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Plain Tiger 9.3.2017.

Plain Tiger in the dry river bed area, 9th March 2017.
Russ

Poor internet, pictures and brief comments at the moment.
Russ

All the following b/f's were seen on the Sierra De Irta on the 10th March 2017.
Russ

10th March 2017.

10th March 2017, Sa. De Irta.

Sierra De Irta, 10th March 2017.

10th March 2017.

Hi Russ,

Nice species, especially the plain tiger...
Your orange wasp is an Anthidium - usually very active especially around flowers in blossom waiting for females and defending their territory against any intruders. Your interesting bug could be a rainbow beetle but not sure, if yes then it is a nice find.
Sylvie

Thanks for the images of the Panoptes Blue, Spanish Festoon and Black-eyed Blue, Russ.
You certainly are benefitting from your late-winter holidays this year.
Glad you are now a fully signed up member of the LSTB female uppersides club.
Do I detect a desire for permanent residence in Spain ?
Chris

Your Spanish festoon is a beautiful, deep ochre colour - presumably f. canteneri. I've never seen this form in the parts of Spain I visit.

Guy

Agreed. The rumina is positively glowing.

Wikipedia refers to it thus:

...orange aberration of both sexes which is frequent in Morocco but occasionally appears in warmer parts of south Spain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zerynthia_rumina

Hi Sylvie, thanks for the wasp and beetle ID's and you kind comments.
Russ

Cheers Chris, Yes I'm finally in the LSTB female club now but I don't fancy the heat of Spain in summer, I just hate cold damp winters, like you I think?
Russ

Thanks Guy for comments and the ID of the f.canteneri, I just thought it was a dark female, I didn't realise it was something "special/different", It was the first Spanish Festoon I have seen in a couple of years.
I saw another Spanish Festoon yesterday(18.3.17.) again in the Sierra De Irta about 800 metres from where I found the f.canteneri, this one looks completely different with a lot more black than a "normal". What do you think Guy?
Russ

Cheers David for your comments.
Russ

That one looks a whole lot different, Russ, but this species does fade remarkably during its life span.

10th March 2017 cont'd.
Photo's, report to follow.
Russ

Report from last photo's, 10th March 2017.
In the afternoon we moved to the Hermitage, a little church on a hilltop overlooking ALCOSSEBRE, here we found 10's of butterflies circling just below the church, Swallowtails, Walls, Blues and Whites. The Whites including Western Dappled a "lifer" for me.
Russ

Wednesday 15th March 2017. Sunny 17C
A quick visit to the scrub, south of our campsite, produced Small Copper, Large White, Green Hairstreak, Holly Blue and a mating pair of Speckled Wood.

Russ

Thursday 16th March 2017. 19C Sunny.
On a 9mile hike with our camp's walking group in the Sierra De Irta region, I saw 4+ Cleopatra, 5+ Provence Orange-Tip, 4+ Red Admiral, Black-eyed Blues, Panoptes Blue, Wall Brown and Speckled Wood, as we walked up a dry stream bed on to high hill tops and down again, to almost see level, 6 hours of hard fast walking(I don't know why I do it)
Needless to say no pics of any of the above.
Russ

Wow, somehow I have missed your last few posts. What a fantastic variety of butterflies you have been seeing. I am now longing to go back to Spain!!