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...

One Hundred

We are just back from a lovely two-week holiday to Spain. In between relaxing I managed to fit in a few walks to look for butterflies, with pretty good results and I saw quite a few species I had't seen before. I have still to sort out all of my pictures, but this little butterfly is significant for me. It is the 100th species I have seen since I have been interested in butterflies!

It is a Nevada Blue, Polyommatus golgus, which I saw on a trip to the Sierra Nevada mountains. It only occurs there and on one other mountain range in Spain, so I am pleased to have quite a rare butterfly for my 100th!

Before we went away I had seen 96 species of butterflies and I think that I added about 15 species to that during this holiday.

It isn't a very good picture, I am afraid, but it captures a moment in time. I did manage to get some better pictures later in the day.

Moth Trap at the Farm

Two weekends ago I took the moth trap to a local farm to see what I could catch away from the lights of the village. The farmer there is very interested in nature conservation and has done much to enhance the farm for wildlife.
I set up the trap on some short grass between a woodland strip and an area of wild bird cover. It seemed like the perfect spot, but shortly after I arrived back home it started to rain, and the rain continued for most of the night.

The next morning I didn't hold out much hope that there would be anything in the trap, so I didn't rush round to the farm too early. When I arrived at the trap there were a number of chickens looking rather intrigued by it! I then noticed that there were not only quite a number of moths inside the trap, but there were about ten moths on the white sheet.

Amazingly, I caught 62 moths that night and 24 different species. Among the many small brown jobs were a number of more interesting moths. This is a Pebble Hook-tip, Drepana falcataria, which had avoided being eaten by the chickens! 

This strange-looking moth is a Coxcomb Prominent, Ptilodon capucina, with its blond quiff.

Green seemed to be a popular colour. As well as a Green Silver-lines, that I had previously caught at home, I caught two Green Arches, Anaplectoides prasina. These are lovely moths and they remind me of an old carpet!

I also caught a Green Pug, Pasiphila rectangulata. 

I also managed to get a picture of a Brimstone Moth, Opisthograptis luteolata, which pleased me as previously they have flown away when I have taken the lid off the trap!

Probably the most spectacular moth I caught that night was this Northern Eggar, Lasiocampa quercus. It is quite a large moth, with a wing length of about 5 centimetres. 

I was excited by this moth, but couldn't find it in my moth book. It turns out to be a Small Magpie, Eurrhypara hortulata, which is classified as a micro moth. Strangely it is bigger than many of the macro moths that I have caught. (Yes, it makes no sense to me, either!!)

I also caught five large Poplar Hawkmoths like I mentioned in my previous post and various brown moths that took me ages to identify. By the time I had emptied the trap, taken pictures of each moth and then identified them all it was nearly lunch time!

I made sure that I released the moths well away from the chickens!

Last weekend I took the trap back to the farm and set it up again. It seemed like the perfect weather so I was hopeful for a big haul. Almost as soon as I switched it on a moth flew straight into the trap! In the morning I was a little disappointed to have only caught 45 moths, and no large ones this time! 

However, I still caught 25 species and 13 of them were ones I hadn't caught the week before. It really amazes me how different the results can be only a few days apart.

This one is a Light Emerald, Campaea margaritata.

This is the first Peppered Moth, Biston betularia, I have caught. I remember learning about these at school. There are two or three colour morphs of this moth, and normally the lighter one, like this, is the most common. However, following the Industrial Revolution, with increased pollution levels the darker morph became more common because the trunks of the trees were darker. Today, with our cleaner air the light moths are once again the most common.

I do like the green moths! This is a Green Carpet, Colostygia pectinataria. 

Most of the rest of the moths I caught that night were variations on a theme, all much the same shape and colours, such as this Double Square-spot, Xestia triangulum. 

So far this year I have caught 48 different species. The person who lent me the trap has told me that he thinks I will catch over 150 species by the end of the year. I had better brush up on my ID skills!

Garden Moth Trap

I have been having fun with the moth trap that I have been lent to help determine what moths occur in this part of Scotland.

I have set it running six times in the last two months and it is interesting to see the different species that seem to occur each time.

The first time I tried it was on the 5th April and I only caught three moths, all the same species, the Hebrew Character, Orthosia gothica.

Hebrew Character

Three weeks later we had appropriate weather to use the trap again. This time I caught three species, a Hebrew Character, and two new species, a Common Quaker, Orthosia cerasi, and a very similar-looking Small Quaker, Orthosia cruda. 

Common Quaker

After another three weeks, I tried again on 19th May and I caught nine species. All of them brown, but at least slightly different browns!

Lunar Thorn, Selenia lunularia

Small Phoenix, Ecliptopera silaceata

Now I was starting to get more excited!

The next time I put the trap out was on 27th April and this time I caught 11 species, and seven of them were new. There were also some really exciting species among them. I had put the trap down by the house, which is painted white, and I think the reflected light helped to attract more moths. Some of them were on the wall of the house in the morning.

I love these White Ermines, Spilosoma lubricipeda

These Poplar Hawkmoths, Laothoe populi, are enormous. They are at least three inches across. I have never seen one of these flying around or attracted to a light, so I was surprised to find two in the trap.

