Satyrus actea or Black Satyr

A butterfly that has caught our attention on recent walks is the Black Satyr. According to the online magazine Waste Ideal, there have been cited two subspecies of this ´Negra´ in Sierra Nevada, namely Satyrus actaea subsp nevadensis and the Satyrus actaea subs podarcina. It does not mention in what ways these two subspecies differ, except that the first one flies at higher altitudes. As we mentioned in our article on the ´High route to Trevélez in High summer´ we saw the Satyrus actaea flying in large numbers on the slopes of the Peña de los Papos, only every now and then resting on a stone. On our new route ´Trevélez por el Horcajo´ we saw them close to streams, acequias and barrancos feeding on ragworts, mint and thistles. Like the Parnassius Apollo nevadensis, Pseudochazara hippolyte and the Erebia hispana, this is a butterfly that is being monitored by the Observatorio Cambio Global de Sierra Nevada. Of these four species, it is this Black Satyr that we sight in largest numbers.



Related key words: papilio actaea, actaeon, hipparchia actaea, petite coronide, kleine saterzandoog, vlinder, butterfly, schmetterling, papillon, nymphalidae, satyrinae, satíridos, satyridae, satyrinae, natuurreis, vlinderreis, nature holiday, turismo de naturaleza

Maniola jurtina or Meadow Brown

The Maniola jurtina or Meadow Brown is one of the more common European butterflies and on the terrain of  casa rural El Paraje it is well represented as well. It´s Spanish name is Loba and in Dutch Bruin zandoogje. Last week we took a photograph looking one in the eyes and today we were lucky to take a picture of two of them together. We also found out that the one on the last photograph that is somewhat brighter orange, is actually considered a subspecies. According to Matt Rowling this subspecies called Maniola jurtina hispulla flies in Spain, North Africa and southeren France. He writes that it has orange markings in the underside hindwing post discal band.







Related links: ´Butterflies sighted at El Paraje´, album of photos on our facebook page

Related key words: epinephele splendida, papilio hispulla, große ochsenauge, myrtil, ninfálidos, nymphalidés, edelfalter, vlinder, schmetterling, papillon, satyrinae, satíridos, sayridae, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, stappen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen, turismo de naturaleza, natuurvakantie, natuurreis, butterfly holiday 

Pyronia bathseba or Spanish Gatekeeper

This last week we have seen a fairly large number of Pyronia batshebas on different parts of the finca, in general skulking low down about entwined twigs and branches of scrub. Today we encountered a cooperative one posing on a flower just above the house. According to the drawing of the Spaans oranje zandoogje on the website of the Soortenbank we photographed a male Pyronia bathseba. In Spanish this butterfly is called Lobito listado. The white stripe on the underside hindwing is distinctive for this Spanish gatekeeper and it has an orange upperside with broad brown borders. Larvae feed on Brachypodium grasses, tussock or bunch grasses that grow abundantly on our terrain. Apart from the Iberian Peninsula, this butterfly can be seen in North Africa and across southern France as well.





Related links: ´Butterflies sighted at El Paraje´, album of photos on our facebook page

Related key words: l'ocellé rubané, tityre, ninfálidos, nymphalidés, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, stappen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Melitaea didyma or Spotted Fritillary

The Spotted Fritillary is a very variable butterfly and it is said that the underside is the best means of identification. As we have no photographs of the underside yet, we consulted Matt Rowlings. The Spotted Fritillary can be found on his excellent website on European butterflies.
He wrote that he considered the changes in colouration of our ´Spotted Frit´ within the normal range and that it looks like a female judging by the rounded abdomen. We took this photograph of the Melitaea didyma last Monday, an excellent day for butterfly watching. In a few hours we spotted a number of species we had not seen on the finca before like the Spanish Marbled White.



Related links: ´Butterflies sighted at El Paraje´, album of photos on our facebook page

Related key words: doncella tímida, red-band fritillary, tweekleurige parelmoervlinder, la mélitée orangée, damier orangé, didymaeformia didyma, rote scheckenfalter, edelfalter, ninfálidos, nymphalidés, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Melanargia Ines or Spanish Marbled White

Quite often we see the Spanish Marbled White on our walks and quite recently also on our own finca close to the Barranquilla de Agua. Today we were lucky enough to take a photograph of this Melanargia inés, a species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It is said to be quite common in southern Spain and Portugal. According to the butterfly-guide.co.uk, the brown ocelli on the underside hindwing of this Spanish Marbled White separates this from other Marbled whites.
Its larvae feed on various grasses and on the text of this butterfly on Waste Magazine it is said that this Medioluto Inés flies in May and June. For our Dutch readers we would like to mention that it is called Moors dambordje.



