Canaries Madeira cruise

[EricY]

just completed a "bad weather" cruise to Canary Islands & Maderia. A couple of sunny mornings at Teneriffe & Maderia enabled us to see a bit. A good park in walking distance from dock at Santa Cruz Teneriffe produced quite a few Monarchs some whites that looked small ones & a tiny bf on a low growing herbs. Unfortunately my wife cannot stand about while I take photos, the small one about size of our small blue was a pale brown underside with a violet tinge to upperside when flying - any ideas what it might have been. The "Jardin Botanico" in Maderia produced a tatty Spec wood. Apologies for photo quality, as I said my wife cannot stand around so they had to be snatched ones. Eric

Monarch, Santa Cruz Teneriffe

2 Monarchs disputing a single flower

Monarch underside Teneriffe

Tatty Spec wood Maderia

[Padfield]

Hi Eric,

The blue could well have been African grass blue, Zizeeria knysna, which flies in the Canaries. Here are the upperside and underside of a male:





This is a tiny blue, generally found in rather damp gullies - sometimes coastal gullies, sometimes irrigation ditches and occasionally just dripping wet city areas where they water flowers.

Guy

[EricY]

Many thanks Guy, that could well be it. I did not get a detailed view as wife was very impatient (she has had hips replaced & cannot stand), there was a large pool water feature with many water sprays nearby & i suppose the herbs would have been watered. Eric

[NickMorgan]

I agree they would most likely be African Grass Blues. When I was in Lanzarote earlier in the year I saw them amongst the few butterflies I spotted. There were also Lang's Short-tailed Blues there.