Serra de Mariola, Spain - Butterflies September 2025

In September we took a week's holiday to the south of Spain, staying in a hotel in the mountains above Benidorm. I didn't go with any great expectations of seeing many butterflies, but I hadn’t realised quite how few there would be there. Despite the hotel having a large golf course around it, plenty of flowering shrubs and the roads in the area having irrigated trees along the pavements there were very few butterflies around.

All I managed to see was a couple of Long-tailed Blues and Lang’s Short-tailed Blues on some Dittrichia viscosa, known as False Yellowhead, growing near a roundabout.

There were some lovely Lantana bushes growing next to the road, which I thoroughly checked. Although there were plenty of insects including little black and white bees, and some moths, there were no butterflies. 

Back at the hotel a lone Geranium Bronze, Cacyreus marshalli, flew past, but sadly there was no sign of them on any of the numerous Geraniums.

So, one day I rented a car and drove up into the mountains to the Parc Natural de la Serra de Mariola, about 40 kilometres inland. I chose this area by looking on Google maps for a green area with north-facing slopes.

The scenery was much greener in the mountains and as soon as I arrived I spotted butterflies from the car. A couple of times I jammed on the brakes and jumped out to go after them! They turned out to be Small Whites and Cardinals, Argynnis pandora.

Eventually, I arrived at the spot I had chosen - the Area Recreative Font de Mariola. It was actually my second choice of location as in my panic to set my sat nav after picking up the car I clicked on a slightly different location from where I intended. I had intended to walk along the Vinalopo River along the advertised blue walking route.

I parked under a tree in a small car park with some picnic benches. There was a small irrigation channel running below the car park and a green area of grass and wild flowers next to it. On a patch of Lucern next to the water there were a number of Lang’s Short-tailed Blues, Leptotes pirithous,

... and Long-tailed Blues, Lampides boeticus, feeding. 

Flying along the grass was a white butterfly which turned out to be a helice form of the Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus.

Just above the car park I spotted a Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera, flying.

I decided to walk down a track through an area of Pine trees. There was scrub and wild flowers growing below them. Off to the side I saw a small white butterfly, which I quickly realised was a Wood White, Leptidea sinapis. It flew from flower to flower, not stopping for more than a second at each. I followed it as best I could hoping that it would settle for a while. All I could manage was a slightly over-exposed picture.

By this time I was some way off the track and I found a smaller path, which had a lot of butterflies flying along it. There were loads of blues, which mostly turned out to be Adonis Blues, Polyommatus bellargus.

I have only seen an Adonis Blue a couple of times before, but here I must have seen about 15 or 20 of them.

Afterwards I noticed that one of my pictures was of a Southern Blue, Polyommatus celina.

There were quite a number of brown butterflies flying around there, too. Most of them were very worn-out Cardinals, which seemed to chase after any other butterflies they encountered.

There were a few Tree Graylings, Hipparchia statilinus, the first time I have seen this species.

One or two Rock Graylings, Hipparchia hermione, another new species for me! 

And some Striped Graylings, Hipparchia fidia.

There were quite a number of Wall Browns and two Small Coppers, Lycaena phlaeas. 

Also two Sage Skippers, Muschampia proto, one very worn out and the other very 

fresh-looking.

On my way back I also spotted a female Wood White and a “normal” yellow form of Clouded Yellow. This was the only yellow one I saw compared to six or seven of the helice form.

I was so pleased that I had made the effort to drive away from the coast and up into the mountains. I am always delighted to see butterflies when I am on holiday and those that I saw this time were a little different from what I have seen in other areas of Spain. 

Back at the hotel on our last day I went for another walk along the roads around the hotel. There was just a Lang’s Short-tailed blue on the False Yellowhead patch and then out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something land on a shrub close by. I zoomed my camera right in to the branch where I thought it landed and spotted a little face!

It looked like a skipper of some sort, so I braved the thorns and strange looks from passing motorists and scrambled into the vegetation! I managed to get a picture from the side and then confirm that it was a Mediterranean Skipper, Gegenes nostrodamus.

