European Butterflies - A personal diary

[David M]

Do you think the Clouded Yellow's were migrants from Morocco, David? Or even potentially a "Clouded Yellow" year brewing?

It's possible, I guess, Paul. This is a strongly migratory insect which seems to have had an extremely productive year in 2022.

If its lhps have been in good supply and condition this last autumn/winter, then perhaps their numbers will continue to be strong in 2023. We'll see.

[selbypaul]

On Saturday 22nd April, I flew from Gatwick to Valencia for the first two of my five European butterfly spotting trips of the year. The dreadful UK spring meant that, as I left, I still hadn’t seen an Orange Tip in the UK, and in Sheffield, we’d had just one really nice day of warm sunny weather by that point. So, the anticipated warm sunshine of Spain, for a grand total of 18 days, spanning two Greenwings holidays, was to be a much needed tonic!

The first trip was to Central and North Spain, with the first base being in Albarracin in central Spain. After a two hour drive from Valencia airport, we arrived in the outskirts of Albarracin at about 4pm local time. The weather had been cool and wet in the days before, and we drove through what was to be the final rain I saw in my 18 days in Spain, during the drive. The clouds were just breaking up and so we stopped briefly at a site known well during the July/August Monte Universales holiday.

Spanish butterflies are very spoiled, and so even with a decent temperature of around 19C, the fact the sun wasn’t out meant that few butterflies were flying. But we did see a few, including Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea), Bath White (Pontia daplidice), and a few Panoptes Blue (Pseudophilotes panoptes).

Panoptes Blue

Back in August 2019, on the Monte Universales trip we had seen a single very tatty old Panoptes Blue, which had felt like quite a rarity. However, during these 18 days, Panoptes Blue turned out to be the most common of all the Blue butterflies.

After 45 minutes at this site, we drove the final 10 minutes to the hotel in the beautiful town of Albarracin. I’d forgotten how beautiful it was in the intervening 4 years since my last visit.

View of Albarracin from my bedroom balcony

[John Vergo]

Looking forward to see the rest Paul

[selbypaul]

Looking forward to see the rest Paul

Thanks John! You'll be pleased to know that I've got 25 days of butterflying to report on already part drafted. Just need to sort out the photos.

Hope all is well with you? And hope you have some interesting trips planned this year too!

[John Vergo]

Hi Paul, yes everything is going well, and I am going to Northern Greece with Greenwings 6-13 june, after that to Northern Italy, on my own, in the end of june for 14 days, and then I will go to Albaracin with David and Greenwings in august.

[selbypaul]

Hi Paul, yes everything is going well, and I am going to Northern Greece with Greenwings 6-13 june, after that to Northern Italy, on my own, in the end of june for 14 days, and then I will go to Albaracin with David and Greenwings in august.

I knew you'd have exciting plans. Enjoy!

[selbypaul]

Day 2 of the trip, the first full day, started off with a morning visit to a Spring Ringlet (Erebia epistygne) site near Moscardon.

Spring Ringlet site

Despite arriving at roughly 10.15am, it took quite a while for the butterflies to warm up sufficiently to fly. Indeed, very few species were seen at this site in total. Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea), Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardomines), Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) being some of that limited number. Thankfully though, Spring Ringlet was seen. Here is the first picture I took on the day, when this individual was flying quite sluggishly and grounded a few times.

Spring Ringlet photo 1

Spring Ringlet photo 2

While the group and I did see quite a few more individuals, as they quickly warmed up, they grounded much less often and for much shorter periods, becoming increasingly difficult to photograph. And all of the rest were actually quite faded and tatty. So it was clear we were seeing the species towards the end of its flight season in this very early year in Spain.

Our second and final stop this day was to Noguera. This was a familiar site, having been one the best sites on the July/August trip. And despite a slightly different cast list of butterflies, it proved equally fruitful in April, turning up many species. The highlights being a good number of Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros), plentiful Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi), fresh Chequered Blue (Scolitantides orion), Black Eyed Blue (Glaucopsyche melanops), Iberian Sooty Copper (Lycaena bleusei) and Provence Orange Tip (Anthocharis euphenoides).

The site near Noguera

Chequered Blue

Green Hairstreak

Black Eyed Blue

Iberian Sooty Copper

So a great proper start to the holiday, with two brand new species for me, namely Spring Ringlet and Black Eyed Blue.

