Holiday to Tenerife part 1
Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 1:23 pm
Dear UKB'ers
Some of you may remember back in 2011 that I took a family holiday to Tenerife and did a three part posting on the butterflies and other wildlife seen. Back then I saw 10 species (confirmed) with 6 photographed. I was hoping to do better this time in particular to get a shot of the Monarch … often seen but difficult to capture on camera.
This July, we had repeat holiday split between two locations, the first Club Marina being the same as in 2011 whilst the second Sunningdale village was probably better as a resort but less rewarding on the insect front. As in 2011, I was determined to spend as little time as possible around the pool and as much as possible exploring the natural environment.
On my first morning in our new apartment I got up early for the view of the sunrise from our balcony overlooking the sea. I was aware of a slight tickling sensation on my leg and moved my hand down to brush it away. As soon as I did I clicked as to what it was
and looked down to see a medium sized American Cockroach nymph on the floor
. Periplaneta americana are common on the island and a holiday nasty if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing. Desperate to remove it before the missus found out I looked for a glass and paper to capture and eject. Unfortunately it was so quick and ‘slippery’ and it escaped in the living room. In the end I was forced to give up trying to catch it and resort to pan B ….plimsole … wallop wallop
… Wallop wallop wallop .. .they take some walloping to neutralise these roaches. (don’t like killing things but it’s probably less painful than the missus railing in a complaint to the management). We never got another one after that … well not at the first place anyway.
At the first opportunity I took off down to the rocky area close to the beach, continuously scanning the ground for insects but having to dodge the numerous dog turds that litter Tenerife’s ‘waste ground’
(but thankfully bake solid in the climate). There are dogs everywhere in Tenerife mostly the curious little yappy variety and my activity of hanging around with my camera pointing to the ground attracted some funny looks from their owners too. There were lots of large grasshoppers blending into the ground and only noticeable when they’d take off from under your feet. A search for the charismatic Galotia Galoti lizards however proved fruitless.
After a while I ‘set up stall’ around the same area where I’d seen the Argiope trifasciata wasp spider in 2011. There were plenty of spiders webs belonging to (I think) the Tent web spider Cyrtophora citricola but no Argiopes.
Other insects congregated around the area taking their lives into their hands because of the spider traps because the plants growing in the lea of slight shade afforded by a block of flats were relatively lusher and in flower. On the rocky ground were short fleshy-leaved ground cover succulents of the Crassulaceae family and amongst them were a few little butterflies darting about. These were African Grass Blues Zizeeria knyshna, their plain undersides blending in well with the plants and sandy brown rocks. Slow to settle and easy to set off they proved difficult to photo.
The next little butterfly though not as plentiful proved to be a bit easier to photo:- the Geranium Bronze
. In 2011 this was a frequent visitor to the lanterna plants in the resort garden but not so this time and I didn’t encounter elsewhere as frequently as I thought I might
.
In 2011 I found the most noticeable and perhaps the commonest butterfly in Tenerife was the Bath White (Whites do tend to stand out). However on this occasion it took some time for the species to put in an appearance and for one to settle down long enough to get a shot or two
.
As I scanned the opuntias bordering the lush zone hoping to espy a Long-tailed blue, a flash of orange caught my eye … a Small copper (at last
) Those who read my 2011 postings may recall I had an unconfirmed sighting in the Teide National park and my Basil Fawlty-esque cursing to the passing car which had set it off before I could make the ID
. This time no problem, definitely Small Copper. Perhaps it should be named “Not so Small Copper” as it was noticeably larger than the ones I’ve seen in England (but definitely Lycaena phlaes as this is the only endemic species of copper on the island (please correct me if I’m wrong))
As well as Butterflies and Spiders the lush zone had patrolling wasps, one type which looked similar to our Vespa species but with obvious dangling hind legs. I watch one of these approach and land on small shrub by the opuntias. It seemed to be looking at something
. Then I spotted about 8 inches from it was an African Grass Blue butterfly which was making agitated flicking motions with its wings but otherwise remaining stationary. The wasp responded by going straight in and seizing the butterfly
. Nature in tooth and claw.
I subsequently identified the wasp as a European paper wasp Polistes dominula. So less than 24 hours into the holiday and four butterfly species seen in one little area. Not a bad spot and only a small jaunt away from the resort
.
