Sierra Nevada, a paradise for nature photographers

One of the interesting phenomena of the Sierra Nevada are the insects inhabiting the high peak areas. According to an article on the Fauna de Sierra Nevada on the website of Waste Ideal, there are possibly about five thousand species of invertebrates of which more than a hundred are endemic to this mountain range. A few days ago we took the microbus up from Capileira the Mirador de Trevélez (2,650m) and enjoyed taking pictures of the flora and fauna in the vicinity of this viewpoint. We wandered about on the boggy pastures or borreguiles of the Barranco del Postercuelo and the Barranco del Peñon Negro above the dirt track going to the Refugio de Poquiera. The Estrella de las Nieves immediately caught our eye and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of Apollos, Fritallaries and colonies of Silver-studded blues. We saw one Plebejus Argus being caught in a spider web. We came across a longhorned beetle, Iberodorcadion lorquini, and and a ´smiling´ grasshopper. While walking cross-country up through pebbled terrain we saw many endemic plants, like the Sierra Nevada violet and a black beetle called Pimelia monticola. We followed the Pista de Capileira (antigua carretera de Sierra Nevada) back to the Mirador de Trevélez and photographed a Baetica ustulata holding on to a flower of the Jurinea humilis and an Eumigus rubioi, an endemic wingless grasshopper, enjoying his lunch. A Silver-studded Blue was comparting a flower of the Reseda complicata with a couple of interesting looking insects. While we still had some time left before the microbus would take us back, we climbed up the Alto del Chorrillo, an excellent watch out point with a large ruined building that was used to store supplies in the Civil War. Our selection of photographs of Monday the 25th of July shows that if you´re interested in nature photography in the high peak area, but don´t want to walk for hours, taking the microbus up from Capileira to the Mirador de Trevélez is an excellent alternative. On the way back somebody showed us his inspiring pictures of beautiful flowers, mountain goats and birds. At that moment we were confirmed in the thought that the higher zones of the Sierra Nevada is a paradise for nature photographers, especially in this time of the year.