My next stop was a little further down the mountains at a viewing area about 2,250 metres above sea level. It isn't obvious from the road, but this has proved to be a real hot spot for butterflies and is a must to visit.
As soon as I arrived I saw a fritillary on an enormous thistle. It was a Cardinal Fritillary and was one of six flying there.
Amongst the Small Whites were some Clouded Yellows and a couple more Bath Whites. One of what I thought was a Bath White turned out to be a Western Dappled White.
There were Wall Browns everywhere dashing around chasing other butterflies. They would settle briefly before spotting another butterfly and chasing after it.
As I
approached the viewpoint, which overlooks the Canales Reservoir, I could see
Swallowtails flying. This is an amazing spot for hill-toping butterflies of all
sorts of species.
There
were also some Iberian Scarce Swallowtails joining in the fun.
I
noticed a really small butterfly, which turned out to be a Panoptes Blue. I
think I saw two of them, but at this stage I was joined by a friendly German
motorcyclist who was keen to tell me about his exploits! He told me that the
Spanish drive very slowly and part of his annual holiday allowance goes towards
his inevitable speeding tickets!
I
felt a little rude as I slowly moved away from him when I saw in interesting
butterfly! Eventually he departed and left me to my strange obsession! There
were some Dusky Heaths joining in the chasing about.
By
far the most aggressive butterfly was this very worn Spanish Marbled White. It
would chase anything that landed within a couple of metres of it!
Amongst
the shrubs there were Blue-spot Hairstreaks.
And
some Purple-shot Coppers.
It
was quite intoxicating watching all of this butterfly activity.
On my
way back to the car I saw various Skippers. The only one I could identify was
this Southern Marbled Skipper.
Again,
I wished I could have stayed there far longer, but I still had my favourite
place to visit.
I found the Iberian Scarce Swallowtail so beautiful and read about it in an article and it's amazing they're found in America. It's a great place to find all sorts of butterflies!
ReplyDeleteThank you Maria. That is interesting to know.
DeleteHello Nick :)
ReplyDeleteGreat assortment of butterflies, some very familiar, but others new to me, such as the Dusky Heath and Blue-spot Hairstreak which are very pretty. I used to see the Purple-shot Coppers every summer but I have not seen one in a few years now. Ah well I can see them on your lovely posts.
All the best Nick and thank you for your visit.
Sonjia.
The Sierra Nevada really does have some amazing butterflies. Interestingly, this year I saw many of the same species in the hills closer to the villa we were staying in. I was a little bit too early for some of the rarer high mountain species but it is still an amazing place to visit for plants and butterflies.
Delete