Malaga Butterflies June 2024

We have just returned from a lovely holiday to the Malaga region of Spain. We were based in Alora, which is about 45 miles north west of Malaga. This was our sixth visit to the area. For our first four visits we were there in the first two weeks in July, two years ago we were there for the first two weeks in June and this year it was the last two weeks in June. It was interesting to compare what butterflies I saw this time with previous visits.

I normally only see Wall Browns high on the hills, but this year they were also along the track close to the villa.

Of course the weather can make a tremendous difference. This year the locals were concerned that there had been virtually no rain for about a year. Lemons and Oranges that should have been harvested last October/November were still hanging on the trees, because they were not good enough to harvest and the landscape looked very dry with hedges and trees dying because of the lack of water. There had been really heavy downpours in other areas of Spain causing flooding, but this area was particularly dry.

Interestingly, the dry weather didn’t appear to have had an impact on butterfly numbers. There were far more Small Whites flying everywhere than I have previously seen. I was really impressed with the flower beds in the centre of Malaga, which were all planted with either native plants, or plants that attracted bees and butterflies, particularly Small Whites.

Small Whites were by far the most common butterflies on this visit.

Unfortunately my usual walk from the villa we rent has been blocked by a new fence. It was a well-used path up the hill and living in Scotland where we have quite liberal access rights it seemed odd that a landowner could block a path like this.

However, I walked along the local tracks and found some new spots where there were plenty of butterflies.

The top of this unassuming hill proved to be a real hot spot for Swallowtails, Long-tailed Blues and Wall Browns. 

I also visited a few great places for butterflies that I have found on previous visits, including the Sierra Nevada mountains, a track near Antequera and a lovely village called Casarabonela, which always seems much greener and more lush than anywhere else around here. In total I managed to identify 51 species of butterflies this holiday and missed several other fly-by species which didn’t stop to let me see what they were.

It seems amazing that so far the dry weather doesn’t appear to have impacted on butterfly numbers. I am not sure if this will continue to be the case, if they don’t have rain soon, as surely the food plants for many species will be drying up.

The one species that I noticed wasn’t present was the African Grass Blue. They like damp grassy areas and I often see them down by the river. However, this year the grass there was dried up. They also like irrigated grass in parks and towns, but water restrictions mean that such areas are not being watered.

We visited the reservoirs at Guadalhorce, which supply much of the water for Malaga. They are currently at 20% of their capacity and are dramatically lower than they were two years ago when we last visited. This was another place where I have seen African Grass Blues in the past, but despite searching I didn’t find any. This year, though, there were a lot of Southern Blues in the same locations.

A nice surprise was to see Monarch butterflies drifting in and out of the lovely big park in the centre of Benalmadena. I wish I had had more time to go into the park to see what other butterflies there were there.

Having erienced a very wet few months in Scotland I don’t often wish it would rain, but I really hope that southern Spain gets some rain this coming winter to replenish the area. Here are a few of the butterflies I saw in the area.

Bath White.

Several Clouded Yellows were attracted to a clump of thistle-like flowers down by the river.

I used to find Dusky Heaths up the path that has been blocked off. Luckily this year there were some along the edge of the track by the villa.

There were two or three Geranium Bronzes flying around the villa garden and laying eggs on the Geraniums. In Alora each planter
down the main street had three or four Geranium Bronzes on the Aptenia cordifolia - a succulent plant with red flowers.

Long-tailed Blues could be found anywhere where Thyme was growing.

 A small patch of Thyme at the side of the track had Small Whites, Long-tailed Blues and this Lulworth Skipper on it. This was
the only one I saw this holiday.

Meadow Browns tended to hide away from the sun, preferring shade under the scrub.

Mediterranean Skippers were very plentiful. In the past I have only seen one or two in the area.

I only saw one Painted Lady close to the villa.

Sage Skippers were all along the tracks. They tended to fly up when disturbed and whiz around, returning to close to where they
had taken off.

I think I only saw this one Small Copper near the villa.

I love these beautiful Southern Brown Argus.

The Southern Gatekeeper is another butterfly that prefers to stay in the shade. Some years they can be really numerous.
This year there weren't so many.

I was delighted to see a Striped Grayling on the track near the villa. They can be quite common, but I have never seen them there before.

There were a couple of Swallowtails hill-topping on the small hill pictured earlier on in the post.

Malaga, Spain - Butterflies July 2018

We are just back from two weeks' holiday in the south of Spain, at a villa where we have had three previous holidays. We had a great time, but there is not a lot new to report as far as butterflies are concerned.

This year the south of Spain had experienced a relatively cool spring and start to the summer, so I imagined that the butterflies may have benefited from more flowers and greenery. Some butterflies were seen in greater numbers than I have seen before, but others were noticeably less common.

Small Whites, Pieris rapae, are usually fairly common there and this year I saw more than usual. Quite often there would be three or four of them on the Lantana plants in the garden.

The other regular garden visitor is the Long-tailed Blue, Lampides boeticus. This year I saw more than I remember seeing in previous years. They regularly flew through the garden and showed a lot of interest in a Polygala shrub in the garden, where I have previously found their eggs.

The first time we visited this area in 2012, I remember seeing hundreds of Southern Gatekeepers, Pyronia cecilia, in shady spots. That must have been a bumper year, as I have never seen them in such numbers since. This year I would see the odd one when I was out walking, but there were very few.

