Greenwings: North Greece, 6th - 12th June 2023

[David M]

Riodinidae

We did actually see one of these, although given that it suddenly appeared next to a fresh, male Blue Argus, it's fair to say that it went very much under the radar:

1. Duke of Burgundy

[David M]

Hesperiidae

We had some interesting members of this group, but they were generally thin on the ground except for the golden skippers.

This one was found on the track at the forest where we had the Iolas Blue/Freyer's Purple Emperor/Large Copper:

I didn't see it personally, so I sent the above image to Lazaros Pamperis, one of the main experts on Greek butterflies.

He replied saying he thinks it is Pigmy Skipper (the only other alternative was Mediterranean Skipper).

[John Vergo]

Yes the Duke was a little of a surprise, tatty but it was there

[David M]

Thanks for posting that Duke, John. You were maybe the only one who got that.

[David M]

Hesperiidae

Good range of these. One of the group photographed Yellow Banded Skipper but I didn't see it, unfortunately. Nor did I see the Pigmy Skipper as I was hunting Common Glider at the time down one of the rides.

2. Small Skipper
3. Essex Skipper
4. Lulworth Skipper
5. Large Skipper
6. Dingy Skipper
7. Southern Grizzled Skipper
8. Sandy Grizzled Skipper
9. Safflower Skipper
10. Marbled Skipper
11. Mallow Skipper
12. Orbed Red Underwing Skipper
13. Oberthur's Grizzled Skipper
14. Large Grizzled Skipper
15. Tessellated Skipper
16. Tufted Marbled Skipper

[David M]

Pieridae

Clouded Yellows were very common:

One of the group saw Eastern Wood White but I didn't see it myself in spite of checking out every Leptidaea that settled:

17. Wood White
18. Clouded Yellow
19. Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow
20. Brimstone
21. Orange Tip
22. Black Veined White
23. Large White
24. Small White
25. Mountain Small White
26. Green Veined White
27. Balkan Green Veined White
28. Eastern Bath White

[David M]

Lycaenidae - Coppers and Hairstreaks

The late season meant we missed out on Lesser Fiery Copper, but Large Copper provided ample compensation.

A handful of Purple Shot Coppers were recorded, whilst Sooty Coppers were plentiful:

Not a great deal happening on the Hairstreak front, although both Green and Ilex Hairstreaks were fairly common:

On the last day, White Letter Hairstreak showed up in the forest that straddles the Bulgarian border:

[David M]

Lycaenidae - Coppers and Hairstreaks

29. Small Copper
30. Large Copper
31. Purple Shot Copper
32. Sooty Copper
33. Green Hairstreak
34. Ilex Hairstreak
35. White Letter Hairstreak

[David M]

Lycaenidae - Blues

Last year, we saw plenty of Little Tiger Blues. Sadly, they were very scarce this time, with only a small number recorded:

We missed out on False Eros Blue, which is a shame as it is a beautiful butterfly, but there were quite a few Eastern Baton Blues to compensate:

[David M]

Lycaenidae - Blues

36. Lang's Short Tailed Blue
37. Little Tiger Blue
38. Holly Blue
39. Eastern Baton Blue
40. Osiris Blue
41. Silver Studded Blue
42. Brown Argus
43. Mountain Argus
44. Blue Argus
45. Chapman's Blue
46. Common Blue
47. Amanda's Blue
48. Adonis Blue
49. Green Underside Blue
50. Iolas Blue
51. Large Blue

[David M]

Papilionidae

One of the group saw a Clouded Apollo, but the only members of this family I recorded were the following:

52. Eastern Festoon
53. Swallowtail
54. Scarce Swallowtail

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Aristocrats

We did well with this group. The Freyer's Purple Emperor was obviously the most coveted find, but we also saw the clytie form of Lesser Purple Emperor:

We found Southern Comma on the final day:

There were quite a few Southern White Admirals:

Nettle Tree Butterflies could turn up in their hundreds in the right places:

Fresh Large Tortoiseshells turned up regularly, although Small Tortoiseshell was only recorded at the ski centre.

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Aristocrats

55. Nettle Tree Butterfly
56. Common Glider
57. Southern White Admiral
58. Lesser Purple Emperor
59. Freyer's Purple Emperor
60. Red Admiral
61. Painted Lady
62. Peacock
63. Comma
64. Southern Comma
65. Large Tortoiseshell
66. Small Tortoiseshell
67. Map

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Fritillaries

There were lots of Lesser Spotted Fritillaries in the meadows adjacent to our hotel:

Halfway through the week, the first Marbled Fritillaries began to emerge:

Silver Washed Fritillaries were extremely common in the woodland area near the Bulgarian border:

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Fritillaries

68. Lesser Spotted Fritillary
69. Spotted Fritillary
70. Eastern Knapweed Fritillary
71. Heath Fritillary
72. Cardinal
73. Silver Washed Fritillary
74. Queen of Spain Fritillary
75. Marbled Fritillary
76. Pearl Bordered Fritillary

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Satyrids

Lattice Browns were probably the most desirable, but it was good to see a few Northern Wall Browns too:

[David M]

Nymphalidae - Satyrids

77. Lattice Brown
78. Speckled Wood
79. Wall Brown
80. Large Wall Brown
81. Northern Wall Brown
82. Small Heath
83. Meadow Brown
84. Oriental Meadow Brown
85. Woodland Ringlet
86. Balkan Marbled White
87. Balkan Grayling
88. Great Banded Grayling

[David M]

In addition to the 88 species above, there were a few that others saw which I missed out on, namely Pigmy Skipper, Short Tailed Blue, Eastern Wood White, Clouded Apollo & Yellow Banded Skipper.

None of us missed out on the Dalmatian Pelicans in Lake Kerkini though. On our final full day we enjoyed an extended, early morning cruise around these wetlands to marvel at the many birds present here:

On another occasion, we were busy hunting Large Copper when these Water Buffalo suddenly arrived:

There were plenty of wild tortoises too, along with a range of other, interesting creatures, of which golden jackals were probably top of the list. They could regularly be heard calling during the night and at daybreak.

[selbypaul]

It's a lovely area isn't it David. Even though I've been before, if I'd been on this years trip I'd have racked up 6 new species that I've not seen before. That despite the late season.

[David M]

It really is an exceptional area, Paul (with exceptional butterflies).

I've been twice now and on both occasions we have battled with the weather. God only knows what kind of returns would be available if every day was bright, sunny and 25c!!