www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Guy,that Festoon is a stunner!
Now,i've GOT to see one of those!
Good luck for the rest of the trip...

painted ladies (lots of)

Does this bode well for another Painted Lady year here in the British Isles? How does the situation in southern Europe now compare with the end of March 2009?

Lovely Festoon. I came across them in Spain some twenty-five years ago. I knew I had seen pictures in my Collins - which stupidly I hadn't taken with me - but just couldn't recall the name

The French I believe use the rather nice name Harlequin.

Jack

Festoons are lovely creatures - and much less gaudy in the flesh than they appear in photographs. I saw my first one a little over thirty years ago now (February 1983, to be precise), when I bounded onto the Rock of Gibraltar as a youthful Flying Angel, so they hold special memories for me.

Painted ladies are always common in Spain at this time of year, Jack, so I don't think any conclusions can be drawn. In 2009 the trigger (I speculate) was the lush conditions in North Africa. A Moroccan student told me that year that the greenness of the desert was the big topic of conversaton among all the old folk, who had never seen anything like it, or at least not since such and such a year.

I spent this morning in cloud and rain walking to the Manilva Gorge, then climbing down it, then up it, then sitting in cloud and rain (oh - and wind too) until it became clear no butterflies at all were going to fly, let alone avis. Although this is a known site, I couldn't find any foodplant - and indeed, I haven't found strawberry tree anywhere in Andalucía apart from Gibraltar.

Now I have a long wait until the first bus back to Málaga (no buses between 13h00 and 19h40), so I thought I'd write my diary entry from a bar. I tried to walk to Estepona to kill the time but that proved impossible as the only road is a dual carriageway with nowhere for pedestrians to walk. The weather, at least, is better here on the coast, so maybe I'll go and sit on the beach.

Guy

If it's any consolation, Guy (and I suspect it isn't) then I can assure you that butterflying anywhere in the UK is out of the question right now.

Thanks David! But no need for consolation. I'm having a fascinating time and I have sympathy for you.

Here's the Mediterranean this afternoon, where I spent a pleasant two or three hours meditating and dozing:



When I got back to Málaga, at 22h00, the town was thronging with religious activity again. I have to say, I have great respect for their stamina and if this is a sign of true devotion it is humbling.







Guy

I'm sorry to hear that the weather hasn't been kind to you so far Guy. I hope it picks up for you soon. Lovely pictures of the Festoon and Black-eyed Blue. You obviously have great skill in finding good butterfly locations to have managed 16 species despite the weather. That isn't much less than I managed in two weeks last summer!

Well, it did look up today, Nick. The forecast was the worst of all days so far and I had planned to spend the day doing museums. But when I looked out of the window it seemed all hope was not lost - blue sky and a feeling of fairweather about it. I legged it up the mountain, clocking up a common blue (icarus/celina) on the way (species 19, in fact, as I forgot to mention Berger's pale clouded yellow and you forgot to add black-eyed blue, Nick ... ). Spanish festoons were already flying, quite low down the mountain, and when I reached the top I was delighted to find my first hilltopping site occupied with dozens of hilltoppers. These included painted ladies, long-tailed blues, clouded yellows, walls and strings of whites all chasing each other. The whites were mostly green-striped and Bath (species 20) from what I could see, though none stopped, but among their number was quite unmistakeably a Spanish marbled white (21). That was a lifer for me. I looked for it last time in vain and had concluded the end of March must be too early. But there it was, chasing around with the real whites as if it were one of them. Here it is:



Not a great shot but it will look much better when properly processed and resized.

This chap had a very damaged hindwing and I didn't chase him for better shots. It was obviously more effort flying than it would be for an undamaged butterfly and I wanted him to enjoy his brief morning of sun. Here is a more distant shot, showing his damaged wing:



I watched him for a bit then moved on to the next hilltopping site, where there was at least one more Spanish marbled white:



That put me in a very good mood, which only got better as the morning drew on. It was a real spring day - warm, not too windy, with a sense of hope about it. The frogs were singing their little throats off, swifts were swooping and the butterflies were flirting and sparring and nectaring, not just sitting around in the cold looking miserable.



It was all over by three, when the rain set in, but before then it was magical. Here are a few of the highlights:




(a Holy Week special ...)


(the first Provence hairstreak of the trip that was actually doing something)


(black-eyed blue shielding a friend from the sun)




(one of my favourite spots - where delicious oranges grow)


(hilltopping long-tailed blue, after the sun had gone in)


(the hilltopping site, again, after the sun had gone in)


(Bath white)


(Southern brown argus)

On the way home, as it was still warm despite the rain, I had a quick look for Ziz knys. At the site it soon stopped raining and I saw three in total: two females, who quickly dived down into deep herbiage, and a male, who posed briefly before doing the same:



Then permagloom again.

