www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

When the UK government announced that Spain was being removed from its 'safe list', this trip didn't look to be going ahead.

However, of the 10 guests who had booked, three were from countries outside the UK (Denmark, Germany & Czech Republic) and they were not subject to any restrictions, meaning they had a right to expect to participate.

I've been working from home since March 23rd, so any quarantine wasn't going to affect me adversely, and the other guide was Spanish, from Valencia where we were flying into, so the decision was made to go ahead.

Three of the seven UK-based guests also decided to attend, so in the end there were eight pairs of eyes out in the field for a week, and here is a selection of the places visited:

Some familiar views! Looking forward to the full report!

Thanks, Paul. Yes, you'll be familiar with most of these locations, although there is a surprise or two!

David M wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 2:00 pm Thanks, Paul. Yes, you'll be familiar with most of these locations, although there is a surprise or two!

You tease!

selbypaul wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 3:30 pmYou tease!

Takes one to know one, Paul.

I'm eagerly awaiting your disclosure of a very special species from your recent Austrian trip.

One major difference this year was the presence of a Spanish co-guide. This was enormously helpful, particularly given that he lives in Valencia, which meant we were able to add a couple of new coastal sites which we otherwise would never have known of.

That meant I got to see two 'lifers', one of which caused some confusion.

We ventured to a dune site on the Valencian coast, which provided a new sort of challenge for all of us, as we had to walk, armed with cameras, via a pathway adjacent to a nudist beach!!

Our quarry was a Skipper rather than a stripper, and it didn't take long to find a couple:
My belief is that this is Gegenes nostradamus, Mediterranean Skipper, although one of the group was convinced it was pumilio, Pigmy Skipper.

A look at the Tolman guide seemed to back this up, as the female of that latter species possesses two additional golden spots near the forewing apex. However, after consulting two Iberian-based studies it was clear that pumilio has never been definitively recorded on the Spanish mainland (it has only been verified on Mallorca).

So, it was all a little confusing, and perhaps this proves that there are certain European butterfly species that require a great deal more attention.

David M wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 8:02 pm

selbypaul wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 3:30 pmYou tease!

Takes one to know one, Paul.

I'm eagerly awaiting your disclosure of a very special species from your recent Austrian trip.

I keep getting distracted by work! Sorry

Mediterranean Skipper! That's one I still need to see!

I am sorry to tell you David, that the skipper is still a Pigmy Skipper, I have attached a picture of the same animal from another angle, and put in 2 line, no 1 shows the costal spots, no 2 shows the obscure pale spots, I have also attached a picture of the Mediterranean Skipper, taken near the Pigmy Skipper so you clearly can see the difference in the ground colour

There's obviously a lot of misleading information in the books about nostrodamus and pumilio! I've just come back from southern Spain, where I was watching what I am sure were nostrodamus - and some did, indeed, have faint costal spots on the underside forewing. None showed the famous 'long cilia-like hairs' on the hindwing, or at least not anything like the picture in Tolman. I was confident they were still nostrodamus and David seemed to confirm this by telling me there were no pumilio in mainland Spain. Back in the UK, I've checked Kudrna and he also has no pumilio for Spain. I think David's pictures show nostrodamus, but I would be very happy to learn more.

John - I don't fully understand your points. The second picture you post - a female - looks like nostrodamus to me, especially in the ground colour - but if I read you correctly, you are calling it pumilio. I think the costal marking thing mentioned in Tolman might be a red herring - I have photographs of nostrodamus with costal markings and there are also plenty on the web.

Guy

Guy, yes you were reading me right, I called it pumilio, when I saw it, I was convinced that it was too dark to be nostrodamus, BUT I have now compared the picture, against my pumilio pictures from Crete, and I must admit that this one, is more uniform coloured than the pumilio I have from Crete, so yes this one is a female nostrodamus, sorry . But about the distribution I must say there is a lot of confusing : Kudrna, Lafranchis says no, but Tshikolovets, Tolman, Leraut and Tari Haahtela shows on their distribution maps, that it is present in that region of Spain ??

I must say this is the first real criticism I have for the Tolman guide.

The illustration for female nostradamus on page 349 does NOT depict the spots I have marked in red in the image below, yet it DOES for pumilio:
Like John, my first instinct was that it had to be pumilio, but the idea that the first ever definitive recording of this species on mainland Spain could be accomplished as easily as having half a dozen tourists park their vehicle in a seaside car park and find it after a mere two minute walk seemed unthinkable.

