www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hi Roger,

Thanks for your kind comments and i`m glad your`e enjoying my post.

I will try to post some more tonight.

Mark, yes.

Continuation I observed whilst walking down the path on the edge of the reserve the Painted Lady butterfly by the dozen flying in of the sea, at least 200 or more over a period of time, [a few days]. I thought they were just passing through on their way to North Africa. But then i realized they were flying in the wrong direction, but were flying away from Africa, [checked on a map on the internet just to make sure]. So do they do this every year, flying across to the Canary Islands for their annual vacation in the middle of November. Not really feasible is it. My theory is, that they were migrating to Africa got so far across the sea and hit a brick wall in the form of very strong head on winds, so forcing them back, and ending up on the shores of Fuerteventura.[Well at least that sounds more likely]. This rather tatty individual has just flown in, and is taking a well deserved rest.













These top 4 photos were taken in the hotel grounds and as you can see they are happily feeding or basking in the sun.The next three photos were also taken in the hotel grounds.This lovely little insect is a Blue Banded Bee, there were quite a few of them flying about, hovering above a chosen flower [just like a Humming-Bird Hawkmoth] before landing to feed.This is a photo i really wanted to get, the little fellow sideways on. With my 300 zoom and the insect being rather small, and also not being able to get anywhere near it without walking over the flowers it was proving to be rather difficult, but after an hour or so i finally got this picture, AT LAST.The Blue Banded Bee is a native of Australia but appears to be common here on Fuerteventura.I took this photo while whilst waiting to get the Blue Banded Bee picture, i had seen one or two before but was unable to get a photo until now, one of only two species of moth that i saw.

Will post more as soon as i can.

Hi Nick,

I'm fairly confident your moth is Spoladea (Hymenia) recurvalis a rare pyralid from the tropics here in the UK.

Love the second bee shot.

Keep them coming.

Kind regards. Mark

Hi Mark,

Thankyou for the id on the moth, [has it got a English name by any chance].

I`m glad you like the Blue Banded Bee picture, it was the one and only shot i got, so i was rather pleased with the it myself.

Thanks again,

Nick.

Hi Nick,

hideandseek wrote:Thankyou for the id on the moth, [has it got a English name by any chance].

As I'm sure you know, common names can be somewhat variable with species and can vary not only in different countries but also within one country on a regional level i.e. local county names within the UK. If you want a common name for this one the Maize Moth would be a good choice as the larvae can be a serious pest on crops such as spinach, beet, cotton, maize and soya.

Kind regards. Mark

Hi Mark,

thanks, common names always go down well with me

Nick.

Now who would of thought it, a Raven on top of a lamppost. These lampposts run all the way along the path on the side of the nature reserve, which is rather long and takes about half an hour to walk at a swift pace.Then would you believe it his mate flew in to join him for the photo shoot.The barbary Ground Squirrel is very common. If you walk up to their, lets call it a commune, they appear from nowhere, scampering up the bank over boulders to greet you hoping you have a little something for them to munch on.This one has just been thrown a nut, [by a swedish couple] and is happily enjoying his / her prize.They are so cute and photogenic, as i think these pictures show.Some people loathe them, can`t understand why.But most people love them, after all they are part of Fuerteventura`s wildlife.I found this Scarlet Darter on the fringes of the desert, where i cut across the reserve to reach the footpath.Why they curl their body up like that i have no idea. [i think its a male, could be wrong]This little chap could be some sort of Milkweed Bug.

Male dragonflies produce sperm at the end of their abdomens and then transfer it to beneath the base of the abdomen, where their secondary genitalia are located. The female will then connect with those secondary genitalia while the male clings onto her back, producing that unique wheel- or heart-shaped mating position. Your male was probably transferring spermatophores when you saw him curling his abdomen forward.

Guy

Most informative Guy, thanks, very much appreciated.

Nick.

hideandseek wrote:Some people loathe them, can`t understand why

Me neither. How could anyone hate those?

