.

The other thing I’d say about this week was that it felt like the first holiday where I felt I was now a “semi expert” at butterfly identification in Europe. In my previous holidays in the Italian Dolomites, Croatia and the Spanish Pyrenees, I was very much reliant on the guides and other guests. However, having spent quite a bit of winter 2017/2018 researching and honing my identification skills, I was well prepared for Greece, and by the end of the week, many of the other guests were seeking my advice on some of their photos, particularly the ever tricky skippers!

[selbypaul]

My second butterflying holiday of 2018 was the Naturetrek Butterflies of the Swiss Alps trip.
https://www.naturetrek.co.uk/tours/butt ... swiss-alps

If you read earlier posts in this diary, I had been booked on it for 2017, but it was cancelled due to not enough people. So I had booked it again for 2018. I was pretty confident that it would run this time though, as five of the other guests with me on the Spanish Pyrenees trip had also said they would book it, given how well we got on, and how good the holiday sounded.

And so, on 1st July 2018, we all caught the 9.25am flight from Heathrow to Zurich. Incredibly there were 16 guests on the holiday, by far the biggest group I’d been with. And only one Tour Leader, an all round expert naturalist called Jon Stokes who works for the Tree Council.

I have to say, not many tour leaders could have coped with so many guests all on their own, but Jon did admirably.

The peak difficulty for Jon as a guide was ensuring we all safely disembarked and embarked on four different trains in the all-rail transport trip from Zurich airport to the town of Wengen. That is easier said than done with heavy suitcases. But with a little helping each other out, we all did so safely. And as expected, the Swiss trains all ran like clockwork!

The weather in Switzerland that first day was clear blue skies and scorching hot. The scenery outside the train windows was stunning. And we all arrived into our hotel for the week, the Hotel Berghaus, at about 4pm local time.

Lake Thunersee from the train

View from the train up the valley, near Lauterbrunnen

View from the train, just outside of Wengen

After a quick freshen up, Jon took us for a quick walk from the hotel to a nearby meadow, which took around 90 minutes, before dinner outside the hotel in the evening warmth, lapping up the incredible scenery, and getting to know the large group.

View from the hotel veranda at dinner

The food, location, and friendliness of the hotel staff were all superb.

In total the group saw an amazing 37 species of butterfly in just 90 minutes. Of the 37, I personally saw 27. And of the 27, two were brand new species for me, specifically:
Purple Edged Copper (lycaena hippothoe)
Red Underwing Skipper (spialia sertorius)

Purple Edged Copper

Red Underwing Skipper

[selbypaul]

The first proper day of the holiday dawned with clear blue skies, and so we took the cable car near our hotel up to the top of Mannlichen, where the views were everything I expected Switzerland to be, and more.

View from the top of Mannlichen, looking back down to Wengen

View from the top of Mannlichen, looking over to Grindelwald

After about 90 minutes of butterflying at this peak, we then spent the rest of the day slowly walking the relatively flat path to Kleine Schiedegg, stopping for lunch about halfway, and whenever there was an interesting butterfly.

View of the Eiger from the path between Mannlichen and Kleine Schiedgg

During the course of the day it began to cloud over, and we were very lucky that it only just began to rain 10 minutes before we arrived at Kleine Schiedegg railway station. It was then an easy train journey back to Wengen, and a short walk from Wengen station to the hotel.

In total, the group saw 29 species, of which I saw only 18. But of the 18, there was one new species for me, which was Glandon Blue (agriades glandon)

Glandon Blue

[selbypaul]

Day 3 began with the threat of more rain, so we headed lower, taking the train to Wilderswill, and walking in the churchyard and woods behind it.

The rain never happened though, so we then took the train to Grindelwald, and then the cable car up to Bort, where we had lunch. We then spent a good two and a half hours in the very productive meadows around the Bort cable car station. We had the specific target of seeing the Sudeten Ringlet, which we saw, but there was lots else to see.

View 1 from just above the Bort cable car station

The main meadow in the afternoon

View 2 from just above the Bort cable car station

Finally, we headed back down the cable car to Grindelwald, then the train from there to Allmend, and then the three mile walk from there back to Wengen.

In total, the group saw 42 species, of which I saw 35. And of the 35, there were three new species for me, namely:
Osiris Blue (cupido osiris)
Sudetan Ringlet (erebia sudetica)
Carline Skipper (pyrgus carlinae)

Osiris Blue

Sudetan Ringlet

Carline Skipper

[David M]

I just love those images from your Greek trip, Paul. Lush, verdant fields with many species that don't occur in western Europe and a bit of ancient history thrown in too! I must take the plunge real soon and become familiar with some of these eastern European specialities.