A look at other web images of female nostradamus (and there aren't many) DO show these same spots, which makes me wonder whether the venerable Mr Lewington who illustrated the book was given the wrong specimen!!

Browning's book, Butterflies of the Iberian Peninsula states that nostradamus females are "extremely elusive..", so I suppose we should just be grateful for finding one!

David M wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 1:42 pm ... the idea that the first ever definitive recording of this species on mainland Spain could be accomplished as easily as having half a dozen tourists park their vehicle in a seaside car park and find it after a mere two minute walk seemed unthinkable...

A bit different from my Spanish experience, David. My iPhone logged me for 42.1 km walking on Friday, and claimed I burnt a total of 5332 calories. And it didn't know I was carrying spare boots and 4.5 litres of liquid (at the beginning). That's why I don't lead tour groups!

Guy

I think these issues were predicted in 1555.

Roger

Roger Gibbons wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 1:58 pm I think these issues were predicted in 1555.

The complete works are here: https://zelalemkibret.files.wordpress.c ... adamus.pdf. No mention of skippers, sadly (but then again, there's no mention of Hitler or America ...).

Guy

Padfield wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 2:10 pm
The complete works are here: https://zelalemkibret.files.wordpress.c ... adamus.pdf. No mention of skippers, sadly (but then again, there's no mention of Hitler or America ...).

....nor coronavirus, presumably?

Guy, if I marched my guests 40km in a single day I'd probably kill a few of them! I usually average 15,000 steps per day when I'm away so it's still good exercise.

David M wrote: ↑Mon Aug 10, 2020 6:39 am Guy, if I marched my guests 40km in a single day I'd probably kill a few of them! I usually average 15,000 steps per day when I'm away so it's still good exercise.

The hope of the exploratory Austria trip I'm currently part way through writing up was that it may be possible to do a walking only trip, with no need for a minibus. Having done 15+ mile days mile days every day, up and down steep hillsides, as a fit and active 38 year old, I can firmly conclude that if the trip is ever run again, a minibus will be needed!

That doesn't surprise me, Paul. Having a private vehicle also gives you more autonomy. You couldn't exactly jump off the train if you suddenly saw alexanor, for instance!

My other 'lifer' was also seen near the coast, or, to be more accurate, a series of humid paddy fields south of Valencia.

Here's an image of the habitat:
There were precious few butterflies here; just two Clouded Yellows, a Small White, and three of the species we'd come to look for - African Grass Blue:
These tiny butterflies are extremely hard to follow in flight, and the afternoon heat meant that they were keeping their wings shut. The only view I got of the upperside was when this one flew just as I was pressing the shutter on my camera:
My co-guide is an experienced birder and also knows his dragonflies. He pointed out some interesting ones, including Glossy Ibis, Black Winged Stilt and White Stork amongst the birds and several dazzling dragonflies, although it was this less colourful one that caught my eye:
This is brachythemis impartita, aka the Northern Banded Groundling. Its behaviour was fascinating; it remains close to the ground and enjoys settling in your shadow. There were plenty of them about and you had to be careful when walking as they had a habit of flying around your feet.

David M wrote: ↑Sun Aug 09, 2020 1:42 pm ...the idea that the first ever definitive recording of this species on mainland Spain could be accomplished as easily as having half a dozen tourists park their vehicle in a seaside car park and find it after a mere two minute walk seemed unthinkable.

This is exactly how new species usually turn up! I once photographed a dragonfly hanging around the quayside whilst shopping for souvenirs in a Maltese street market. Many years later, I reviewed the photos, realised what it was, and it turned out to be the first record of a species now well-established on the island.

I don't disagree, Chris, but there is a huge difference between relatively small islands and large mainland countries where there are a fair few people actively recording butterfly species.

If anything new is to be recorded in Spain, it is likely to be a species that has managed to cross the 7 mile strait of Gibraltar for the first time. Monarch and Zeller's Skipper, to name but two, have managed to do this but if there ARE still populations of pumilio on Mallorca, a natural migration to mainland Spain is highly unlikely simply due to the distance between the two in terms of flight over a large expanse of water.

I'm sure if there were only 7 miles between Calais and Britin, the UK would have far more than the paltry 59 species it currently has.