[David M]

Those images are bringing back some good memories, Paul.

Hard to believe that all this happened only last month!!

Looking forward to the rest of your images/commentary.

[selbypaul]

Day 3 also started off with a visit to a site well known on the July/August trip, a site near El Vallecillo. The weather was near cloudless, and butterflies were on the wing as soon as we arrived.

We saw quite a few different species here, including Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthamelii). But the highlight was de Prunner’s Ringlet (Erebia triaria), again highlighting the earliness of the season in Spain this year.

de Prunner's Ringlet

I was also quite taken with these amazing tiny narcissi.

Dwarf narcissi

Our second stop of the day was for lunch at the waterfalls at Cascada del Molino de San Pedro. It was starting to get quite hot, and a good number of species were seen including Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus). A surprisingly obliging female Turquoise Blue (Plebicula dorylas) was my personal highlight.

The waterfalls

Female Turquoise Blue

Then we headed to another potential Spring Ringlet (Erebia epistygne) site, which had proved very productive for David and Jon in their recce a year earlier. Sadly not this year, with it being quite barren. Two Spring Ringlet were seen, both very tatty and clearly past their best.

Our fourth and final stop of the day was a site near Monterde that our guide David Moore had been told might hold Sooty Orange Tip (Zegris eupheme), quite rare in this part of Spain. We spent a good 90 minutes at this site, taking in what was around, including further large numbers of Panoptes Blue (Pseudophilotes panoptes).

As we were nearing the end of our allotted time, before heading back to the hotel, the shout went up from David: “Sooty Orange Tip.” Cue a three minute chase around the field as the group converged on David’s location, and tracked the butterfly before it briefly settled for around 10 seconds. Frustratingly, this was the best photo I took that day! Enough for a record, but a terrible photo!

Sooty Orange Tip (dreadful photo!)

That being said, the three minute chase was ultimately the highlight of the 18 days, among the very many highlights still to come. You had to be there to understand the bonkersness of the chase in the hot afternoon sun, it’ll live long in the memory. And of course, a brand new species for me too.

[selbypaul]

Those images are bringing back some good memories, Paul.

Hard to believe that all this happened only last month!!

Looking forward to the rest of your images/commentary.

Indeed David, so much has happened subsequently. And I'm struggling to find the time to post. But I'll keep working through them! Looking forward to your own reports from Morocco and the French Pyrenees....

[selbypaul]

Day 4 started off with a trip to Calomarde. This was a new site to me. Early in the morning, there wasn’t much out, but as we neared the end of the allotted time there, butterflies were emerging, albeit nothing particularly unusual.

We next re-visited Noguera in the hope that more butterflies would have emerged over the intervening few days. The numbers of some species had increased, and we saw Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra), but nothing extra special.

We then returned to the Sooty Orange Tip (Zegris eupheme) site of the previous day, with the aim of seeing it again, potentially with better views. Sadly no luck.

So we moved on to a site close to Albarracin, where even in July/August there is some water and therefore good mud puddling. But no water, even in April, highlighting the drought that much of Spain has suffered in Spring 2023.

There were still good numbers of butterflies on the wall of the under-road drain, taking minerals, mainly the continuingly common Panoptes Blue (Pseudophilotes panoptes).

Mineral gathering Blues

Jon Dunn, our second guide spotted a Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri), and called this out. Another new species for me!

[David M]

That really was a friendly Turquoise Blue, Paul, in contrast to the first Sooty Orange Tip which probably accounted for over 100 deleted images amongst the group!

[selbypaul]

That really was a friendly Turquoise Blue, Paul, in contrast to the first Sooty Orange Tip which probably accounted for over 100 deleted images amongst the group!

Thank goodness there were more to come...

[selbypaul]

Day 5 was transit day, with the aim of visiting a Spanish Greenish Black-Tip (Euchloe bazae) site east of Zaragoza, on the way from Albarracin to our second base. After a prompt start and with quiet motorways, disaster struck just south of Zaragoza. An articulated lorry hit the central reservation and exploded in a fireball and raging inferno, blocking off the motorway. It was perhaps 30 seconds ahead of us, so we were fortunate not to be directly caught up in the accident. But it did mean us sitting for 2 hours before the motorway was reopened. David and Jon rightly decided that this significant delay meant we couldn’t go to see Spanish Greenish Black-Tip that day, and so decided to go straight to Berdun, our second base.