No green hairstreaks, so given the weather I won't try again tomorrow for Chapman's, risking no sighting and another 7 hours waiting for the bus, but head off to Gibraltar, where I can have fun whatever the weather, and maybe get Cleopatra, sage skipper, geranium bronze and Provence orange tip (another thing I didn't see in Málaga that I should have done) into the bargain.

Guy

Guy

Your enthusiasm shows no bounds. You have managed to convey the delights of butterflying in southern Spain. Many of us might be inspired to visit Malaga (flights should be easy enough from almost anywhere in UK). When you get the chance, please give us the run-down on how easy it is to get about without a car. And do bear in mind that not everyone is as young or agile as you are.

A further question. Are any Spaniards interested in butterflies? I met nobody on a visit some 25 years ago but I did meet a French birder. His wife and daughter were utterly bored but “Monsieur le Blanc” and I had a marvellous conversation. I couldn’t speak French; he had no English. However, we had the same Collins bird guide, mine the English version, his the French. We thumbed through the pictures and agreed “Alpina” (Alpine Swift). It was quite hilarious but utterly memorable.

Jack

Glad you have been rewarded, Guy. Must say, the scenery and weather conditions look lovely in the images you posted.

That Swallowtail shot is particularly impressive and looks more like a britannicus rather than a gorganus.

Second question first: Yes, there are some very serious Spanish lepidopterists. I met one in the Val d'Aran for several successive years and on a later visit met a young couple who were very enthusiastic. All three were avid collectors, the first probably legally as he was a respected man of science, the latter two probably illegally, as it is illegal to use a net in Spain unless you have a permit. I in fact got myself a permit for the Val d'Aran, so I could net and release butterflies, but it was quite a procedure and I needed to be vouched for by the Swiss authorities before it would be granted. I've also been contacted by several Spanish enthusiasts through my website - so, yes they exist! I haven't met any in Málaga, though.

To your first question: I'm delighted to have inspired you, but strangely, I'm not really the person to ask. This is because I don't carry any heavy equipment (mind you, I don't think you do either) and I never get tired. My basic 'local circuit' here, beginning and ending at the youth hostel, is about 20km and I do many parts of it several times when I go up (which I've done on three days this trip). With a car you could definitely cut out a lot of the foot-kilometres but without one I'm not sure you could - I've never tried. I'm not trying to be evasive. I know a lot of people couldn't, or wouldn't want to, do it the way I do, but I don't really know any other way so I can't advise. I can say that some of the terrain in the hills - including some of the best habitat - is very difficult to negotiate.

Long-distance public transport in Spain is reliable and cheap. The bus from Málaga to Sabinilla, which I took yesterday, cost 9 euros each way - for a journey taking over two hours. So it's easy to move around from base to base. But I then walked 7 km uphill along main roads to reach the beginning of the gorge. I wasn't overtaken by a local bus as I did this, so they're obviously not that frequent. In short, I have little doubt you would have a fine time in southern Spain with a car to help you reach the mountainous tracks but I'm not at all sure how easy it would be without one for someone with a different phyical constitution from mine. I think it would probably take quite careful planning to avoid being surrounded by what look like lovely hills and having no way of getting into them.

Guy

PS - Just seen your post, David. Yes, the swallowtails in the far south do look rather like British ones. I noticed that when I lived in Gibraltar (those, of course, were technically British ones).

As ususal Guy when I read your posts I feel like the Batman baddy Two Face as one half enjoys the variety and the other half is really jealous at the variety of butterflies that you see and photograph
What does "hilltopping" entail as I've not come across the term before?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Wurzel,
Hill toping is when male butterflies gather on hill tops and rocky outcrops,waiting for virgin females to fly past. I often see Red Admirals doing this in Cornwall.
This is my simple explaination,i'm sure Guy or someone on this site can explain it in a much more scientific manner!

That's exactly right - no more science needed! This is the butterfly equivalent of lekking. Like master trees, favoured spots are used year after year by the same species. Ironically, considering its habitat in the UK, the swallowtail is the hilltopper par excellence and males will fly right up to above the tree level to lay claim to a sunny patch of hilltop. If you climb the Grand Chamossaire, near Villars, on any sunny day in the summer, you will see one or more disporting themselves near the trig point at the top - and exactly the same applies next to the wooden cross atop the Alpe des Chaux, both sites at over 2000m. I take my parents to both every summer and we are never disappointed.

Guy

Guy:

My basic 'local circuit' here ..... is about 20km and I do many parts of it several times when I go up (which I've done on three days this trip) ..... I can say that some of the terrain in the hills - including some of the best habitat - is very difficult to negotiate.

You missed your calling Guy: diplomatic service.

Nicely worded way of saying that your type of butterfly adventure in Malaga is not suitable for a less-than-mobile overweight 74 year old.