We didn’t have to leave the hotel until 3pm, so spent the day sitting by the pool. Strangely, I saw a Swallowtail fly past on three occasions and in a garden area there was a Two-tailed Pasha flying around the trees.

I had been pondering on why there were so few butterflies around, all along the coast. I remember reading that in Costa Rica many species migrate up into the mountains during the dry season and I wonder if something similar happens in Southern Spain. There were areas of green in the hills around the hotel and there were plenty of flowering plants in the hotel, along the roads and in parks. Maybe it is just natural that butterflies leave the coast in the hotter months and not the result of all of the development in the area.

Mount Pantokrator, Corfu - Butterflies

On 29 June I drove up to the top of Mount Pantokrator. At 906 metres, it is the highest point in Corfu. When I arrived I was surprised to find that I was the only person there, but I was quite pleased, as there was very little room to turn the car around!

The top of the mountain is a mass of masts and satellite dishes and there were great views across Corfu and over to Albania. I had read that Southern Swallowtails, Papilio alexanor, have often been seen there, but unfortunately I didn't see any that day. I was pretty windy up there, so not ideal for butterflies.

However, on the way up there I had spotted a track leading off the road with bushes on either side. I stopped the car and thought I should take a look. Despite the wind, or maybe because of it, there were hundreds of butterflies in this more sheltered area.

As I walked through the grass on this overgrown track, butterflies flew up ahead of me. I was delighted to see a Balkan Marbled White, Melanargia larissa, and then another.

These were the most common butterflies along the track.

There were also quite a few Brown Argus, Aricia agestis, in the grass...

... along with some Common Blues, Polyommatus icarus.

In an Evergreen Oak I saw some little hairstreaks. I was able to identify them later as Ilex Hairstreaks, Satyrium ilicis. I also found out that the Ilex Hairstreak shares it name with the scientific name for the Evergreen Oak, Quercus ilex.

A little further along the track was a more open grassy area where I found a small colony of Small Skippers, Thymelicus sylvestris.

Walking back along the track, I saw a Silver-washed Fritillary, Argynnis paphia.

On the other side of the road I noticed another track leading up-hill, so I thought it would be worth exploring. Almost immediately an orange butterfly flew up and dropped down below the track. I scrambled down and tried to circle where I thought it had landed and I was over the moon to see that it was a Southern Comma, Polygonia egea. This was the only one I saw on my holiday.

There were fewer butterflies on the dry part of this track, but I did see a Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas.

Further along the track it became more overgrown and lush. There continued to be a lot of Balkan Marbled Whites and a few Wall Browns, Lasiommata megera.

There were occasional Clouded Yellows, Colias crocea ...

... Large Whites, Pieris brassicae ...

... and Swallowtails, Papilio machaon.

There were also Small Whites, Pieris rapae, Cleopatras, Gonepteryx cleopatra, and Brimstones, Gonepteryx rhamni, but they were all too quick for me to take a photo of them.

In the most shaded end of the track, just before it became totally impenetrable I found some Purple Hairstreaks, Quercusia quercus, enjoying the shade.

A little further down the road, on my return journey, I spotted a gate just next to where the road crossed a bridge. I thought that I may see some different butterflies in this shaded spot, so stopped the car for a quick look. These gates turned out to be the gateway to butterfly heaven! Just beyond the trees the track opened out into a lovely meadow, with a terraced vineyard to one side. It was all a little overgrown and covered with wild flowers.

I could see butterflies flying around everywhere I looked. The most numerous was the Balkan Marbled White.

There were Cleopatras feeding on lovely pink wild flowers.

Brimstones and Large Whites were doing the same, all in large numbers.

Occasionally a Great Banded Grayling, Brintesia circe, would fly up from rocky or more open areas of soil.

I was thrilled to see a Southern White Admiral, Limenitis reducta, flying along the trees at the edge of the meadow, but I was unable to catch up with it. However, it did lead me to a Wood White, Leptidea sinapis.

Interspersed among the butterflies above, were Clouded Yellows, Common Blues, Silver-washed Fritillaries, Wall Browns, Small Skippers and Brown Argus. I spent ages just watching the butterflies, amazed by how many there were there!

