Andalucia

[Padfield]

Running North-South through Malaga is a dried river bed with plenty of grass and wild flowers in places. I wandered north along it one day as I had an hour or two before I needed to be at the airport and found it was a great attractant for many species. That was in February, when I saw green-striped whites and Western dappled whites there, as well as yellows and painted ladies &c. If you're stuck in the city it might be interesting to check it out.

Guy

[Matsukaze]

An interesting week! I had not expected many butterflies within the city but there were a couple of patches where some numbers were to be found. On the dry river bed mentioned by Guy there were numbers of African Grass Blues and Geranium Bronzes. The former are tiny butterflies, reminiscent of the Small Blue, that constantly whirr around close to ground level. They are quite variable, with some having a pale greyish-brownish-silver underwing, and some a coffee-brown colour reminding me of Maculinea nausithous. The Geranium Bronze, along with the Small White, was truly urban, turning up everywhere. Also within the city limits, in parks, on scrubby slopes and the like, were Long-tailed and Lang's Short-tailed Blues, and single specimens of Large White and Spanish Festoon.

A walk through open grassland surrounded by pine woods a few miles out of the city turned up a few butterflies despite the arid conditions and distinct shortage of nectar sources (far more so than in urban areas): Bath White, Clouded Yellow, Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Geranium Bronze (about a mile from the nearest source of Pelargonium), Striped Grayling and an unidentified Pyrgus (photos of the two last below). The camouflage of the Striped Grayling was impressive, blending into the stony path much more than is apparent in the photo. This is a big satyrid and appeared black and almost Peacock-like in flight.

Can anyone identify the Pyrgus? No underside shot unfortunately although I nearly managed it!

[Michaeljf]

It sounds like there were more species around the towns at the end of September than there were at the start of August. Glad to see you saw some good species, I would have liked to have seen the Spanish Festoon. Oh well, another year, another species to look out for I know what you mean about the Striped Grayling. We saw one on one of the mountain foothills and I didn't have a clue what it was until it stopped with wings closed.

I'm not going to attempt the Skipper ID, as I got half of mine wrong from my trip!

[Mikhail]

The skipper is the Sage Skipper, Muschampia proto. It's very common in southern Spain in the autumn.

[Matsukaze]

Hi All,

I will be in the Malaga area again for New Year. I am not really expecting butterflies but is it possible that there will be any around?

A belated thanks to Mikhail for the skipper ID.

[Matsukaze]

A surprising number of butterflies on the wing in Malaga province in the first week of 2011 (Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Copper, Speckled Wood and Wall, as well as unidentified whites, yellows and blues). Is this a case of winter not having arrived here yet, or do these species survive here throughout the winter?

[Padfield]

In 1983 I went to work in Gibraltar, arriving on the Rock on 6th February. I was amazed to find several species of butterfly on the wing the afternoon I arrived, including, I think, speckled wood (though I don't have my diaries from that time here in CH). The last time I visited, in late February 2007, I saw 19 species in Gibraltar and Malaga. I believe butterflies like the ones you describe hang on continuously all winter in these almost subtropical parts of the Med.

I'm intending to go south to Malaga and Gibraltar in mid-February this year, when I have half term, and will post my findings here.

Guy

[NickMorgan]

We are going to Torrevieja in April for a week. Does anyone know any good places to go to look for butterflies at that time of year? I have been given permission to disappear for a day and will have a rental car, so can travel a bit if necessary!

[Lee Hurrell]

Hi Nick,

My Dad lives in a small town north of Torreveija and so have been many times, although never in April. My visits are usually end of the season when everything is dessicated and bone dry but in April everything should be fresh and green. He was over this weekend and has already reported seeing whites on the wing.

A few places I would suggest are:

Laguna Salada de la Mata - two huge lakes south of Torreveija. There are loads of salt lakes on the way down from Alicante and you quite often see flamingos on them. Anyway, the northern of these two lakes is more lush and surrounded by scrub and trees. Enter from a roundabout between the two lakes on the CV-905 and follow the paths skirting the southern edge of the lake. I didn't make it all the way round (and I was on a bike) as it goes for miles and the terrain is quite tough in places but you could get to La Mata on the coast eventually, where I've seen Long Tailed Blues right on the sea front.

Rio Segura - a river running sort of parallel with the CV-910 between Rojales and Guardamar on the coast. This was green and lush even in early October last year and I saw hundreds of butterflies, a Purple Heron and some Ibises. There is a smooth cycle track running on the southern bank of the river that will take you all the way into Guardamar. It was well worth exploring the dusty tracks running off the track too, where I found lots of Skippers. I entered the track on the road out of Cuidad Quesada past the golf courses heading towards Guardamar. You get to a small roundabout, take the second exit (first exit leads to Rojales) and after half a mile or so after some farmland, the road touches the track, where you can park up.

Parc Natural de Recoral - North east of Cuidad Quesada there is a natural park. I visited in October 2009 and it was tinder dry and I only saw 2 Clouded Yellows if I remember correctly but you should do better in April.

I'm sure there are plenty of other places nearby to visit and others may know of some more. Depending on how far you can go there are mountains in the distance for example but I haven't been there yet.