Related key words:  échiquier des almoravides, ninfálidos, nymphalidés,mariposa, vlinders, schmetterling, tagfalter, familie der edelfalter, B&B, alpujarras, sierra nevada

Zerynthia rumina or Spanish Festoon

The Zerynthia rumina or Spanish Festoon is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. In Spanish this charming butterfly is known as ´Arlequín´. Its flight period is from March to May, but in Andalucía a second breed in autumn is not uncommon. Articles and reports consider this butterfly’s existence in Spain threatened on the basis of global warming theories.
This morning we came across an interesting article on a Spanish Festoon survey in Cala Higuera in Cabo de Gata and Busquístar in the Alpujarra. One of the observations is: "is interesting to note the variation in colour saturation and pattern. The differences are quite wide and don’t match illustrations of gender difference. Perhaps the wings are not fully expanded on the Alpujarra specimen? The sites are 115Km apart and at very different altitudes (40 m Higuera and 900-1000 m Busquistar."
The larval food plant of the Zerynthian rumina are different of Aristolochia species and because of the rarity of larval food, the Spanish Festoon are not common. Aristolochia baetica is an evergreen climber that can be found along the GR-7 footpath between Montenegro and Mecina Bombarón, it is therefor not surprising that one guests photographed this extremely striking species on their walk from Yegen to El Paraje at the beginning of April. From now on we will pay better attention to the Dutchman´s pipe, which perfectly explains the Dutch name of this butterfly, namely ´Spaanse pijpbloemvlinder´.
PS On the 10th of April 2011 we did see a Spanish Festoon on our estate, but were not able to get a good picture.



Related key words: mariposa arlequín, westlicher osterluzeifalter, spanische osterluzeifalter, proserpine, pages, grote pages, papilionidae, papillon, famille des papilionida, vlinders, mariposas butterflies, schmetterlinge, famille de lépidoptère, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, wanderung, B&B, hotel, hostal, hostel, bérchules, trektocht, hiking, trekking, standplaats vakantie, wandelvakanties, holiday, urlaub, vacances, GR7

Colias alfacariensis or Berger's Clouded Yellow

A couple of days ago we took this photograph of this Colias alfacariensis or Berger´s Clouded Yellow (we think) close to the wall of our large terrace. They say that the Berger´s Clouded Yellow is very difficult to distinguish from the Pale Clouded yellow (Colias hyale). The only thing we go by is comparing pictures and reading about the differences. The Berger’s Clouded Yellow was identified as a distinct species from the Pale Clouded Yellow in 1945 and is named after the Belgian entomologist, L.A. Berger, who made this discovery. This species is considered one of the rarest migrants to the British Isles. In the Netherlands is has been sighted only nine times in the past century, according on the information on this Zuidelijke Luzernevlinder on Vlindernet.nl. On the Guía de Mariposas of the online Waste magazine only the Colias alfacariensis (´Colias de Berger´ in Spanish) is mentioned, would be interesting to know whether this is because this one is the only one sighted in Andalucía.



Related key words: pieridae, piéridos, witjes, weißlinge, gelblinge, coliadinae, dwaalgast, wanderfalter, zuidelijke luzernevlinder, hufeisenklee-gelbling, südliche heufalter, hufeisenkleeheufalter, federfühler-herbstspanner, fluoré, jumeaux, soufré austral, vlinder, schmetterling, B&B, bérchules, alpujarra, sierra nevada, andalusië, andalusia

Vanessa atalanta or Red Admiral

This week we discovered a small corner on our finca that seems to be particularly popular with butterflies. Our white arrow route passes this sheltered spot before you start walking northwards. We visited this ´butterfly corner´ a number of times and saw different types of Whites (Pieridae), an abundant number of Old World Swallowtails, Scarce Swallowtails and the Vanessa atalanta. At first we did not see this Red Admiral (´Vulcana´ or ´Numerada´ in Spanish) butterfly of the Nymphalidae family rest for a single moment. Yesterday it was later in the afternoon and finally one of them decided to have a little break for a moment. Like the Vanessa cardui or Painted Lady it is a migratory butterfly that will fly north later on in spring, maybe to our native country where this ´Atalanta´ is one of the most widespread species.





