www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Day 4 was our main lower altitude day. We set off westwards in the morning on the main road to Bolzano, stopping first by the river, near a wood mill, close to a hamlet called Halser at 700 metres altitude. This proved hugely productive, with lots of buddleia attracting lots of nectaring butterflies, and we spent a good two hours there. We then drove back eastwards a few miles, to a meadow near the river at 1000 metres altitude, close to the town of Welschnofen Nova Levante, where we had lunch. There weren’t so many butterflies here, though we did see some. We then continued eastwards, stopping in the early afternoon at the Costalunga Pass (or Karerpass), which is 1745 metres in altitude. We spent about an hour looking round a number of meadows with thick grass and alpine wildflowers, before having some refreshments in the café there. The morning was cloudless and hot at such low altitudes, and the afternoon was close to cloudless and also hot, even at the higher altitude.

Given the range of altitudes and locations over the day, a total of 49 butterfly species were seen, 40 by me. Of the 40, seven were new species for me:
Scarce Swallowtail (iphiclides podalirius)
Black Veined White (aporia crataegi)
Sooty Copper (lycaena tityrus, form subalpinus)
Provencal Short Tailed Blue (cupido alcetas)
Amanda’s Blue (polyommatus amandas)
Meleager’s Blue (polyommatus daphnis)
Marbled Fritillary (brenthis daphne)

The fifth day of the holiday was spent mainly in Panneveggio Natural Park (in Val Velengio), between 1400 and 1500 metres altitude. We did however make a stop for an hour in the morning near Predazzo at a place where Apollo (parnassius apollo) is known to breed, and indeed we saw one. This latter site is at 1020 metres altitude.

Val Velengio is very pretty, and it was here where we saw our only Marmot’s of the week, although we did hear them elsewhere. The morning was cloudless, but at around 2pm, it clouded over, albeit it stayed hot all day.

The group saw 35 species across the day, of which I saw 31. Four of the 31 were new species for me, which were:
Apollo (parnassius apollo)
Mountain Fritillary (boloria napaea)
Large Ringlet (erebia euryale, form ocellaris)
Pearly Heath (coenonympha arcania)

Very enjoyable account... the scenery is magnificent !

I am not sure what a Nutcracker is ?

favorite butterfly pic = Titania's Fritillary

Thanks Charles

A Nutcracker is a bird in the corvid family. Here is the not too brilliant picture I took of one from quite a distance

A particularly lovely part of Europe, Paul, and one I've yet to visit.

Some nice species too, especially Woodland Ringlet and Warrens Grizzled Skipper, the latter of which remains one of my main targets.

Day 6 was probably my favourite day of the whole week, spent at the highest point on the Sella Pass. The highest point on the road, where we parked is at 2200 metres, but we did reach 2450 at the highest point. It was Luca and I who were the only ones who went that extra 250 metres, as it involved a bit of scrambling up steep scree to see if we could see Sooty Ringlet (erebia pluto) and Silky Ringlet (erebia gorge). It was a big effort, as we had only 45 minutes to scramble up and down, and it also involved some running up and down the scree chasing the fast moving Ringlets!

The sky was near cloudless for most of the day, with not a breath of wind all day, and the views were stunning. It was here where we took our group photo for the week. The group saw 22 butterfly species over the course of the day, of which I saw all but one. Five of the sightings were new species for me, which were:
Cranberry Blue (agriades optilete)
Lesser Mountain Ringlet (erebia melampus)
Sooty Ringlet (erebia pluto)
Silky Ringlet (erebia gorge)
Alpine Grizzled Skipper (pyrgus andromedae)

The last proper day of the holiday, Day 7, was a scorcher. The hottest day of the week by far, near cloudless, and muggy with it. So hot indeed that, at 3pm most of the group had lost interest in chasing butterflies around the flower filled meadows and were seeking shade under the trees.

