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Moroccan butterflies
Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:38 pm
by Essex Bertie
Just returned from a week's coach tour of Morocco. Despite consistent afternoon temperatures in the mid to high twenties, I was surprised that I saw less than 20 butterflies all week. About a dozen whites, 2 Painted Ladies at the roman ruins near Meknes. A Moroccan Hairstreak here also and another near Beni-Mellal. On the north edge of the mid-Atlas range (750m) an unidentified blue that was no bigger than a Small Blue and had a dark upperside glimpsed in flight. Any help with I.D. would be appreciated. Also, surprised to see another larger Lycaenid (no photo) on the edge of the Medina, Marrakech.
Does anyone know how I might record these sightings, please?
![0962-PL_resize.jpg (298.13 KiB) Viewed 469 times Painted Lady](./files/thumb_10105_a997b2f21166f6fa261da689f36b5744)
- Painted Lady
![1598 - Moro Hairstreak_resize.jpg (304.47 KiB) Viewed 469 times Tomares mauretanicus (Moroccan Hairstreak)](./files/thumb_10105_4328e85a72ba7ed0596532c3f7b6b6b7)
- Tomares mauretanicus (Moroccan Hairstreak)
![1977 Mor blue_resize.jpg (280.14 KiB) Viewed 469 times unidentified Lycaenid](./files/thumb_10105_a76ae24d8f46d42161b70f09359853a5)
- unidentified Lycaenid
Rob
Re: Moroccan butterflies
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 11:15 am
by David M
Hi Rob, great that you saw mauretanicus. I shall be visiting Morocco in May and hope to see this species along with a few of the other endemics.
As for your lycaenid, I've looked through Tarrier's excellent book, Les Papillons de Jour du Maroc and can only really reconcile it with an extremely faded zizeeria knysna. The female of this species is a charcoal colour on the upperside, although this is a very small butterfly and you state it was larger than the Moroccan Hairstreak you saw, so that may rule out knysna.
Re: Moroccan butterflies
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 11:39 am
by Padfield
Sorry - I forgot to reply earlier.
Yes, this is definitely
knysna. I think Rob indicated that the larger Lycaenid got away.
The strength of markings on
knysna is quite variable. Extremes I have seen are from ...
... to
Guy
Re: Moroccan butterflies
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:02 pm
by Essex Bertie
Hi David & Guy,
Thanks very much for your replies. Great that you could identify the knysna, thank you. Just to clarify, it was possibly the smallest butterfly that I've seen. No larger that C. minimus that I've rarely witnessed.
Good luck David, with your expedition. I found it a beautiful country.
I've got accurate grid references for these sightings, so I'll keep them by. Maybe a Moroccan recording scheme will emerge in the future.
Rob
Re: Moroccan butterflies
Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 7:47 pm
by David M
Apologies, Rob. I'm guilty of 'skim reading' your original post.
Glad that Guy could confirm. Now I know the insect was very small I really don't see what else it could have been.
Re: Moroccan butterflies
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2020 1:45 pm
by Essex Bertie
Hi David,
Thanks for your reply. Glad that you agree.
best wishes
Rob