Related links: 
- Guia de Mariposas on the online magazine Waste Ideal

Related key words: vanesa, almirante rojo, admiraal, admiraalvlinder, ninfálidos, nymphalidés, familie der edelfalter, vulcain, papilio atalanta, pyrameis ammiralis, vulcano, mariposa migratoria, trekvlinder, vlinders, B&B, alpujarras, sierra nevada

Anthocharis euphenoides subsp andalusica or Morocco Orange Tip

Sunday afternoon while walking down our own dirt track enjoying the last moments of sun, we were lucky to photograph a female ´orange tip´ that we had not seen on our finca before. To find the names of new butterflies we always first consult the online magazine of Waste Ideal. Looking at photographs on this website an flora and fauna in Andalusia, we now think that the one we saw is an Anthocharis euphenoides subsp andalusica, a butterfly in the Pieridae family. Another name is mentioned between brackets: Anthocharis belia euphenoides Staudinger, 1869. The Spanish names given on this website are ´Aurora meridional´ or ´Bandera española´ and the English name ´Moroccan Orange Tip´. It apparantly closely resembles to the Provence Orange Tip (Anthocharis euphenoides). In an article on the Provence (Moroccan) Orange Tip by Matt Rowlings from his website dedicated to European Butterflies, we can read that the Provence Orange Tip has only recently been split from the Moroccan Orange Tip. Of this beautiful species he mentions that it flies from April in one generation and that it mostly is over by the end of May. The Morocco Orange Tip (Anthocharis belia) and the Provence Orange Tip are both said to fly in Spain. We hope to be able to take more pictures soon so that we can learn to distinguish them better.
PS We often see the male Morocco Orange Tip - much smaller and yellow with orange tips - flying around today (the 8th of May) we saw it res for a moment for the first time (see last photograph).







Related links: 
- Guia de Mariposas on the online magazine Waste Ideal

Related key words: familia peridos, familie pieridae, witjes, geel oranjetipje, vlinders, alpujarras, sierra nevada,  bérchules, trektocht, trekking, wandelvakanties, holiday, urlaub, vacances

Gonepteryx rhamni or Common Brimstone

The Gonepteryx rhamni is most conspicuous during the first warm days of early spring when it is one of the first butterflies on the wing following hibernation. This Common Brimstone is said to be one of the longest lived butterflies, living up to thirteen months, but most of this time is spend in hibernation. Their leafshaped wing is designed to act as camouflage while they rest. This butterfly has a striking yellow upper side, but this is not easy to photograph as they keep their wings closed when they settle. At ´El Paraje´ we saw them this morning feeding on the nectar of the Henbit Deadnettle or Greater Henbit. This Lamium amplexicaule is sometimes regarded as an invase weed but it is apparantly an important nectar plant for this beautiful ´limonera´ and for many other insects like honeybees for example.



Related articles:
- All ´butterflies´related posts on this blog (see column at the right for all labels).

Related key words: citroenvlinder, zitronenfalter, le citron, dagvlinder, tagfalter, luzernevlinder, witjes, schmetterling, familie der weißlinge, pieridae family, familie pieridae, famille des piéridés, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, wanderung, B&B, hotel, bérchules, trektocht, hiking, trekking, standplaats vakantie, wandelvakanties, holiday, urlaub, vacances

Vanessa cardui or Painted Lady

The Vanessa cardui or Painted Lady of the family Nymphalidae is one of the most widespread butterflies. Although the Vanesa de los cardos can be found on almost every continent, except Antarctica and South America, we were still very pleased to sight one on our own terrain a few weeks ago. Today we saw a few on the track of the almond orchards of Los Riscos. Apart from this ´Cosmopolitan´, as it is sometimes called in North America, we saw many other types of butterflies flying around on this sunny autumn day. The Vanessa cardui, like most other butterflies we sighted, were especially attracted by the stink aster which is still in flower. The Painted Lady is resident only in warmer areas. It migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. It is able to travel large distances as it is known to migrate from North Africa to for example Great Britain or the Netherlands. The migration of birds has so far been monitored better than the migration of butterflies. In various articles different starting points are mentioned; the Atlas Mountains in Morroco, Tunesia and the Mediterranean in general.
PS On the 5th of May 2011 we saw a large number of Painted Ladies on the finca.





Related links:
- Website Butterfly Conservation: Millions of Painted Lady butterflies are now arriving in Britain, after an amazing 1000 mile migration from North Africa.