We stopped briefly for lunch in the middle of an industrial estate just on the outskirts of Zaragoza. While checking out the Small Whites to see if any were Southern Small White (they weren’t), I spotted a Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri). I hadn’t managed any good photos the previous day, and so was delighted to get this photo.

Western Dappled White

Arriving earlier than expected there, allowed us to drop our bags off, and head out to a site up the Anso valley, just 15 minutes drive away.

Our hotel in Berdun

This proved an excellent location. Our first Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina) of the trip was seen, the loveliest of the Festoon’s in my opinion.

Spanish Festoon

Plus lots of Large Tortoiseshell. And lots of mud-puddling, including this concentration of Iberian Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthamelii).

Iberian Scarce Swallowtails

I’d visited our Berdun hotel before, during the July 2017 Naturetrek butterfly trip. The food was amazing then, and so it proved to be again six years later.

[selbypaul]

After the disappointment of the day before, Day 6’s itinery was redrawn to include the long drive to the Spanish Greenish Black-Tip (Euchloe bazae) site which had meant to be the previous day.

The change in scenery and habitat from both the Pyrenees, Albarricin area, and even the area around Zaragoza was striking. It was so much drier.

Habitat shot

That said, flowers were flowering, and our first stop allowed us good views of Western Marbled White (Melanargia occitanica).

Western Marbled White

Our second stop was a fantastic meadow nearby. It proved superb for Sooty Orange Tip (Zegris eupheme), and I achieved a much better photo than three days earlier. Also a good number of Spanish Festoons (Zerynthia rumina).

Sooty Orange Tip

Our third and final stop was our final chance for Spanish Greenish Black-Tip, and we were decreasingly hopeful given nothing seen at the first two stops of the day. Sadly, it proved to be a miss, despite 14 pairs of eyes scouring the perfect habitat for this species.

And then the long drive back to Berdun. One interesting observation was the sheer amount of insects hitting the windscreen of the van on the way back. At points it was like the sound of heavy rain drops. Not something I’d ever experienced during my lifetime in the UK, and once again a stark reminder of how nature depleted we are in the UK, compared to parts of Europe.

[selbypaul]

Day 7 was a full day spent in the valleys of the Pyrenees. Our first stop in the morning was a lush glade just north of Canfranc-Estacion. While it took a while for the butterflies to warm up and start flying, the site proved to be Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa) heaven, as we’d been tipped off by our hotel owner Peter. I’ve never managed to get closer to this species, nor take such decent photos. At least four individuals were seen.

Camberwell Beauty photo 1

Camberwell Beauty photo 2

Our second stop, for lunch, was just a little bit up the road. Here we saw more Camberwell Beauties, and I saw the only “normal” Sooty Copper (Lycaena tityrus) of the trip.

Our third and final stop of the day was a potential Spanish Fritillary (Euphydryas desfontainii) site in the Echo valley. Sadly it began to cloud over with thick cloud and threatened rain (though the rain never came). As a result, the butterflies went to ground, and we saw very little.

The Echo Valley

[selbypaul]

Day 8 was the long return drive to Valencia from Berdun. We did have time for a brief hour at the Estacion de Ski Javalambre Sabina on the way. Again, however, it was overcast, and the butterflies were not active. So we saw a limited number of species, including, surprisingly, Provence Orange Tip (Anthocharis euphenoides).

Estacion de Ski Javalambre Sabina

After dropping off most of the guests at Valencia airport, David Moore, two other guests and I, checked into a hotel near the airport, ahead of a further transit day to southern Spain.

It had been a thoroughly enjoying first week in Central and Northern Spain, with a great group of people. As ever, David Moore and Jon Dunn had been excellent guides. While we were all a little disappointed to miss out on Spanish Greenish Black-Tip, because of the early season, lots of fantastic other species were seen, including the four new species for me of Western Dappled White, Sooty Orange Tip, Black Eyed Blue and Spring Ringlet.

[selbypaul]

The first of two days between the two holidays involved a long drive from Valencia to Antequera. On the way we stopped briefly three times at service stations. We took the time to stretch our legs and inspect the verges for any butterflies. There wasn’t much flying except for the ubiquitous Small White (Pieris rapae) at any of the sites. We did, however, note the imperceptible shift, somewhere in the journey, from Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) to Southern Blue (Polyommatus celina).