Hope this helps!

Cheers

Lee

[Lee Hurrell]

Hi Nick,

I remembered today that I also saw Geranium Bronze in flower beds near the market in Torreveija. I think they are continuously brooded so you may see those too if you spot some Geraniums.

I'm really looking forward to finding out what you see as I haven't been out that early in the year!

Cheers

Lee

[NickMorgan]

Thanks very much Lee for that fantastic information. I couldn't have asked for better local knowledge! Those locations are very close to where we will be staying. I can't wait to get out there now. I'll certainly let you know what I see.
Thanks again.
Nick

[Matsukaze]

Just back from a few days with family inland from Malaga. A fair amount of butterfly life in evidence - definitely on the wing were Large White, Speckled Wood, Spanish Festoon, Clouded Yellow and Geranium Bronze - along with unidentified whites seen by the roadside and satyrids that fluttered off the edge of cliffs without deigning to wait for identification. The surprise was the Spanish Festoon with Tolman giving the flight time as late March onwards (though I have seen it in mid-February and October in this neck of the woods before). The Festoon was apparently freshly emerged suggesting an early first-brood rather than a very late second-brood specimen.

[Matsukaze]

Just back from a couple of weeks in the areas around Malaga. It proved to be surprisingly butterfly-poor with only Wall, some of the whites and Spanish Festoon being really widespread - and it would be a stretch to describe even these as common. Other insects were present in large numbers, particularly grasshoppers and bees; perhaps these are better suited by the disturbed ground that appears to predominate. There was an abundance of wildflowers but these appeared to be largely annuals and biennials; perennial vetches and clovers were in short supply and I do not remember seeing a single Potentilla anywhere.

It was enjoyable to catch up at last with what must surely have been Large Tortoiseshell - huge tortoiseshells glimpsed on a number of occasions gliding lazily along well above head height before disappearing off at speed.

Lay-bys can be a lure for the butterfly enthusiast. One off the Marbella to Ronda road proved particularly frustrating, however, as it supported a colony of one of the two early-emerging Marbled White species. The butterflies flew backwards and forwards across the site repeatedly, but refused to settle and allow identification or photography. Steep drops bordered the lay-by, and the hunting fence at the top probably saved me from my instincts, as whites, marbled and otherwise, fluttered over the scree and attempting to pursue them would have been futile and probably resulted in hospitalisation. Two dark butterflies danced around each other in the dappled shade but too far away to determine what they might be. Probably the best location visited, but I was only able to identify for certain a single Small Copper.

These blues have me puzzled - Glaucopsyche, but are they black-eyed or green-underside?

[Matsukaze]

I was watching the male Cleopatra nectaring when it was disturbed by a passing male Provence Orange-tip:

Spanish Festoons are spectacular butterflies. Their behaviour is curiously Small Tortoiseshell-like, especially their whirring flight pattern.

Not too many Common Blues around but this one was spectacular.

[Matsukaze]

Are these two rapae or mannii?

[Padfield]

Hi Matsukaze. Nice species but a shame you didn't see/photograph more of your targets. Did you look for avis?

The blues are black-eyed. A useful pointer when other things are ambiguous (which they aren't really, here) is that the forewing spots in melanops turn back towards the wing base but in alexis converge towards the margin:


(melanops)


(alexis)

I'm not 100% on the whites. The overall appearance seems to be mannii but in neither case does the apical spot seem to extend far enough down the outer margin and it doesn't look as if the underside of the hindwing in the female is densely scaled, though it could perhaps be bleached out. Since rapae flies from February in Andulcía I wonder if these represent a second, darker brood of rapae rather than first brood mannii.

For what it's worth, here are a first brood female (2014)and male (2012) mannii from Switzerland:





Guy

[Roger Gibbons]

The underside margins are usually definitive – melanops has markings to a greater or lesser extent and alexis is never marked. Never is a dangerous word in relation to butterfly variation, but I think it is true here. They both vary greatly in colouring – how many alexis have you seen that are actually green-underside? Very few in my experience. Melanops can also be quite dark and rather more brown than blue on the underside. Melanops can also be very small.

For the whites, I would agree with rapae. Those apical marks just don’t extend far enough for mannii, and the “cell spot” doesn’t look straight/concave as you expect for mannii. Mannii is supposed to be on the wing early but I have yet to see it down here in Var and this is an early season, or early in any other year.

It would be worth checking the female Common Blues for Chapman’s (Polyommatus thersites) as the first brood females are very similar from the upperside.

[Matsukaze]

Thanks folks - I have missed the shadow markings on melanops before and only seen them when the photos appear.

[NickMorgan]

It is great having Guy and Roger (and others) on this forum to explain how to tell the difference between different species. Characteristics that seem so obvious after they have pointed them out would otherwise pass me by. I learn so much on my visits here!

[David M]

It is great having Guy and Roger (and others) on this forum to explain how to tell the difference between different species. Characteristics that seem so obvious after they have pointed them out would otherwise pass me by. I learn so much on my visits here!

Absolutely.

These two are responsible for 60%+ of everything I know.