Related key words: migratory butterfly, mariposa migratoria, trekvlinder, distelvlinder, schoenlapper, aurelia, vanesse du chardon, vanesse des chardons, belle dame, distelfalter, edelfalter, ninfálidos, nymphalidés, Alpujarras, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Parnassius apollo nevadensis (2)

The beautiful butterfly Parnassius apollo of the Papilionidae family is found in mountainous areas. Twenty-three subspecies have been recorded on the Iberian Peninsula, four of which in Andalusia. Unfortunately the Parnassius apollo subspecies gadorensis (Sierra de Gador) is likely to be extinguished and the disappearance of the subspecies filabricus (Sierra de Filabres and Baza) is being feared. The population of the subspecies mariae (Sierra de Maria) is considered stable after there was a period of regression. Of our Parnassius apollo subspecies nevadensis the reports are more optimistic.  It is stated that they can be locally abundant and that there is a stable trend. This is no guarantee as the other subspecies of the Sierra de Gador and the Sierra de Filabres were just as abundant twenty-five years ago. The Parnassius apollo subspecies nevadens is being monitored by the Observatioro de Cambio global de Sierra Nevada at the Altas Cumbre, Loma de Papeles, Hoya de la Mora and the Lagunilla Seca. They write that the Parnassius apollo is probably one of the best indicators of ecosystem changes related to climate variations. Its larval food plants are sedum, sempervivum and bryophylum, so these are studied as well as the nectar sources of the apollo. In an earlier post we wrote about spotting the Parnassius apollo subspecies nevadensis near the top of the Morrón del Mediodía. This summer we have seen many apollos on the Loma del Chullo, the Loma de Piedra Ventana and the Loma de las Albardas. To photograph a butterfly you either need a lot of patience or catch it when inactive (the apollo is said to be inactive on cloudy days), feeding or mating. Last Sunday we were lucky to see a mating couple. We quickly took this photograph and then left them alone. On the website of Matt Rowling we found an additional note on the mating behaviour of the apollo. "One of the amazing features of this genus (shared by some other butterflies too) is the structure called the 'sphragus'. It is a hard structure that is deposited on the female's abdomen by the male during mating. It physically prevents the female mating a second time." On Wikipedia  and on other websites we read that the apollo is found above 1,000 metres up to 2,000 metres. This is not correct taking the subspecies nevadensis into account. In Sierra Nevada it flies up to 3,000 metres. The proof is this mating couple that we photographed on the Loma de las Albardes at an altitude of 2,860 metres. The females are said to have ´darker´ wings, so on our photograph that should be the one with the orange eye-spots on the hindwings. The wings of the male are said to be ´whiter´, so this must be the one with the more yellowy eyespots.






Related key words: mountain apollo, apollovlinder, apolo, pavón diurno, rote apollo, apollofalter, apollon, familia papiliónidos, familie grote pages, familie der ritterfalter, parnassiinae, Alpujarras, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Plebejus idas nevadensis or Sierra Nevada idas blue

The Puerto de la Ragua is one of our favourite starting points for walks throughout the year. As this mountain pass has an altitude of 2,000 metres, the temperatures do not easily get too high for summer hikes in this area. One of the interesting routes that starts at the Puerto de la Ragua goes up El Chullo (2,680m), the highest peak of the Almería province, and passes the Laguna Seca. There are a few signposts along the route, but not enough to find it without a map or description. On the internet various descriptions can be found like on the website of Top Walks which has got a good map as well. Last Sunday we enjoyed a magnificent day, enjoying the large amount of butterflies that fly around at this time of the year. After climbing about 200 metres, we saw a group of blues that at first we thought to be the ´Niñas de Sierra Nevada´. This butterfly has two scientific names: Polyommatus golgus or Plebicula golgus. Seeing a number of this Sierra Nevada blue was a nice surprise as we know that it has become rare and that it is restricted to a few locations, the ´Chullo´ being apparently one of them. The Nevada Blue flies during the month of July in a single generation and prefers open spaces of slopes and ridges. Its main threat comes from the building of tourist infrastructure and tourist activities. There are never many people in the area around the Puerto de la Ragua, but the building of the Sierra Nevada ski resort at the at other side of the mountain range, is a big threat for this endangered species. International agencies recommend an absolute protection, as well as in-depth study of their life cycle. More information can be found on the website of the IUCN, the International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. On the website of the Consejería de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Andalucía we can read what sort of work has been carried out to protect this Nevada blue; like planting the host plant of the Polyommatus golgus, the anthyllis vulneraria pseudoarundana. It is explained that these ´replantations´ have been fenced off to protect them from the  flocks of sheep and goats that are grazing in this area.
PS After coming across the website of the Observatorio del cambio global de Sierra Nevada, we now think that it is the Plebejus idas nevadensis or la ´Niña Esmeralda´ that we photographed near El Chullo. This Plebejus idas doesn´t have the white stains that distinguishes this Sierra Nevada northern or idas blue from the Polyommatus golgus or Sierra Nevada blue. There is another butterfly that looks very similar which is the Plebejus argus, we therefor hope that we have determined this butterfly correctly as the Plebejus idas subsp nevadensis.