Probably the most common butterfly this year was the Southern Blue, Polyommatus celina. It used to be thought that this was the same species as the identical-looking Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus, but recent genetic studies have shown it to be a separate species. They seemed particularly small this year. I wonder if this is to do with the availability of the food plant earlier in the year?

The Southern Brown Argus, Aricia cramera, also seemed to be more numerous than I have seen before.

There were one or two Wall Browns, Lasiommata megera, on the path up into the hills, but nowhere near as many as I have seen in previous years.

I was thrilled to see a Spanish Gatekeeper, Pyronia bathseba, very briefly. It is a butterfly that I have not seen previously and I couldn't understand why.  Sadly it was only a fleeting glimpse, but I saw it for long enough to be positive about its ID.

There were one or two Dusky Heaths, Coenonympha dorus, flying in the hills around the villa. In the past I saw them regularly on the tracks into the hills behind the villa. This year I only saw about six in total.

I regularly saw Geranium Bronzes, Cacyreus marshalli, flying among the Geraniums in the garden. I don't think I have seen so many of them in the past. I remember watching four of them squabbling over one particular plant and on a couple of occasions I saw them on Thyme and Lavender up in the hills. I don't think I have ever seen them outside formal gardens before.

On previous visits I saw lots of Sage Skippers, Syrinthus proto, on the wild time in the hills above the villa. This year they were notably absent, other than one sighting on the track outside the villa.

As in previous years I only saw one or two Clouded Yellows, Colias crocea.

The Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus, is a very common butterfly here in Scotland. In Southern Europe there is a different form that has less distinct markings. Previously, I have only seen two Small Heaths, but this year I regularly saw them.

Small Coppers, Lycaena phlaeas, were regularly seen feeding on Thyme in shadier areas.

I saw several Meadow Browns, Maniola jurtina, this year. In previous years I have only seen one or two.

Other butterflies that I saw, but didn't photograph were a Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus, and Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Leptotes pirithous. Previously there had been a little colony of Lang's Short-tailed Blues on a Plumbego bush in the garden, but sadly they didn't seem to be there any longer.

I visited an area next to the River Guadalhorce specifically to look for African Grass Blues, Zizeeria knysna. When I arrived there was a goat herder with his goats at the area I normally visit, so I walked upstream instead. This turned out to be a good move as there was a large area with Mint growing in it, which was covered in butterflies. I quickly managed to find some African Grass Blues.

The Southern Blues were the same size as the African Grass Blues. They would fight over choice flower heads and it was difficult to tell them apart when they were flying.

In the shade of some trees there were a few Speckled Woods, Pararge aegeria aegeria, and there were a lot of Small Whites, Small Coppers and Small Heaths in the area.

I saw a Mallow Skipper, Carcharodus alceae, there. A butterfly that I have seen quite regularly in previous years, but this was the only one I saw this year.

On our last day of the holiday I saw a Red-underwing Skipper, Spialia sertorius. Another butterfly that I had seen fairly regularly on previous visits.

It is interesting to speculate what causes some species to do better than others in a given year. We are hoping to return to this area next spring, which will be really interesting for me to see what butterflies are about then.

During the holiday I visited the Sierra Nevada mountains twice and saw an amazing number of butterflies.

Malaga, Spain - Butterflies - July 2016

From the 1st to 15th July this year we had our annual family holiday in a villa 45 kilometres north west of Malaga. This is the third time we have holidayed there, coincidentally being there for exactly the same dates in 2012 and 2014 previously.

The holiday went off to a really good start, with me seeing a Small White, Pieris rapae, as we were driving out of the airport and then a Plain Tiger, Danaus chrysippus, flew across the road in front of us.

There is an area that I tend to walk to each day to look for butterflies just a little way up the road from the villa we rent. Over the previous two years I have learned that this is the best local spot to find them. Probably the most common butterfly there is the Southern Gatekeeper, Pyronia cecilia, although they weren't as numerous as the first year we visited.

Dusky Heaths, Coenonympha dorus, are beautiful little butterflies with the line of silver scales along the edge or their wings. They always seem to be flying around this area.

The track turns into a feint path that climbs along the ridge of the hills through olive groves. On the exposed parts of the path male Wall Browns, Lasiommata megera, take up territory, chasing after any other butterflies or large insect they see.

Common Blues, Polyommatus celina, were the other butterfly that could be relied upon to be there each day. They seem very much smaller than those that I see back home. I wasn't sure if I was just imagining this, but I also remember when I saw a Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas, how much bigger it looked than the Common Blue. The two species are more-or-less the same size back home.

I only saw a Small Copper once this year. It seems to be a very widely distributed butterfly, but it's never seen in great numbers.

I was delighted to see a Striped Grayling, Pseudotergumia fidia, on the first day I walked up the path. It was there again in exactly the same place the second day too, but I didn't see it after that. Two years earlier I saw a lot of them in the next valley, but have never seen them at this spot before.

Mallow Skippers, Carcharodus alceae, seemed to have small territories along the road to the villa chasing after anything that flew anywhere near them.

Up the track, on the wild Thyme, Sage Skippers, Syrinthus proto, were doing the same thing.

On a couple of occasions I saw a Mediterranean Skipper, Gegenes nostrodamus. I saw this species very briefly for the first time two years ago.

Other butterflies that I saw occasionally were Clouded Yellow, Colias crocea,

... and Bath White, Pontia daplidice.

The Southern Brown Argus, Aricia cramera, is a beautiful little butterfly, which I regularly saw flying among the wild flowers.

I'll continue with the other butterflies I saw in my next post.