Greenwings: Andalusia, Spain, 1-9 May 2023

[John Vergo]

Great

[David M]

Thanks, John. I will summarise the species seen by family very shortly.

[Ian Pratt]

Lovely report and photos.

[David M]

Thank you, Ian.

[David M]

Hesperiidae

Essex & Small Skipper was a little surprising given the time of year, whilst Sage Skipper became very common towards the end of the week. False Mallow was another that was welcome:

1. False Mallow Skipper
2. Southern Marbled Skipper
3. Red Underwing Skipper
4. Sage Skipper
5. Rosy Grizzled Skipper
6. Lulworth Skipper
7. Essex Skipper
8. Small Skipper

[David M]

Lycaenidae - Coppers and Hairstreaks

Not much going on with this group, but there were two major surprises. The first was finding Blue Spot Hairstreak on 1st May!!

Perhaps the biggest shock though was this worn Provence Hairstreak found two days later:

9. Small Copper
10. Blue Spot Hairstreak
11. Provence Hairstreak
12. Green Hairstreak

[selbypaul]

That poor, tatty, Provence Hairstreak was the highlight of that day for me! What a stunner!

[David M]

Indeed, Paul. Never before has such a bedraggled specimen caused such joy!

[David M]

Lycaenidae - Blues

We managed to see some faded Lorquin's and False Baton Blues, as well as Panoptes Blues that were in somewhat better condition. An African Grass Blue on arrivals day at the coast was a surprise whilst Black-Eyed Blues and Long-Tailed & Lang's Short Tailed Blues were regularly sighted:

13. Long Tailed Blue
14. Geranium Bronze
15. Lang's Short Tailed Blue
16. African Grass Blue
17. Common Tiger Blue
18. Lorquin's Blue
19. Black Eyed Blue
20. Holly Blue
21. False Baton Blue
22. Panoptes Blue
23. Southern Brown Argus
24. Chapman's Blue
25. Southern Blue
26. Adonis Blue
27. Spanish Zephyr Blue

[David M]

Papilionidae

Only three on this list....and we saw them all.

Mating Spanish Festoons presented a major diversion from the many Monarchs we were watching at the site near Tarifa:

Swallowtails turned up occasionally as well:

28. Spanish Festoon
29. Iberian Scarce Swallowtail
30. Swallowtail

[David M]

Danaidae

Was a bit disappointed not to see Plain Tiger given the heatwave conditions. My co-guide, Pau, heard that a few had been recorded in the Los Alcornocales park in the days leading up to this visit.

Still, three to four dozen Monarchs provided sufficient compensation:

31. Monarch

[David M]

Pieridae

Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few from this group given the time of year.

Probably the best was Desert Orange Tip, with over a dozen seen on Day 1 and another individual recorded the following day:

Black Veined White was also fairly ubiquitous in the right habitat:

Western Dappled White was seen on most days, albeit in small numbers, and Green Striped White could only muster single figures due to the advanced season.

32. Large White
33. Small White
34. Green Veined White
35. Western Dappled White
36. Green Striped White
37. Provence Orange Tip
38. Bath White
39. Desert Orange Tip
40. Black Veined White
41. Clouded Yellow
42. Berger's Clouded Yellow
43. Cleopatra

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Aristocrats

Not too many of these in southern Spain. Painted Ladies were regular but besides that, only Red Admiral & Comma were seen.

We had a look for Two Tailed Pasha on the final day but couldn't find any.

44. Red Admiral
45. Painted Lady
46. Comma

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Satyrids

Southern Gatekeeper & Dusky Heath turned up at a rocky site in Cabo de Gata. Otherwise it was a largely expected range:

47. Speckled Wood
48. Wall Brown
49. Small Heath
50. Dusky Heath
51. Southern Gatekeeper
52. Spanish Gatekeeper
53. Meadow Brown
54. Spanish Marbled White
55. Western Marbled White

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Fritillaries

I was utterly amazed to see a Cardinal at the beginning of May:

Towards the end of the week, a fair number of Marsh Fritillary f. beckeri began to emerge:

This Provençal Fritillary was seen in the Antequera area:

56. Aetherie Fritillary
57. Knapweed Fritillary
58. Provençal Fritillary
59. Marsh Fritillary
60. Spanish Fritillary
61. Cardinal

[David M]

A total of 61 butterfly species was decent going, and if the species from the first week further north that weren't seen in Andalusia are added, my total count was 89 over the fortnight, which is an excellent return for late April/early May.

There were other creatures of interest - my Spanish co-guide, Pau, tells me that the White-Headed Ducks we saw at Cabo de Gata are very rare:

The Flamingoes found beside them were also a welcome sight:

Overall, this was a very enjoyable fortnight in a part of Europe which contains many butterflies that cannot be seen elsewhere in Europe. The warm temperatures and almost continually sunny conditions were also most welcome after a cool and damp start to spring in the UK.

[Andy02]

Great read David. Your experience matches mine. I have never experienced such a contrast in seasons comparing last May with this. Last spring , no skippers , gatekeepers, and only Green Hairstreak in coastal Andalusia. This spring , dozens on skippers of the species you list , clouds of Spanish gatekeeper, and fresh False ilex , and Blue spot Hairstreak in the first week of May

[Andy02]

I was also lucky enough to see fresh Large Tortoiseshell and Pasha at the telecommunication masts above Benalmedina

[petesmith]

I was also lucky enough to see fresh Large Tortoiseshell and Pasha at the telecommunication masts above Benalmedina
1485DE00-7870-469E-95B4-465FB5971AE4.jpeg

That is incredibly early for a fresh Large Tortoiseshell Andy! We had a very ragged overwintered one near Grazalema. Yours must have been the result of an extremely early pairing and egg-lay!

[Andy02]

I was also lucky enough to see fresh Large Tortoiseshell and Pasha at the telecommunication masts above Benalmedina
1485DE00-7870-469E-95B4-465FB5971AE4.jpeg

That is incredibly early for a fresh Large Tortoiseshell Andy! We had a very ragged overwintered one near Grazalema. Yours must have been the result of an extremely early pairing and egg-lay!

I was amazed Pete. You can drive up to the top of the mast hill above Benalmedina and it’s a decent site. There were two flying around , both fresh , landing close frequently along with the Pasha. Dozens of fresh Blue Spot Hairstreaks and False ilex too.