Crete

[millerd]

Indulging in a bit of archiving to try and forget the cold outside, I uncovered a couple of shots from a holiday in Crete in May 2004. I recall reading somewhere that Crete has a number of endemic variations on the standard theme, and wondered if that applied to these two - on the face of it a Speckled Wood and an Eastern Festoon.

There was also a rather splendid Swallowtail caterpillar munching fennel.

So - is there a Cretan Festoon or a Cretan Speckled Wood?

Dave

[JKT]

Yes and no. That can only be Zerynthia cretica, which some consider Zerynthia cerisy cretica. The P. aegeria is the same there.

[millerd]

Thank you, JKT. One to relabel in that case.

Dave

[Padfield]

There are only 3 species of speckled wood, Pararge, in the world, all found in the Western Palearctic. Xiphia and xiphioides are named from Madeira and the Canaries respectively. Everywhere else aegeria flies.

Guy