John, Goldie, delighted that you are enjoying my latest report.
Here goes with the grand finale...hope it doesn't disappoint!
Right then. I have now finished going through my remaining photographs and will complete this report with a selection of Pierids, a rather brief exhibit of Swallowtails, and finally a couple of personal unexpected highlights of a Nymphalid nature.
Pierids eh? Who would rate them amongst their favourite butterflies in the UK? Large, Small and Green-veined Whites? OK, the Orange-tip is a rather lovely insect, and the Wood White has a certain appeal, as does the Brimstone, but overall, I feel that the Whites are pretty much undervalued and under-rated. I was once mildly mocked in a very friendly manner by a fellow UKB veteran for travelling across the Atlantic to see a “Cabbage White” on the Canary Islands – one of my favourite European species, the Canary Island’s Large White! I stand by my love of Pierids and hope that this selection of Cuban species may convert a few people to the delights of this group of Lepidopterous beauties.
Here we go then, my personal selection for your delectation…
Firstly, an old friend from Costa Rica, the
Barred Yellow, a small but lovely insect, very common in the grassy scrublands around our home base.
Barred Yellow – Eurema daira palmira
There were many large “Sulphur” butterflies flying everywhere we went, but they are relentless in flight and hardly ever stop. I only managed to photograph one – the
Cloudless Sulphur.
Cloudless Sulphur – Poebis sennae sennae
At the smallest end of the spectrum was a true delight, my first sighting of the
Dainty Sulphur. The size of a common blue, but gorgeous in markings and colouring.
Dainty Sulphur - Nathalis iole
Here are three “yellows” for your enjoyment.
Dina Yellow – Pyrisitia dina dina
Little Yellow – Pyrisitia lisa euterpe
Mimosa Yellow – Pyrisitia nise nise
A larger white caught my eye along the beach one evening – it turned out to be a
Great Southern White, and a second one appeared shortly afterwards. Lovely beasts!
Great Southern White – Ascia monuste eubotea
But my favourite new Pierid of the holiday was undoubtedly the
Southern Dogface. I had hoped to see this species, but it didn’t appear until our last couple of days. Kind of reminiscent of a Clouded Yellow but with a slower and less direct flight – imagine a Clouded Yellow after several mojitos and you get the gist of its flight pattern, somewhat erratic and uncertain!
Southern Dogface - Zerene cesonia cesonia
We now must discuss Swallowtails…
Cuba has plenty of them, but we only saw three species, and they were so difficult to photograph, being constantly on manoeuvres and even at nectar their wings go ten to the dozen. I managed a few poor pictures of two of them, both common but nigh impossible to approach. Here they are:
Polydamas Swallowtail – Battus polydamus cubensis
Lime Swallowtail – Papilio demoleus
A mid-week encounter with the
Mexican Fritillary was all too brief.
Mexican Fritillary - Euptoieta hegesia hegesia
And to finish, two of our most exciting encounters of the entire trip. Firstly, a butterfly that resembled the “Sisters” of Costa Rica but turned out to be the
Silver Emperor. An exotic, hyperactive nectarer with similarities to our own Imperial Majesty in that the male has a purple/blue iridescence only visible at certain angles. The female is larger but whiter in markings and is devoid of the sheen. These really caught our attention - cracking beasts!
Silver Emperor – Doxocopa laure druryi - males
Silver Emperor – Doxocopa laure druryi - females
And finally, Cuba’s largest butterfly. We had seen one of these whilst walking back along the road to our hotel late one afternoon. It was a good candidate for the biggest butterfly I have ever seen, but disappeared right up into the canopy before I had chance to even guess what it might be. Fortunately, Vicki spotted another one towards the end of our holiday. It had just roosted right up in a tree, but I was able to get a couple of record shots at full zoom. This was the
Orion Cecropian, Cuba’s largest butterfly with a wingspan approaching 6 inches. What a beast!
Orion Cecropian – Historis odius odius
That’s me about done! Despite the grim local weather I am still basking in the afterglow of an amazing fortnight in Cuba. It way exceeded my expectations in terms of butterfly action. I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed this report. It has, as always, been a pleasure putting it together and reliving the most amazing of Lepidopterous experiences!
Here’s to 2024…
