Cretan butterflies

55bloke · Post by **55bloke** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 5:59 pm

We've just returned from a two week holiday on Crete and, of course, butterfly spotting was on the agenda! Here's a few pics, and would like help identifying a few please!
1st up, a not particularly good pic of a Swallowtail, but unusual, I think, as it's in flight.

Another Swallowtail- looks like it's had a close call with a bird.

and here's a Kite Swallowtail, which has also had a narrow escape.

Here's a Skipper, but no idea which species.

and here's a couple of pics of some tiny little blues, but again, no clue as to the species- except perhaps those tails?

Two more pics of blues- not even sure these are the same species!

55bloke · Post by **55bloke** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:05 pm

Were also lots of large Fritillaries around, which I initially thought were all the same species, but now I'm not so sure!

Finally, a couple of other "bugs"!!
A well camoflaged grasshopper

and a Cicada, which I'm particularly pleased to have photographeg coz, despite the noise they make, they're unbelievably difficult to track down!!

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 7:45 pm

The skipper looks like Gegenes nostrodamus - Mediterranean Skipper...looks just like the ones I see near my place.

The two blues with tails look like Lang's Short-tailed Blues - Leptotes pirithous.

Get back to you on the frits

Martin.

Matsukaze · Post by **Matsukaze** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 8:58 pm

The fritillaries are Cardinals (well, at least the top three are - the red on the underwing distinguishes them).

JKT · Post by **JKT** » Mon Oct 01, 2007 9:36 pm

I don't think it is possible to tell G. nostrodamus apart from G. pumilio based on that picture. I've only seen the latter on Crete, but both live there so...

The last two blues are either P. icarus or a new species to Crete, which I doubt.

Same goes for the last unidentified Fritillary. A. paphia has not been recorded from Crete, so that makes it one more A. pandora.

Post by **Padfield** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:46 am

Plus, the last fritillary is a male, and male silver-washed never shows green like that, to my knowledge.

I agree, I wouldn't like to call the skipper.

Guy

55bloke · Post by **55bloke** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:48 pm

Thanks for the input folks- and once again, I'm in awe of the deapth of knowlege shown!! I've Googled as many possible combinations of words as I can think of to find a guide to butterfly species on Crete, and can find nothing of any use! As for those fritillaries, as I said, at the time, I'd thought they were all the same species, but looking at the pics, I'm not sure....... the underside of the hind wing on the one in the 1st pic seems to have some white or silver banding on it, which is absent from the others.

JKT · Post by **JKT** » Tue Oct 02, 2007 5:06 pm

The female can have (I don't know about the male) a very prominent white marking, so that does not require a different species.

As to where to find a list of species ... you could try http://www.faunaeur.org. Then select "Distribution" on the left and then "higher taxa" and "List species by region". Finally select the level and the name for what you want. For example: "Superfamily" and "Geometroidea". In the end select the region and you are set to go.

Post by **Padfield** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 3:09 pm

Thanks JKT - I hadn't noticed the Fauna Europaea site had those regional distributions lists. Excellent.

Here is a female (I think) cardinal, photographed in the Rhône Valley in Switzerland, showing very prominent white markings:

The species is actually very rare here and this is the only one I have seen.

Guy

55bloke · Post by **55bloke** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 4:23 pm

Fantastic pic! Think it pretty much clinches it- all the Frits I saw were Cardinals- a species I confess to never having heard of before.