Tenerife Butterflies - June 2023

We had a week’s break in Tenerife at the start of June. It wasn’t planned with butterflies in mind, but more of a week’s relaxation in the sun. We stayed at a lovely hotel in Costa Adeje, which was kept immaculately clean. Sadly, that meant that there was very little biodiversity and I only counted ten different creatures there in the seven days! Costa Adeje is a bit of an urban sprawl in a very dry part of the island, so there weren’t many opportunities locally to wander off to look for butterflies.

I went for a longer-than-expected walk on the first day to locate the car hire office and saw fleeting glimpses of Small Whites, Pieris rapae, Long-tailed Blues, Lampides boeticus, and an African Grass Blue, Zizeeria knysna.

Before I went I had arranged to hire a car on the Wednesday to take a trip to the north east of the island, where it is much more vegetated, with beautiful villages, cave houses, terraced vegetable gardens and lovely walks. However, on Monday a note was slipped under our hotel door telling us that Storm Oscar was arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday with strong winds and thunder and lightning. We were advised to remain indoors and keep windows and doors shut. This sounded serious, so I changed my hire car to the Thursday. However, Storm Oscar turned out to be nothing more than a couple of showers and a pleasant breeze where we were!

I was keen to head to Punta del Hidalgo, where Peter Buchanan has seen Plain Tigers, Danaus chrysippus, on three previous winter visits. I was surprised to learn this, as I didn't realise they occur in Tenerife. However, Peter has some great pictures on his blog, so they are certainly there.

I followed his instructions and parked in the village. I found the walk that he had been on, but sadly it was all very dried out and there were no butterflies at all. There were loads of lizards, though!

I could see higher in the mountains that there was quite a bit of tree cover, so I headed back to the car with the intention of driving up there. Back in the village there was a turning circle, where they were re-surfacing the road. I noticed a Lantana plant growing on the island, so thought it was worth checking it out for butterflies. Imagine my surprise when a Plain Tiger drifted around one of the diggers and then landed on a plant next to me. It stayed in the area for quite a while feeding on a blue flower.

On my way back to the car on a weedy patch next to the road I checked out some white butterflies. Most of them were Small Whites, but there was one Bath White, Pontia daplidice.

A male Canary Large White, Pieris cheiranthi, came flying by, chasing off all of the smaller whites as it looked for a mate. Sadly it didn’t stop and soon flew over a fence.

As I was slowly driving out of the village a Monarch, Danaus plexippus, flew past the car!

I headed up into the hills and parked on the outskirts of Pedro Alvarez and walked up the road in the direction of Bejia. The road quickly became quite forested, but there were wild flowers and brambles growing profusely at the side of the road.

Unfortunately, it very quickly clouded over, but not before I saw a few Canary Speckled Woods, Pararge xiphioides.

Back at the car I was watching a Small White fly among some plants and noticed it showed a particular interest in one plant. I took a look and saw a Geranium Bronze, Cacyreus marshalli, roosting on a flower head. Funnily, I had been checking all of the geraniums in the window boxes and gardens in the village for this species earlier with no luck!

It had clearly been raining quite heavily in this area the previous day, judging by the gravel washed onto the roads. I decided to take the more scenic return journey along the north of the island and it rained most of the way back. However, the south of the island had been dry all day.

There is a large, rather un-loved park running through the middle Costa Adeje. 

Much of it is very dry and gravelly but there was one shady spot where there were some flowering shrubs and dried out weeds, which seemed to attract Long-tailed Blues. Normally, when I have seen them around the Mediterranean they have been flying singly in gardens and shrub land. But, in this park there were hundreds of them flying low over the dried up weeds and grassy areas. They would occasionally land in the trees and on a particular plant that was still in flower in a couple of shady spots.

There were a few African Grass Blues, flying among the Long-tailed Blues, but far fewer. I am used to seeing these flying low to the ground over grass and wild flowers.

Everywhere I went there were always one or two Small Whites, flying by.

On my last day I checked out the park again. As well as the butterflies I had seen previously there was a Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus, feeding on a flowering plant. Another Canary Large White flew past, but it was on a mission, so didn’t stop.