This is the start of the nature reserve, the main road into Corralejo is about 50yds to the right, and if you look too the top left-hand corner of the picture you will just about see the bottom of a house and the footpath, [the little white strip is the path] that runs down the edge of the reserve which i walked on many occasion, and where i took most of my desert bird photos.

In the above picture you should also be able to see three Stone Curlews. Most days they would be in this precise spot, and i would`nt be able to get a photo of them apart from this one and one other, because when i needed my eyes to work for me i went blind. On two occasions i had one or more birds within 20m`s of me, saw them fly there and land. Did`nt take my eyes off them for second, but could i see them when i got in a position to take a photo? NO. They were in amongst some stones, not moving, they had`nt flown off, they had`nt wondered off, and no matter how hard i looked i just could not see them. I just shrugged my shoulders, said to myself "oh well" and took one step forward,and as i did so three Stone Curlews flew off, probably laughing.What camouflage.So this was the best i achieved.This picture was taken towards the road too the right of the three Stone Curlews, and the first i had seen on this trip.Here is another Trumpeter Finch i photographed a couple of minutes later. In the breeding season they are very common. On my first visit here [5 years ago] i found a nest with five eggs, the nest was situated on the ground, underneath some small rocks.I wanted to photograph the Spanish Sparrow away from the hotel and in a more natural setting, feeding. This was the only picture i managed.
Other birds seen but not photographed were as follows. Barbary Partridge, Barbery Falcon, Kestrel, Collared Dove, Budgerigar, [blue] and some parakeets.

Will post more later.

This photo was taken again to the right of the Stone Curlews, the main road into Corralejo is directly behind this bird, the Courser is down in a bowl shaped hollow.As a path ran along the side of the road, and being a sunday, and more locals being about as well as people on holiday, i was hoping for someone to walk behind the bird along the path, and so drive the Courser towards me. [I`m an optimist]well someone did walk down the path, and yes the bird did come towards me and thats how i got this photo. But only just, because the Courser began to panic and i thought, whats going on? I had stayed perfectly still, the bird was not bothered by my presence, so i slowly looked behind me only too see two people walk down beside me, and at that point the Courser flew off. I can`t repeat what i thought of them. Lucky enough i had photographed a couple of Creamed-Coloured Coursers three days before. This is one of them.And this is the other one. I watched these two birds fly in, they looked remarkably like Collared Doves in flight. These two Creamed-Coloured Coursers were the first i had ever seen, and from what i`ve heard are really difficult to approach, and so hard to photograph. whilst i was photographing these two birds this little chap below decided he wanted his photo taken as well.He had been feeding with some of his mates in and around the Coursers. [shame about the twig] He was only 7-8ft [2.1-2.4m] in front of me, talk about luck.This happy fellow was also photographed by the side of the footpath [on the edge of the reserve] I say happy because it looks so cheerful.just thought, could be another Scarlet Darter.Here is another dragonfly, this one was also photographed along the same path. The photo was taken with the camera pointing down on to the path.This is the same one, on the same perch but with the camera pointing skywards. Their faces remind me of a clowns, always smiling.

You can only find the Canary Island Chat on Fuerteventura and no where else in world. It can be found on stoney ground with a few scrub like bushes, normally sheltered by a high bank of rock. This is another bird that builds its nest on the ground underneath rocks / boulders. [can be up to 2ft in underneath the boulder] The nest i found on my last visit had three eggs.How did i get close enough to photograph this bird? Well i watched the bird feeding, it would always fly back to the same perch / bush. So when the Chat flew off for another bite to eat, i moved up onto the rocks at the hight of the perch, when he flew off again i would get a little closer and so on until i was close enough without disturbing the bird to get a picture.That lovely orange colour behind the Chat are houses.I found this bird in the same place as i had On my last visit. it was about a forty minute walk, straight along the path, past the last house and a further five minute walk until you came to a bend in the path to the right, here i just carried on walking straight into the desert / reserve and another few minutes later there it was.This Lizard just stayed were it was, ignoring me which was unusual. Normally they were gone before you could bat an eyelid.Another Lizard that i managed to get a photo of before it disappeared under a stone.Here is another three pictures of a Southern Grey Shrike that i took on my long walk back from photographing the Chat. Wil post more later.

