Some of you may remember back in 2011 that I took a family holiday to Tenerife and did a three part posting on the butterflies and other wildlife seen. Back then I saw 10 species (confirmed) with 6 photographed. I was hoping to do better this time in particular to get a shot of the Monarch … often seen but difficult to capture on camera.
This July, we had repeat holiday split between two locations, the first Club Marina being the same as in 2011 whilst the second Sunningdale village was probably better as a resort but less rewarding on the insect front. As in 2011, I was determined to spend as little time as possible around the pool and as much as possible exploring the natural environment.
On my first morning in our new apartment I got up early for the view of the sunrise from our balcony overlooking the sea. I was aware of a slight tickling sensation on my leg and moved my hand down to brush it away. As soon as I did I clicked as to what it was
and looked down to see a medium sized American Cockroach nymph on the floor 
. Periplaneta americana are common on the island and a holiday nasty if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing. Desperate to remove it before the missus found out I looked for a glass and paper to capture and eject. Unfortunately it was so quick and ‘slippery’ and it escaped in the living room. In the end I was forced to give up trying to catch it and resort to pan B ….plimsole … wallop wallop 
… Wallop wallop wallop .. .they take some walloping to neutralise these roaches. (don’t like killing things but it’s probably less painful than the missus railing in a complaint to the management). We never got another one after that … well not at the first place anyway.
- View from out balcony at sunrise over costa del silencio
(but thankfully bake solid in the climate). There are dogs everywhere in Tenerife mostly the curious little yappy variety and my activity of hanging around with my camera pointing to the ground attracted some funny looks from their owners too. There were lots of large grasshoppers blending into the ground and only noticeable when they’d take off from under your feet. A search for the charismatic Galotia Galoti lizards however proved fruitless.- Grasshopper perfectly blended in with the terrain
- Tent web spider
- African Grass blue
. In 2011 this was a frequent visitor to the lanterna plants in the resort garden but not so this time and I didn’t encounter elsewhere as frequently as I thought I might 
.- Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli)
.- Bath White (Pontia daplidice)
) Those who read my 2011 postings may recall I had an unconfirmed sighting in the Teide National park and my Basil Fawlty-esque cursing to the passing car which had set it off before I could make the ID 
. This time no problem, definitely Small Copper. Perhaps it should be named “Not so Small Copper” as it was noticeably larger than the ones I’ve seen in England (but definitely Lycaena phlaes as this is the only endemic species of copper on the island (please correct me if I’m wrong))- A Small Copper in and unfamiliar surrounding
. Then I spotted about 8 inches from it was an African Grass Blue butterfly which was making agitated flicking motions with its wings but otherwise remaining stationary. The wasp responded by going straight in and seizing the butterfly . Nature in tooth and claw.I subsequently identified the wasp as a European paper wasp Polistes dominula.
.The following day I was glad to be back on my old stomping ground but this time took the opportunity to climb a steep hill ….. do some exercise ….. try and lose some weight, you know that sort of thing
. I was able to persuade my youngest, Isabella to come and join me as she likes a challenge once in a while. The climb was very steep on gravelly rocks but the view from the top of the coastline and the habitations around “Costa Silencio” was well worth the effort. On the climb up I was able to get reasonably close to a Berthelot’s Pipet which seem to be common on this part of the island and also not so close to a Common Kestrel which are also common on the island.- Berthelot's Pipet
- best i could manage for a kestrel
- see why I need the exercise?
- Beet Moth ?
- African Grass Blue
- Small White
- Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii)
- Not dead just looking for food
. The ground was tough going (wear proper walking boots for this terrain) but it turned out to be rewarding as I followed a female Bath White pre-occupied with egg-laying
. The plant she oviposited on looked nothing more than dried sticks . I assume the eggs remain dormant until the rains come (in the winter months?) and the plants spring into life- Ovipositing
Phil