As well as these, I saw a lovely Brimstone Moth. These are a lovely yellow, but sadly it flew away before I could take a photograph.

On the 9th of June I only caught eight species, but there were some interesting moths among them.

I love the mottled pattern on this little Foxglove Pug, Eupithecia pulchellata.

Green Silver-lines, Pseudoips prasinana.

The moth trap runs off mains electricity, but I was also given a battery and adapter, so that I can take it out into the countryside to see what I can catch there. Last week I thought I should try it out in the garden running off the battery to make sure it worked. This time I caught seven different species. I am not sure if this was because the light wasn't quite so bright, or if it was because there was quite a lot of rain in the night. However, there were five new species for me among them.

Bordered White, Bapalus piniaria.

Elephant Hawkmoth, Deilephila elpenor.

Once I have photographed each moth and noted them down I put them somewhere safe, so that the next evening they can fly off and live their lives unscathed. I have noticed that some of the garden birds have been taking an interest in what I am up to, so I am taking extra care to make sure the moths are hidden away from them!

Each time I put the trap out I have caught some new species and so far it has been quite a gentle learning curve. I can't take credit for being able to identify them all, and I regularly send pictures to Mark, who lent me the trap, for him to help me with the identification.

On Saturday evening I took the moth trap to a local farm where the farmer has a great interest in wildlife. He has planted hedges, dug ponds, improved woodlands, put up bird boxes and left a grassy margin around each field, all to benefit the local birds and other wildlife. I will have to leave what I caught until my next post.

Vice County Maps

I learnt something new last week after I had found the Green Hairstreak butterflies that I mentioned in my previous post. Given that I have been co-ordinating the butterfly records in East Lothian for a few years now, it is something that I really should have known!
I have always used the current boundary of East Lothian to differentiate between East Lothian records and records from outwith East Lothian.
However, I was informed that biological records use the Vice County areas. This was a system that was devised in the 1870s by a botanist, dividing Britain into 113 roughly equal sized areas based on the old counties. These areas remain the same, despite more recent changes in county boundaries, so biological records are measured consistently.

Vice County 82 - East Lothian

The current boundary for East Lothian

If you compare the maps above you will see that using the Vice County area we lose Musselburgh on the west, but we gain a little spur to the south west and we also gain the bite that is missing on the current south east border.

Linn Dean Nature Reserve, where I saw the Green Hairstreak butterflies, is in the spur to the south west. I can't believe my good luck!!

Green Hairstreak - Callophrys rubi

I am not really sure how I feel about wind farms. I don't like the look of them, particularly as the few that were built are expanding and starting to merge together. On the other hand, it must be good to generate electricity without releasing carbon or producing toxic byproducts.

Actually, it is the large tracks that are cut into the landscape that worry me more than the turbines. Much of the area I was walking in today is very wet, but where the tracks have been created, there is a large ditch either side, allowing the water to drain off the hills. The hills used to act like a large reservoir of water, but now no sooner than it rains, the water runs off sometimes causing flooding downstream.

Today I went in search of Green Hairstreaks, Callophrys rubi, close to a large wind farm in the Lammermuir Hills.

I had been told of the location of some recent sightings of this butterfly, and many of them were tantalizingly close to the East Lothian border. I plotted the locations onto a map and there was a row of dots just a few metres outside East Lothian's boundary looking as though they were just about to mount an attack!

Up here the Green Hairstreak caterpillar food plant is Blaeberry, or Bilberry, Vaccinium myrtillus. I had been advised to look for boggy areas with tussocks of Blaeberry and the sightings that I had plotted all appeared to be close to Spruce plantations.

It was difficult to get through the boggy ground from the wind farm tracks to the areas I wanted to check out. I ended up taking quite a detour, and as I was getting close to a Spruce woodland I thought I would check the blaeberries growing close by. To my delight I saw a small green butterfly flying into the air in front of me. It was soon being chased by another. These were the first Green Hairstreaks I had seen in Britain!

I walked along a small valley to where I had been told that other Green Hairstreaks had been seen and I was delighted to see several more.

The reason that no Green Hairstreaks had been seen in East Lothian became apparent when I looked over the fence and saw that the farmer on the other side had improved his grazing, and instead of bog there was rough grassland. I searched all around the woodlands, but there was no sign of any Blaeberry and consequently no sign of any Green Hairstreaks on the East Lothian side of the boundary.

I then followed a stream all the way to a local nature reserve to see if there was any suitable habitat there. On my way down the stream, I was stopped in my tracks when I saw a Green Hairstreak on a leaf in front of me. I was very excited, as I thought this was my first East Lothian record, but then realised that I had jumped over the stream to get past some rocks and I was actually back on the other side of the border!

The butterfly was just below the centre of the picture above. On the right hand side of the stream is East Lothian, and on the left is Midlothian. You can see how close this was to being an East Lothian record!!

Although this didn't seem to be the right sort of habitat for a Green Hairstreak, I climbed up the slope and found Blaeberries growing.

I spent some time searching the slopes on the East Lothian side and found a few patches of Blaeberry growing, but sadly no Green Hairstreaks. At least I know the sort of habitat that I need to be looking for, so the search will go on!