Brilliant! Just brilliant! More please

Gibster

hideandseek wrote: Other birds seen but not photographed were as follows. Barbary Partridge, Barbery Falcon, Kestrel, Collared Dove, Budgerigar, [blue] and some parakeets.

Surely that must have been an escaped pet?

Hi David M,

David M wrote:

hideandseek wrote: Other birds seen but not photographed were as follows. Barbary Partridge, Barbery Falcon, Kestrel, Collared Dove, Budgerigar, [blue] and some parakeets.

Surely that must have been an escaped pet?

Apparently Budgerigars live and breed in small colonies on both Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

The habitat is very similar to where they originate from in Australia.

Nick

Hi again Seth,

its really nice of you to say, and appreciated. Its also very encouraging, as a lot of hard work has gone into this.

Thanks again,

Nick.

The African Grass Blue [Zizeeria Knysna] is a small butterfly, that is common in parks, gardens and grasslands in North Africa, Portugal, Cyprus, the Canary Islands and a small part of spain. The female`s wings, topside is a dark brown with differing blue colouring towards the body. The male`s wings, topside, however are blue with a broard brown border. Both sexes have light brown undersides with darkish spots and lightish brown v-shaped markings towards the top edges of the wings.This is a female which has slightly bigger wings than the male.The wingspan of the female is 21-26mm.These pictures were taken in the hotel grounds. I did`nt see very many, but that might be down to the time of year.This is the male, i only saw two males on these flowers during my stay.This is another male, its wingspan is a mere 18-23mm.
The only other Bee i saw and managed to photograph was this beautiful black and white fellow. This is a Cuckoo Bee of Africa, genus Thyreus.They are parasites of other Bees of the genera Anthophora and Amegilla.
There are a few Bees like this one that are practically identical. The only way you can tell them apart is the white spots / markings on the thorax.I only saw a individual of this particular Bee on two occasions, the second time i managed to get these two photos.
There is another Bee native to Australia the Neon cuckoo Bee which is a parasitic Bee also of the genus Thyreus which lays its eggs in the nest of the Blue Banded Bee, [amegilla Cingulata]Another insect that i saw was a Eumenid caterpillar, Hunting Wasp [Delta Dimiatipenne], which was red and black, about 3cm long, and similar in shape to the one Philzoid photographed. It lays a single egg in a hole on a building, then goes off hunting for a nice juicy caterpillar, which it paralyses before popping it in the hole for the larva to feed on once it has hatched. It then seals the hole with some mud. Rather similar habits to our Mason Bee.

More stunning photos! You have set me thinking about another trip to the Canaries myself. The number of endemic species makes them a naturalist's wonderland and in the case of the butterflies many are seriously threatened.

For the record, the grass blue that flies in the Canaries is knysna, not karsandra, which takes over in the eastern Mediterranean and India.

Guy

Hi Guy,

thankyou for the compliment on my photos, really appreciated. Also thanks for the correction.

I saw some weird and wonderful insects on my trip which i did`nt manage to photograph, and have not been able to identify . I am going to purchase a book on african insects so i do not have a problem in the future.

When i visited Fuerteventure some 5 years ago, it was at easter. The bird life was excellent, seeing such birds as White Cheeked Bulbuls, Night Herons with young sitting on palm trees in the middle of a hotel complex, plus migrants, and the desert birds. Was a far better time to go, but i was not interested in insects then, its only since i joined this webb site that i have taken an interest in them, opened my eyes to the wonders of nature, as i was a bird photographer before i got the bug for butterflies.

Enjoy your trip if you do decide to go, thanks again,

Nick.

Just out of interest, did you photograph any common blues in Fuerteventura? It's been established that the Canary populations are all Polyommatus celina, not icarus - and that celina flies in the south of Spain too. I'm interested in getting a little more familiar with this species, particularly as in parts of Spain icarus and celina overlap.

Guy