We arrived at our hotel in Antequera early enough to head out for an hour of butterflying in a dry meadow just above the town.

The dry meadow above our hotel in Antequera

This proved highly productive, with Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathseba) and Western Dappled White (Euchloe crameri) being of particular note.

However, the highlight was Green Striped White (Euchloe belemia), a new species for me. Prior to arriving in Antequera, David and I believed our chances of seeing this species would be close to zero, such was the advanced season. However, on checking out the species phenology pattern, it is bivoltine, and so what we were seeing were individuals from the second generation.

Green Striped White

Back at the hotel I also found a Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli) on the pelargoniums.

[selbypaul]

The second of our two days between the two holidays was arguably the best of the whole 18 days in Spain. We started off at a location near Villanueva del Rosario. Even though we arrived early, Black Veined White’s (Aporia crataegi) were flying in very good numbers. As it warmed up, even more started flying. They really were hundreds, I’ve never seen as many in one location anywhere else on all my travels in Europe.

Site near Villanueva del Rosario, Photo 1

Site near Villanueva del Rosario, Photo 2

Mating Black Veined White

But the highlight at this site was Spanish Fritillary (Euphydryas desfontainii). We were perhaps only expecting to see one or two, but in the end I saw 8 individuals.

Spanish Fritillary

We then travelled down to Baños de la Hedionda de Casares where David had seen Two Tailed Pascha (Charaxes jasius) and Chapman’s Green Hairstreak (Callophrys avis) the previous year. While there was a lot of their larval food plant, Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo), there was no sign of the two target species. Instead I spotted a Blue Spot Hairstreak (Satyrium spini), perhaps around 4 weeks ahead of when it would be expected to be seen, indicating just how early the season was.

Blue Spot Hairstreak

Next, we drove inland. The change in scenery was a surprise. From dry conditions on the coast, it was much greener, very much reminding me of north Sicily, which I’d visited at the same time last year. The drive took much longer than expected, partly because of the winding nature of the roads, through ancient Cork Oak forests, partly because a road we intended to use on the map turned out to be a rutted forest track, and required a detour.

When we eventually arrived and got out, within five minutes we had seen two target species. Firstly I found a Sooty Orange Tip (Zegris eupheme). Then, just as I was photographing it, David spotted the main prize, Aetherie Fritillary (Melitaea aetherie). We must have seen 10 to 20 individuals of this latter species over the next hour.

Inland site

Aetherie Fritillary

Another highlight for me was Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines), which gave us some great views.

Spanish Marbled White

We then drove back to Antequera after a thoroughly enjoyable day. Spanish Fritillary and Spanish Marbled White were new species for me, and seeing Aetherie Fritillary for only the second time made for an excellent day!

[selbypaul]

Day 1 of the second Greenwings holiday began with a trip to Malaga airport, to pick up the other guests, and meet David’s co-guide for this trip, Pau Lucio.

This proved to be a long wait at the airport as one of the flights for two of the guests was significantly delayed.

That said, we were still able to leave Malaga at about 2pm, enough time to stop halfway to the first hotel of the trip on the coast for a known Desert Orange Tip (Colotis evagore) site. The location was the opposite of salubrious, with a lot of litter. However, that neglect is partly what is sustaining the Desert Orange Tip habitat, with its larval host plant, Caper, in good numbers. And, after a short wait, so was the Desert Orange Tip itself, with around 10 individuals seen.

Desert Orange Tip site, view 1

Desert Orange Tip site, view 2

Desert Orange Tip

The butterfly is much smaller than I was expecting, about two thirds the size of the normal UK Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines). Another brand new species for me!

Also seen at this site was African Grass Blue (Zizeeria knysna).

As we drove the remaining distance to our hotel in Retamar, the habitat became drier and drier. It wasn’t just parched, it was desiccated. All browns, and barely any green. Also obvious and pretty depressing was the agriculture in this area, with polytunnels as far as the eye could see blotting the landscape until we arrived in Retamar itself. Where we were staying, just to the east of Almeira wasn’t so bad, and the hotel itself was very good.

View from my hotel bedroom balcony

In front of the hotel were rows of large pelargoniums. And with it, 50+ Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli) butterflies flying madly around. I’ve never seen so many of this species.

Geranium Bronze