Related key words: familia licénidos, lycaenidae family, polyommatinae, gossamer-winged butterflies, famille des azurés, bläulinge, blauwtjes, sierra nevada idas blue, sierra nevada northern blue, sierre nevada vals heideblauwtje

Mellicta Deione or Provençal Fritillary

For a few months we have been walking around on our own finca quite often, to get a better idea of the biodiversity of El Paraje and to take photographs for our own books on the local flora. Since we have had a couple of weeks with relatively high temperatures, our mountain is no longer as green as a month ago, but there are still many interesting wild flowers. When we went up yesterday we were surprised by the large number of butterflies that were around. On a Dutch website we read that June is not a good month for butterfly watching. Maby this holds true for the Netherlands, but here it certainly is a good moment of the year to see a great variety of butterflies in large numbers. Yesterday we saw a few regular visitors, like swallowtails and cardinals, and were able to take a photographs of the Mellicta Deione or Melitaea Deionea. This Provençal Fritallary is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The one we photographed is probably a male because the females usually show a contrast between orange and yellow bands on upperside. Another characteristic is the orange palpi viewed from below. While searching for information on the internet we came across the wild life page of Simon Coombes with some excellent pictures of this butterfly with the comment that there was a field full of these fritillaries near Juviles. For our Dutch and Flemish readers we would like to mention that this fritillary is known as the ´Spaanse parelmoervlinder´. Although we can read on the Wikipedia that this Mellicta Deione is not only found in Spain, but also in south-western Europe (probably including the Provence) and in North Africa. On the website of Waste Magazine we can read that in Spanish the Mellicta Deione has the pretty name of ´Doncella ibérica´, although it is sometimes simply called ´Deione´.  PS In April 2011 we saw this Provençal Fritalary on our terrain quite often.





Related key words: familia ninfálidos, famille nymphalidés, nymphaliden familie, aurelia´s, mariposa, vlinder, schmetterling, papillon, mellicta dejone, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, bérchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Argynnis pandora or Cardinal

The Cardinal is, apart from the Old World Swallowtail and the Scarce Swallowtail, one of the most eye-catching butterflies that fly around at ´El Paraje´ at the moment. This butterfly - ´pandora´ in Spanish and ´keizersmantel´ in Dutch – has two scientific names, Pandoriana pandora and Argynnis pandora. It is a large butterfly which seems to be more restless and faster than many others. For a few days we have been trying to take a picture of this beauty with orange upperwings, but it never sat still quite long enough. While following their behaviour this morning, we saw that a pair started mating in the foliage of one of our almond trees, which enabled us to take this photograph.
 

Related key words: vlinders, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, bérchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Papilio machaon or Old World Swallowtail

The Old World Swallowtail or Common yellow Swallowtail is a regular visitor of El Paraje. This striking butterfly flies from April to October and has two favourite spots on the finca. One of them is the old threshing circle, the highest point of our terrain. This swallowtail, or subspecies of this butterfly, is protected by law in various countries.






Related key words: macaón, koninginnepage, schwalbenschwanz, vlinders, schmetterling, tagfalter, familie der ritterfalter, papilionidae, familia papilionidae, grote pages, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, wandelvakantie, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, bérchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Parnassius apollo nevadensis

The Parnassius apollo nevadenis is according to some people the most emblematic butterfly of the Sierra Nevada. The endemic Sierra Nevada subspecies can easily be recognized by the yellow-orange ocellus. On the website of Waste Magazine it is explained that there are few colonies left since collectors have had a great interest for this specimen and therefor paid a lot of money to obtain one. We were able to spot this injured Parnassius apollo near the top of the Morrón del Mediodía at about 2,700 metres height.

Iphiclides Podalirius or Scarce Swallowtail

Belgian guests spotted the Iphiclides Podalirius or Scarce Swallowtail on a walk to the village of Bérchules. We learned that this can be an unique experience for nature lovers from countries where this butterfly is getting rarer. Therefor we are delighted that the last few weeks we have seen this beautiful insect around the house quite regularly. The podalirio or chupaleche on the picture is not a local specimen though, but one that we photographed near the Río Bermejo above Pórtugos.

Related key words: sail swallowtail, pear-tree swallowtail, southern swallowtail, koningspage, segelfalter, flambé, pages, papilionidae, papillon, famille des papilionida, vlinders, mariposas butterflies, schmetterlinge, famille de lépidoptère, alpujarras, sierra nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, wanderung, B&B, hotel, hostal, hostel, bérchules, trektocht, hiking, trekking, standplaats vakantie, wandelvakanties, holiday, urlaub, vacances, GR7