We spent the whole day at Miralago, at about 1900 metres, in the Val de Bay along the San Pellegrino Pass. The morning was most fruitful, seeing seven erebia species in total, including two new ones. It was hard work trying to separate the seven species in flight!

30 species were seen by the group over the course of the day, 20 by me, and of the 20, three were new species for me:
Mountain Clouded Yellow (colias phicomone)
Yellow Spotted Ringlet (erebia manto, form pyrrhula)
Almond Eyed Ringlet (erebia alberganus)

Day 8, the return journey from the Dolomites to Venice Marco Polo Airport, and then the flight back to Gatwick Airport. Luckily, the flight wasn’t until 3.30pm, and so we had time to stop off for 90 minutes by the river in the Agordo Gorge (Altitude roughly 425 metres above sea level). Specifically, it was a wide braided river section we stopped at, just south of Agordo itself. The low altitude and the fact we were much further south, allowed us to see a number of species we’d not seen at any point else in the holiday. The weather was cloudy all day, but still hot and muggy.

18 species were seen by the group in total, 13 by me. And of the 13, two were new species for me:
Southern Small White (pieris mannii)
Large Chequered Skipper (heteropterus morpheus)
It was sad saying goodbye to everyone at the end of 8 brilliant days. I’d say it was probably my favourite ever holiday, up to that point. The weather had been very good to us. Alan, the main tour leader, told me that our week had been the best week of weather he’d had of the ten times he had led the trip.

Both he and Luca, the local guide were so patient with us all, including me. I went into the trip knowing how to identify only UK species, knowing if I saw something that wasn’t a UK species, but not a clue what it might actually be, indeed not even having the ability to narrow it down. Such was my lack of knowledge of identification tips or geographic range limitations.

Over the course of the week I had also got to know the other 8 guests pretty well, and they were all good company and good humoured.

In total, over the course of the eight days, the whole group saw 78 species, of which I saw 74, missing out on seeing Brown Argus (Aricia agestis), Common Blue (polyommatus icarus), Swallowtail (papilio macheon), and Large Grizzled Skipper (pyrgus alveus). Only the latter one would have been a new species for me, had I seen it. It would have to wait until future trips.

I saw 35 new species in total though, and most importantly, it sparked a renewed interest in butterflies and butterfly watching. As soon as I got home, I began looking at what other butterfly holidays Naturetrek had on offer!

Some beautiful scenery and highly desirable butterfly species in that reportage, Paul. There are a handful in amongst them that I have not yet seen and yearn for, e.g. Yellow Spotted Ringlet & Large Chequered Skipper.

No wonder that trip gave you a real taste for European butterflies.

David M wrote:Some beautiful scenery and highly desirable butterfly species in that reportage, Paul. There are a handful in amongst them that I have not yet seen and yearn for, e.g. Yellow Spotted Ringlet & Large Chequered Skipper.

No wonder that trip gave you a real taste for European butterflies.

It really was superb David, still up there in my top 3 holidays ever.

I actually booked two Naturetrek holidays in 2017, the Butterflies of Croatia being the first one. (https://www.naturetrek.co.uk/tours/butt ... of-croatia)

The holiday began with an early 8.15am flight from Heathrow airport to Zagreb airport in Croatia, landing at 11.35am local time. It took about an hour get through the airport and load our bags onto the coach.

Our tour leader was naturalist Andy Harding, ably supported by local guide Gerard Gorman. Including me, there were fourteen guests in total on the holiday.

It was a two and half hour drive to our first of three locations for the holiday, the Hotel Plitvicka Sedra, in a village called Irinovac. We stopped en-route in an area of scrub, near Gornje Taboriste, for about an hour.

The weather was hot and sunny, and many butterflies were flying, often rapidly! 24 species were seen by the group in total, actually only 8 by myself. This would turn out to be a bit of a theme for the week, with many of the guests snapping photos of unknown butterflies, only identifying them as something different that night, when reviewing their photos.