By the end of the week, I had only see ten species of butterflies, but it was still an enjoyable week. I would have loved to have seen some of the other species I saw on my previous visit ten years ago, but at least I have added Plain Tiger to the list of species I have seen in Tenerife!

Alora Butterflies - September 2019

I realised that I have not posted about our holiday to Malaga in September 2019, so ... 

We went on a week's holiday to southern Spain at the end of September 2019 to catch some much needed sun! We were at the same village we have visited on five previous occasions. Of course, I was keen to fit in a few walks to look for butterflies, but I wasn't expecting to see much with it being so late in the season. I did have a couple of nice surprises, though!

After an amazingly easy journey we arrived at the apartment in Alora in the early afternoon. Claire needed a sleep, which gave me a perfect excuse to go and look for butterflies. I started at my old favourite butterfly spot, which is just above the villa we used to rent. It is a steep valley up a mountain, and the way the track has been cut into the side of the valley shades an area where thyme, rosemary and lavender grows. During our normal July holidays these plants provide rare flowers and nectar in the area.

When I had visited this spot in April I was too early for any flowers, so there were very few butterflies. This time I was far too late for any flowers and after a long search all I saw was a female Lang's Short Tailed Blue, Leptotes pirithous. It was laying eggs on a rosemary plant.

I then decided to try a spot I had found in April above the village cemetery. Here there are tracks through olive groves where there had been a lot of wild flowers. However, in September there were no flowers left under the olive trees. I noticed that there were yellow flowers along the edge of a track and what I figured out was a helipad. These plants must have been able to get to the moisture under the concrete.

The plants proved to be a draw for butterflies. There were a couple of Long-tailed Blues, Lambides boeticus, flying about furiously in the heat, but they wouldn't stop for a picture. More biddable was this Mallow Skipper, Carcharodus alceae, which looked as though it had fairly recently emerged from its chrysalis.

This little Sage Skipper, Muschampia proto, was flying in the same spot.

There were also at least five Painted Ladies, Vanessa cardui.

Having had so many migrate to Scotland in 2019, I wondered to myself if these individuals had been born in Scotland and were on their way to Africa.

There is an area down by the river where in the spring there are a lot of wild flowers and in summer there is an area of mint, which proves very attractive to butterflies. In September there were far fewer flowers, other than the same yellow flowers I had seen in the hills. However, this still proved to be the best place to find butterflies near to the village, despite the goat herder regularly passing with this goats! Butterflies seen there included, Bath White, Pontia daplidice, Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Leptotes pirithous,

... some very worn Meadow Browns, Maniola jutina,

... some slightly worn Small Coppers, Lycaena phlaeas,

... Small Whites. Pieris rapae,

... a few male Mediterranean Skippers, Gegenes nostrodamus,

... and one quite different-looking female.

And a Rosy Grizzled Skipper, Pyrgus onopordi.

There were also a lot of  Painted Ladies and my favourite of all, the little African Grass Blue, Zizeeria knysna.

Occasionally, in the village I would see a small butterfly flying around a shrub bed or window box. These always turned out to be Geranium Bronzes, Cacyreus marshalli.

Most of the butterflies I saw at this time of year were the same species as those I usually see in the summer. I also visited a couple of areas further afield, Antiquera and Casarabonela, where I saw a few different species. I'll report on these in my next posts.

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 2014

For our family holiday this year we spent the first two weeks of July in southern Spain. We returned to the villa that we rented in 2012 near Alora, about 40 kilometres north west of Malaga. When we were there two years ago Spain had been experiencing a particularly dry spring and hot summer and everything was really parched. This year the weather patterns had been more normal and it was a little greener, but strangely, fewer butterflies seemed to be in the air. Not surprisingly most of the species I saw were the same as last time!

As soon as we walked out of the airport I saw a Large White, Pieris brassicae, flying across one of the flower beds. I saw a few more of them during our holiday, but they never seemed to land!

The first morning I took a walk up the hills behind the villa and came across some Wall Browns, Lasiommata megera, in the same location I had seen them before.

On the way back down I saw a few Dusky Heaths, Coenonympha dorus. These were a lot smaller than I had remembered and I thought they were a different species, until I checked in the book! They are beautiful little butterflies with a silver line running along the edge of their wings, although those I saw this time were quite faded.