Enjoy the rest of your hols.

Jack

...With a car you could definitely cut out a lot of the foot-kilometres...

Guy. I'm as au fait with Imperial units as I am with Metric. But "foot-kilometres"

Jack

Never even spotted the incongruity there, Jack!

Cloud and rain ruled Andalucía today, so I was quite right to go to Gibraltar rather than sit in the gloom waiting for avis. When I arrived at the Rock it looked as if things might change, as the skies were clearing rapidly from the West. This is the view from the North Front Cemetery:



That was short lived. But the sun did return as I climbed the Mediterranean steps. This lovely walk is the one thing you absolutely should not miss if you visit Gibraltar, but it is the one thing almost everyone does miss.



Here is the Mediterranean, viewed from inside Goat's Hair Cave (halfway up the Med Steps), where Neanderthal remains were found:



Along this walk, and elsewhere in Gibraltar, large whites were common - a year tick for me:



So were Provence orange tips, to my delight!





There were no Cleopatras and I saw none of these for the rest of the day, doubtless because of the weather, which turned cold and windy soon after I had finished climbing the Med Steps. I did see a speckled wood in the Alameda Gardens, bringing my March total of species to 30, but that was it.

You can't visit Gibraltar without saying hello to the monkeys.









The weather's really not improving so I've found a pub with wifi, where I'll just have to sit it out ...

Back to the UK tomorrow, so this is probably my last butterfly post for a while!

Guy

When I cycled down the hill at 09h30 today the near-freezing fog was so penetrating my hands and forehead were in a lot of pain long before the bottom. In the Valley the same fog blocked off all heat from the sun and it looked as if I would see nothing. Then, at just after midday, it cleared and a little hazy warmth came through. It was as if the earth had been holding a breathful of butterflies and now with a great sigh she breathed them all out. Over the next hour I saw small tortoiseshells, large tortoiseshells, orange tips, small whites, green-veined whites, Bath whites, brimstones, swallowtails, scarce swallowtails, Queens of Spain, peacocks, commas and grizzled skippers.

Small tortoiseshells and Queens were the commonest, as they are in March. Some were getting a little over-enthusiastic in this rare moment of warmth, like this ménage à trois:



The troisième flew off when I accidentally disturbed them - but I probably did all three a favour.

This large tortoiseshell was so engrossed in puddling I was able to approach him (or, I think, more probably her) closely.





The first grizzlies are beautifully fresh and perky:



A few more piccies:


(This is an eastern Bath white, Pontia edusa - technically a different species from the Bath whites in Málaga, but the two look identical)


(Swallowtail)


(Queen of Spain)


(Scarce swallowtail)



I had to be home by 15h30, which meant leaving my main site shortly after 13h00. So I only really had an hour with the butterflies, followed by a half-hour walk to the train. That was far too short but it was definitely worth coming out even for this. I wrote up my diary (and on my website) in the train and processed those few pictures as soon as I got back - I'll look through the rest later.

Guy

First day of the summer term:



That's the school football pitch - so no football in the near future! The snow got heavier as the day went on but none settled because the ground is too warm.

I uploaded a video of Holy Tuesday in Málaga yesterday, taken with my iPhone from the youth hostel balcony. If anyone did decide to do a spring butterfly-watch in Málaga next year, as Jack suggested, I can recommend going in Holy Week to witness this amazing phenomenon (though Holy Week will be three weeks later next year)! There is something like this happening every night and the streets of Málaga become one great procession, with bands and incense and a real feeling of celebration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD0GTQThyUM[/video]

Guy

Conditions look even more grim in la Suisse than here in the UK, Guy.

Tell me, how unusual is it in (almost) mid-April for your part of the world to still be seeing such adverse weather?

It's the norm rather than the exception. A friend observed to me some years ago that seven out of the previous ten summer terms had opened to fresh snow. I hadn't been counting but it seemed reasonable and I have noticed since then that most summer terms start white.

That said, this year - especially March - has been distinctly colder than average. There is no reason to think that is a bad thing for the butterflies. What happened last year was that an exceptionally warm March, leading to a lot of precocious development, was followed by persistent gloom and rain for several consecutive weeks if not months. That was bad, for insects and for the birds that feed on them.

It snowed heavily again last night and much of today, with some settling even at my altitude (1000m). But precipitation can turn to snow at any time of year in the Alps. This is my old house on 31st May 2006:



That year it continued snowing into the first couple of days of June but that didn't do any harm at all. Here is the morning of June 2nd ...



... and here is the afternoon, in the same place (my garden):



If your French is up to it (or your German or Italian), and if you're interested, the monthly Swiss weather summaries are published here: http://www.meteosuisse.admin.ch/web/fr/ ... uelle.html. The page has a link for English versions but it takes you to German instead.

Funny old thing, the weather.

Guy