Of the 8 butterflies I saw, only one was a new species for me, which was:
Sloe Hairstreak (satyrium acaciae)
We continued the journey to the hotel, arriving at about 4pm. This allowed us a decent 2 hours to unpack and freshen up, ahead of dinner at the hotel. With such a large group of 14 guests, two guides, and our bus driver Tibor, it was a challenge to try and remember everyone’s names!

Our tour guide Andy had warned us that the first day was going to be mainly about picturesque views, with the real butterflying beginning the next day. The reason being that Day 1 was mainly about visiting the incredibly stunning, and UNESCO World Heritage site, Plitvicka Lakes.

It is the turquoise colour of the water, as you’ll see in the photos, that is so unusual and beautiful. Whilst limited in terms of butterflies, it was still well worth the visit. And there was other wildlife to see, including birds, flowers, and dragonflies. The day was mainly overcast and warm. The sun did come out for brief spells, and when it did, it was very hot.

We returned to the hotel for a late packed lunch at around 2pm. Following this, we spent the afternoon in the meadows behind the hotel. These were incredibly productive, with 43 species seen, 27 by me. Of the 27, seven were new species for me. These were:
Large Copper (lycaena dispar)
Short Tailed Blue (cupido argiades)
Reverdin’s Blue (plebejus argyrognomon)
Queen of Spain Fritillary (issoria lathonia)
Weavers Fritillary (boloria dia)
Nickerl’s Fritillary (melitaea aurelia)
Marbled Skipper (carcharodus lavatherae)
So actually a really productive day, despite the overcast weather, and more than half of the day not spent butterflying.

Day 3 was our first transfer day, travelling from the Plitvicka area to the Adriatic coast, specifically the town of Starigrad. Had we been doing the journey in one burst, it would have taken around two hours. But we stopped at five different locations on the way, for various lengths of time, meaning we only arrived in Starigrad at about 4pm.

The first main stop was at a large “polje” (large flat plain in karstic landscapes), called Bjelopolje. This was a productive location, despite it being overcast.
The second main stop was our lunch stop, looking over the town of Gracac, as the main road reaches its highest point, crossing the Velebit mountain range. This was also highly productive, particularly as the sun came out.
Our third main stop was a viewpoint halfway from lunch to the coast. The species on the coast side of the mountains were different, so whilst less of them, it was also a worthwhile stop.

Over the course of the day, 45 species were seen, 26 by me. Of the 26, seven were new species, which were:
Blue Spot Hairstreak (satyrium spini)
Amanda’s Blue (polyommatus amandus)
Turquoise Blue (polyommatus dorylas)
Niobe Fritillary (argynnis niobe)
Assman’s Fritillary (melitaea britomartis)
Balkan Marbled White (melanargia larissa)
Chestnut Heath (coenonympha glycerion)
The Hotel Rajna in Starigrad is lovely. The back of it looked up to the peaks of the Velebit mountains, whilst the front of the hotel looked over a small bit of farmland and olive groves, to the Adriatic Sea. My hotel room had a balcony looking out to the Adriatic, and included Nightingales singing in the trees/scrub. Idyllic.

Day 4 was our first of two full days exploring the Adriatic facing slopes of the hills around Starigrad, otherwise known as Paklenica National Park. We spent the morning just north of Starigrad, near a place called Veliki Vaganac. After lunch, we then moved slightly more inland, and higher up, where an isolated Lime Tree was in full bloom and absolutely buzzing with bees and butterflies.
The weather was boiling hot, with not a cloud in the sky all day.