What was strange was that these were really common two years ago, but I only saw about six or seven of them that morning and no more on my other saunters around the countryside near the village.

Back down to my usual butterfly patch and I saw a blue butterfly which I expected to be a Common Blue. However, it turned out to be a lovely fresh Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Leptotes pirithous.

Over the holiday I would regularly visit the area where I had seen so many butterflies exactly two years earlier, but I was always a little disappointed by how few there were there. I suspect that this little valley with a lot of Thyme, Rosemary and Lavender in it was like an oasis to butterflies two years ago, but this year there was more choice for them to feed in other areas.

I think I only saw two Common Blues, Polyommatus celina, this year, whereas last year I saw several of them each day in this area.

I saw a few more Southern Brown Argus, Aricia cramera, which are really beautiful little things.

The butterfly that was the most common two years ago was the Southern Gatekeeper, Pyronia cecilia. These seem to like any slightly shaded ravine and I remember walking along a dried-up stream last time and hundreds of them flying up in front of me. This year I probably only saw about ten in total!

I think the butterfly below is a Sage Skipper, Syrinthus proto, and it patrolled a short section of the track leading to our villa. Without fail it would be there any time I walked past flying up and down a section about 20 metres long, seeing off any other butterflies that should dare to enter his area!

The other skipper that I saw was new to me. I think this is a Mediterranean Skipper, Gegenes nostrodamus.

One morning I had a brief view of a Clouded Yellow, Colias crocea, and managed one quick photo before it continued on its way.

Most of the other butterflies I saw were ones that flew through the garden of the villa. Many of them didn't give me a chance to grab my camera, including a Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus, and a Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni. We regularly had a Small White, Pieris rapae, visit a Lantana plant near the swimming pool. I not sure if it was the same individual that came back day after day, but it only seemed to be attracted to this one plant.

I saw this Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina, in the garden and I saw a couple more in the hills close-by.

Geranium Bronze, Cacyreus marshalli, were the only butterfly that I saw more of this year than on my previous visit. Normally, I have only seen them in parks or gardens, but this time I came across them out in the countryside quite regularly. I imagine this must be because there were more flowers available for them to feed on this year. This Geranium Bronze was enjoying the fruits of a Lantana and it stayed in this position for over half an hour one evening.

On our last visit I saw one Bath White, Pontia daplidice, very briefly along a track. This year I also saw one, but this time in the garden and it stayed around a Lantana plant for a while allowing me to take a few pictures!

This Long-tailed Blue, Lampides boeticus, flew manically around the garden all day without stopping. Eventually, one evening it decided to refuel, allowing me to positively identify it and get a picture. A shame it didn't stop in brighter weather to allow me to get a better picture, though!

I went for a walk down to the river in the village, where last time I had seen quite a few butterflies. Unfortunately for me, there was a lot more water in the river this year, so I wasn't able to cross over to the better side. However, the next morning I drove down to another shingle area by the river where I saw some Speckled Woods, Pararge aegeria aegeria, and my target species, African Grass Blues, Zizeeria knysna. No trip to southern Spain is complete for me without me seeing these!!

Having checked through my butterfly book before we left I thought that there were about 90 species of butterflies occurring in this part of Spain at this time of year. By the end of the holiday I had only seen 19 species! I know that many species will have quite specific habitats and thinking of the butterflies that occur back home, you really have to know exactly where to look to find some small colonies of butterflies. When I had climbed to the top of the hill behind the villa I had looked down into the valley on the other side and wondered if there would be different butterflies on the northern slopes of these hill. So, on the last day of our holiday I drove round to the other side of the hills for a short walk.

As soon as I stopped the car I saw a large, dark butterfly land at the side of the road. It flew off before I could spot it, but within a few metres I saw another and it turned out to be a Striped Grayling, Pseudotergumia fidia. Another new butterfly for me. I walked up into the Pine and Eucalyptus forest and saw a Striped Grayling about every 20 metres. They seemed much bigger than the illustration in the book, but I was thrilled to see a new species before we left Spain.

It was great seeing all of these butterflies. Although there weren't as many as I saw during my previous visit, at least I saw almost as many species. However, the butterflies I saw on a visit to the Sierra Nevada mountains more than made up for the lack of butterflies around the villa in Alora. More to follow...