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We will be going on our family holiday to Alora, north west of Malaga in July. Has anyone any idea what I may see (butterfly-wise) and any good places to go and look for them? I remember Guy was in the Malaga area last year, but I can't find his posts about it.
My previous experiences of southern Spain make me think that earlier in the year is better than later, but maybe if I head up into the hills a bit...?

Hi Nick,

The posts from Guy are in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=4378

Cheers

Lee

I also posted from Málaga in my diary, here:

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4872&start=100

If you are interested, PM me and I'll PM back the sites I found exploring on foot from Málaga. I'd be interested myself to know what they yield in July.

I've not visited that precise region in high summer, though I did live in Gibraltar for a couple of Julies (is that the plural of July?). In July 1983 I camped with friends from Gibraltar in the Sierra Nevada, where I found plenty of interesting things, including the really white, southern forms of Spanish chalkhill blue, dusky heaths, tree graylings &c. I lay out one night on the hills (bitterly cold!), listening to scops owls - one of which I saw quite well as dawn broke.

Guy

Thank you Lee and Guy. Some lovely butterfly pictures there.

My wife and I are travelling to Malaga on 19 March 2012 to visit one of our sons who lives in Algeciras. Any suggestions about places to see butterflies would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Ian

Some good species will be easy to find almost anywhere wild around Málaga - things like Spanish festoon, green-striped white, long-tailed blue. Others are more local - Provence hairstreak and African grass blue, for example. It rather depends on how much time/energy/transport you have. If you have time for a proper hill walk I can PM you details of where I went last year, though I suspect any random walk would be as successful.

I have often stayed in dirt cheap hostales in Algeciras. It is a short bus ride from there to Gibraltar and a short ferry trip to Tangiers. For some species, Gibraltar is particularly early - notably for Spanish festoons, which I have seen in February there. Provence hairstreak flies locally on the Rock too, and Provence orange tips will be a common sight there by 19th March.

Guy

Nick,
Gibraltar is well worth visiting if you are in Andalucia in July. You'll be going at a similiar time to my thread already listed earlier, and may see Two-Tailed Pasha and Monarchs at or near to the Gibraltar Gardens.

The rest of the terrain was quite dry in Southern Spain when we visited, but a good spot is the 'Canuta de la Utrera' Gorge on the way to Sierra Crestellina on the A-377. There space for parking for about 2 vehicles right by the roadside with a map on a wooden sign showing you the route to the gorge as per my thread. If you get past the windfarms travelling North to Sierra Crestellina then you have gone too far. This was one of the few good spots where you could still see wildflowers just before the mouth of the gorge with plenty of butterflies and also passing birds of prey. Ref: 36°24'38.40"N 5°16'53.66"W

I wish I was going back, but my plans are already made for this year

Michael

Michaeljf wrote:my plans are already made for this year

Bulgaria?

David M wrote:Bulgaria?

David,
Bulgaria and South Africa (not in that order). For the South Africa trip, for a somewhat necessary change, I'll be going with Naturetrek. For the Bulgaria trip I've actually found my own spot of paradise that I'm hoping will pay dividends (but you never know...) frankly, I'm looking forward to seeing some sun again! Or rather, I'm desperate to see some sun again..

Michael

Guy, I saw a very fresh-looking Spanish Festoon in the last few days of December 2011, not too far from Malaga. Is this likely to be an exceptionally early date or an exceptionally late one?

Michaeljf wrote:For the South Africa trip, for a somewhat necessary change, I'll be going with Naturetrek.

Is that a birding trip? Where are you going?

I went to SA 10 years ago (drove cross country from Capetown to Pietermaritzburg) and the scenery was superb (and the prices of goods even better!)

Matsukaze wrote:Guy, I saw a very fresh-looking Spanish Festoon in the last few days of December 2011, not too far from Malaga. Is this likely to be an exceptionally early date or an exceptionally late one?

Tschikolovets notes: "Partial second brood in September-November in coastal areas of the region of Andalusia (Granada, Málaga provinces)".

Last year was exceptional for late broods of many species in Switzerland, with butterflies flying here until 11th December and some species putting in anomalous third broods. I guess that your butterfly properly belonged in the autumn. My experience is that when you see the odd butterfly in late December or early January it is usually a hanger-on from the previous season, that maybe emerged and then was forced to go torpid by adverse weather. If it got cold in mid-December, when a late second-brood festoon might emerge, and then warmed up briefly at the end of December, that could explain your butterfly.

But individuals do sometimes simply get it wrong. I've seen green hairstreak in October...

Guy

Michaeljf wrote:Nick,
Gibraltar is well worth visiting if you are in Andalucia in July. You'll be going at a similiar time to my thread already listed earlier, and may see Two-Tailed Pasha and Monarchs at or near to the Gibraltar Gardens.

The rest of the terrain was quite dry in Southern Spain when we visited, but a good spot is the 'Canuta de la Utrera' Gorge on the way to Sierra Crestellina on the A-377. There space for parking for about 2 vehicles right by the roadside with a map on a wooden sign showing you the route to the gorge as per my thread. If you get past the windfarms travelling North to Sierra Crestellina then you have gone too far. This was one of the few good spots where you could still see wildflowers just before the mouth of the gorge with plenty of butterflies and also passing birds of prey. Ref: 36°24'38.40"N 5°16'53.66"W

I wish I was going back, but my plans are already made for this year

Michael

Thanks, Michael, for the tips. I will look out the Canuta de la Utrera Gorge on a map. I am really looking forward to the sun as well and I am guessing that if I travel inland and up into the hills I may see more. Gibraltar should go down well with the family, so could be on the cards.
Your trips sound very exciting. My wife chooses our holiday destinations, so the butterflies come as a bonus. I am going to have a bit more say about future holidays, I think!!
Nick

Thanks Guy. It was very sunny and warm for the end of December (though haven't been in the area often enough to say how typical that might have been).

padfield wrote:Tschikolovets notes: "Partial second brood in September-November in coastal areas of the region of Andalusia (Granada, Málaga provinces)".

Certainly meets with my experience; I've seen the butterfly in October within the Malaga city limits (that said, I have seen this butterfly only four times, in February, June, October and December...I am beginning to wonder if it is continuously-brooded!)

One year I must get there in the spring, at a time a bit more favourable for butterflies than October - early February.