47 butterfly species were seen overall, 32 by me. Of the 32, 11 were completely new species for me. They were:
Mountain Small White (pieris ergane)
Balkan Green Veined White (pieris balkana)
Ilex Hairstreak (satyrium ilicis)
Idas Blue (plebejus idas)
Southern White Admiral (limenitis reducta)
Southern Comma (polygonum egea)
Lesser Spotted Fritillary (melitaea trivia)
Eastern Rock Grayling (hipparchia syriacha)
Great Sooty Satyr (satyrus ferrula)
Great Banded Grayling (brintesia circe)
Oberthur’s Grizzled Skipper (pyrgus armoricanus)

Day 5 was the second of the two days around Starigrad. This time we were slightly lower down, walking down the tracks that ran parallel with the sea, through farmland partway up the slopes of the hills behind the town.
In the late afternoon, we went slightly higher up, into the Mala Paklenika gorge.
Again the weather was cloudless, boiling hot, and there wasn’t even a breeze. So by the late afternoon we were all flagging.

36 species were seen by the group, 24 by me. Of the 24, three were new species for me, namely:
Berger’s Clouded Yellow (colias alfacariensis)
Little Tiger Blue (tarucus balkanicus)
Spotted Fritillary (melitaea didyma)
We enjoyed the meal and refreshments at the hotel that night more than normal, given how hot it had been that day.

Paul, this is such torture to look at images of blue skies, hot sunshine & near perfect butterfly habitat in the throes of late autumn in the UK!!

You made a good choice in terms of location - Croatia looks serene and beautiful, especially that turquoise lake, which I could dive into right now!

Again, some species that I have not yet encountered: Balkan Marbled White, Large Copper, Assman's Fritillary....

Looking forward to your next instalment.

David M wrote:Paul, this is such torture to look at images of blue skies, hot sunshine & near perfect butterfly habitat in the throes of late autumn in the UK!!

You made a good choice in terms of location - Croatia looks serene and beautiful, especially that turquoise lake, which I could dive into right now!

Again, some species that I have not yet encountered: Balkan Marbled White, Large Copper, Assman's Fritillary....

Looking forward to your next instalment.

Hi David
I'm very sorry to be torturing you!

Seriously though, you need to get yourself to the Balkans, and Croatia more specifically. You'd love it!

Best Wishes
Paul

thanks for the helpful Nutcracker picture

i loved the photos of the dazzling blue lake....

Day 6 was a day of sunny spells most of the day, overcast at lunchtime, but warm throughout. It was another day of travel moving from our second base in Starigrad, to our third and final base at the Jure Guesthouse in Krasno.

Over the course of the day we stopped three times. Firstly at the very highest point the road reached in the Velebit Mountains. Secondly, for lunch, near Baske. And thirdly, in the late afternoon a scrubby meadow area somewhere between the town of Gospic and our hotel in Krasno.
46 species were seen by the group over the three sites visited, 26 by me. Of the 26, five were new species for me, namely:
Eastern Baton Blue (pseudophilotes vicrama)
False Heath Fritillary (melitaea diamina)
Bright Eyed Ringlet (erebia oeme)
Safflower Skipper (pyrgus carthami)
Eastern Large Heath (coenonympha rhodopensis)
Krasno is a tiny village/hamlet in the North Velebit mountains, with wonderful meadows and wooded hills surrounding it, as the views from my bedroom window show.

Day 7 was our final full day, and was quite a busy day, spent in various meadows and woodland tracks in the hills and meadows around Krasno.

The first main stop was a very productive series of meadows near the village of Oltare. We then moved into the woods nearby for lunch.
Finally, we spent most of the afternoon in the lower meadows just outside of Krasno itself. This final meadow being a more colourful natural meadow than I’ve seen anywhere else in the world to date. The photos below just doesn’t do the scene justice sadly.
The weather was slightly cooler and windier than the rest of the week, but it remained sunny most of the day, and it didn’t stop the butterflies from being seen.

A grand total of 44 species was seen by the group that day, 36 by me. Of which two were new species for me. These were:
Southern Festoon (zerynthia polyxena)
Woodland Grayling (hipparchia fagi)
At the end of this final full day, we took the below group photo outside of the hotel.