The following day I was glad to be back on my old stomping ground but this time took the opportunity to climb a steep hill ….. do some exercise ….. try and lose some weight, you know that sort of thing
. I was able to persuade my youngest, Isabella to come and join me as she likes a challenge once in a while. The climb was very steep on gravelly rocks but the view from the top of the coastline and the habitations around “Costa Silencio” was well worth the effort. On the climb up I was able to get reasonably close to a Berthelot’s Pipet which seem to be common on this part of the island and also not so close to a Common Kestrel which are also common on the island.
We soon got back to the hot-spot and I was able to pursue some more butterflies. African Grass Blues absorbed most of my attention but also a little moth which was flying amongst opuntias and amazingly avoiding getting trapped in the spiders webs. The moth I think is the Beet moth Spoladea recurvalis whose main distribution is in the tropical belt but it turns up in the UK too.
As it was getting close to Lunch I headed back to the resort. There on a garden lantern flower was my fifth species a Small White. Others were seen on the same day but the photos turned out bleached. This general overexposure was an intermittent problem throughout the holiday due to the aperture not shutting down properly in the Tamron Lens
After lunch and a swim it was back out again for more grass blues
The following day and it was back for a walk up the hill. On the way over I managed to snap one of the little darter dragonflies often seen around the waste-ground area. These darters Sympetrum fonscolombii or Red-veined Darter later on proved to be very common and lovely to see and photo in their various shades of reds and yellows
On the other side of the hill was a depression with a sandy bottom and some plants sheltered by a rock ridge. I figured the ground might be less arid and support plants that may attract butterflies and perhaps other wildlife
.
The ground was tough going (wear proper walking boots for this terrain) but it turned out to be rewarding as I followed a female Bath White pre-occupied with egg-laying
. The plant she oviposited on looked nothing more than dried sticks
. I assume the eggs remain dormant until the rains come (in the winter months?) and the plants spring into life
Taking a different route back to the resort I was greeted with a familiar sound of home (Surrey), …. the raucous call of the Ring-necked Parakeet or Rose-ringed parakeet (this one in a palm tree). Just about every bird in the Canaries has its own sub-specific status but I don’t think that is the case with these fellas .. they’re tuning up everywhere.
Finally at the Club Marina gardens I was able to get my best shot to date of an African Grass Blue actually showing a bit of blue
More to follow (much) leter
Phil
Some of you may remember back in 2011 that I took a family holiday to Tenerife and did a three part posting on the butterflies and other wildlife seen. Back then I saw 10 species (confirmed) with 6 photographed. I was hoping to do better this time in particular to get a shot of the Monarch … often seen but difficult to capture on camera.
This July, we had repeat holiday split between two locations, the first Club Marina being the same as in 2011 whilst the second Sunningdale village was probably better as a resort but less rewarding on the insect front. As in 2011, I was determined to spend as little time as possible around the pool and as much as possible exploring the natural environment.
On my first morning in our new apartment I got up early for the view of the sunrise from our balcony overlooking the sea. I was aware of a slight tickling sensation on my leg and moved my hand down to brush it away. As soon as I did I clicked as to what it was
![Idea :idea:](./images/smilies/icon_idea.gif)
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
![Question :?:](./images/smilies/icon_question.gif)
![Surprised :o](./images/smilies/icon_surprised.gif)
![Mad :x](./images/smilies/icon_mad.gif)
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Surprised :o](./images/smilies/icon_surprised.gif)
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Evil or Very Mad :evil:](./images/smilies/icon_evil.gif)
![Surprised :o](./images/smilies/icon_surprised.gif)
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
I subsequently identified the wasp as a European paper wasp Polistes dominula. So less than 24 hours into the holiday and four butterfly species seen in one little area. Not a bad spot and only a small jaunt away from the resort
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
The following day I was glad to be back on my old stomping ground but this time took the opportunity to climb a steep hill ….. do some exercise ….. try and lose some weight, you know that sort of thing
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
![Crying or Very sad :cry:](./images/smilies/icon_cry.gif)
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Idea :idea:](./images/smilies/icon_idea.gif)
The ground was tough going (wear proper walking boots for this terrain) but it turned out to be rewarding as I followed a female Bath White pre-occupied with egg-laying
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Phil