As I watched, I kept seeing the occasional Southern White Admiral. They were always heading to one particular point, so I went and stood there to see if it came back. I spotted a Purple Hairstreak in the trees and as I was trying to photograph it a Southern White Admiral landed on a branch next to it.

What a delight. This was the butterfly that I really wanted to see on this holiday.

Cape Drastis, Corfu - Butterflies

On 27th June I drove up to the north west of Corfu to Cape Drastis. I had been recommended a walk there by a fellow butterfly enthusiast. There are amazing lime stone cliffs there and the walk ran through old olive groves, woodland and small areas of vegetables.

I arrived at 8.30am and stayed for three hours. There were hundreds of Wall Browns, Lasiommata megera, all the way along the track along with some Meadow Browns, Maniola jurtina.

The Meadow Browns there are interesting, having two or three dots on the underside of their wings. However, they are thought to be the same species that occurs in the UK.

There was a small area that I had been recommended to visit. It consisted of a turning area and a clearing in the olive grove where some onions had been planted. There were plenty of wild flowers growing there, a grassy slope and some small trees offering a variety of habitats.

Initially I didn't think there was much in the way of butterflies there, but I spotted a Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, and realised that there were three of them in a patch of wild flowers.

While I was photographing it, I was delighted to spot a Silver Washed Fritillary, Argynnis paphia, the other side of an olive tree. This was the first time I had seen a Silver Washed Fritillary, so I spent some time taking pictures of it.

There were a few Common Blues, Polyommatus icarus, flying there along with Large Whites, Pieris brassicae, and more Wall Browns.

While I was trying to get pictures of the Fritillary a small white butterfly flew past, and I was delighted to see that it was a Wood White, Leptidea sinapis. I have seen these briefly a couple of times before, but I have never managed to photograph them, so I watched it and carefully followed it until it eventually settled. I was so pleased to manage to get a picture of it.

A little further along the track I came across another area where the grass had been strimmed below some olive trees. There was also a small patch where vegetables were growing edged by some wild flowers where a beautiful Clouded Yellow, Colias crocea, was feeding.

I continued along the track and searched a variety of habitats on either side. A grassy slope had nothing flying on it, but a shady track had Speckled Woods, Pararge aegeria, enjoying the shade.

There were a couple of beautiful Scarce Swallowtails, Iphiclides podalirius, at the side of the track along with some Long-tailed Blues, Lampides boeticus.

On the way back I returned to the first area I had searched and the number of butterflies had really picked up. I found a Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas, and saw a distant Brimstone and Cleopatra.

A little further along the track I notice a Scarce Swallowtail in an area below the track and went down to photograph it. This turned out to be a magical spot, with several Scarce Swallowtails, Brimstones, Gonepteryx rhamni, Cleopatras, Gonepteryx cleopatra, Large Whites and Silver Washed Fritillaries feeding on the flowers there.

I was also delighted to find a Brown Argus, Aricia agestis. I have seen Northern Brown Argus and Southern Brown Argus, but never before just a Brown Argus! I spent a while there watching all of the butterflies.

Eventually I had to drag myself away. Just a little further along the track, I couldn't believe my eyes, as I saw a Southern White Admiral, Limenitis reducta, flying down a track leading downhill. I followed it, but unfortunately lost it before I could take a picture. I was delighted to see one for the first time, but was disappointed that I hadn't managed to photograph it. However, it had been a great morning seeing so many butterflies, three species I hadn't seen before and another two species that I hadn't managed to photograph previously.

On my way back I drove down to Sidari Beach and walked up the river. There weren't many butterflies there, other than a few female Common Blues and a Small White, Pieris rapae. Then I saw a little brown insect, which turned out to be a Pigmy Skipper, Gegenes pumilio - the only one I saw all holiday.

What an amazing 3 hours! Lovely scenery, such a variety of butterflies and more kind local people. I called into a shop to buy a bottle of water on my way, but the shop had no change, so just gave me the bottle. On my way back I called into the shop and bought some food for lunch and paid the lady the extra Euro for the water she had given me. She told me I was very kind!!