Carrying on from early December, January was a month of
very cold weather with continuous snow cover in the garden (600m altitude)
despite only 2 or 3 snowfalls. A few days above freezing near the end of the month.
February
The snow cover continues. Very cold, snow covered.
Frequent snow storms/ showers. Large temperature swings, including a
couple of days at nearly 10°C and a few nights at nearly -10°C. Yet still
the snow remains!
18th -
The first Black Kites appeared over the snow covered landscape today.
I counted 10 all passing towards the north while I took my 30 minute lunch
break. Seems early to me, particularly given the prevailing conditions.
March
7th - The first Red Kite (these are rarer than the
Blacks so may have been missed during the last couple of weeks) over the
garden. Also the first butterfly of the year, the Small Tortoiseshell
Aglais urticae, flying over the snow but
tempted out by the now strong sun.
14th - A trip to the Valais to see the early hibernators. We were
very lucky to see an freshly emerged Small White Artogeia rapae
taking salts in the warm sunshine. It was the only one of the day. Small
Tortoiseshells Aglais urticae then dominated the scene, often quite
common feeding on the widespread Speedwells Veronica sp abounding
throughout the vineyards. Already passed 15:30 we came across our first
Large Tortoiseshell Nymphalis polychloros. It was a male, fairly
pale and in reasonable condition. Then a female performed for us, gliding
and circling around us and resting on the grass and leaves in the open
forest. Compared to the male, she was rich in colour. A notable difference
between this species and the Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae in
flight is the apparent ginger colour of polychloros, and the large
black body/ basal area of urticae.
I forgot to mention that a search for Idas Blue Plebejus idas callopis
larvae on Sea Buckthorn failed to reveal any eggs or larvae. I assume they
are still there as the site has not changed in any way from last winter
when the eggs were common. On the 14th the buds were well advanced so I
think the tiny larvae could hide very easily within.
17th - At lunch time I found Small and Large Tortoiseshells
Aglais urticae and Nymphalis polychloros in the works car park
and a lovely butter coloured fly, the Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni,
nearby.
25th - Return of the snow. Cold. Wet. Dark. It's worse than the
long winter!
April
S SPAIN 2nd-12th April
3rd - I drove under thick black cloud with the promise of brighter
weather just over the horizon in the direction of hills around Baza,
province of Granada. With great relief, just 10km short of my destination, I left the blanket of darkness
and entered wide blue skies and a strong hot sun was beating down. It was only 10°C but that was good with
the butterflies sure to heat up quickly enough. So I had a
short period of photographic opportunities. Sure enough, when I arrived I
found nothing flying.
Climbing through the dry hills I quickly started disturbing Pierids from
the tufts of grass. These
were mostly the lovely delicately marked Portuguese Dappled Whites,
Euchloe tagis. With temperatures still low, they were not ready to fly
freely, but they were devilishly difficult to approach with the camera.
Amongst the tagis were several small and vividly marked Western
Dappled Whites, Euchloe crameri. The green underside mottling was a
deep green and the upperside marginal markings an intense black which
separated the species fairly readily from tagis even in flight.
The Bath White, Pontia daplidice, was found on the rough cultivated
fields running between the lines of wild hills. Various flowering Crucifers
where attracting them but as is typical with this species they only stayed
for a short time before continuing on their way.
At last I found a yellow Pierid flying near the top of one of the hills.
After a sustained chase it finally settled just in front of me and I
confirmed the Spanish Greenish Black Tip, Elphinstonia bazae.
Photos were surprisingly forthcoming before the perfect insect flew off
over the hills, this time without me chasing it. Just minutes later I came
across a small peak, just a few meters above the rest of the hillside,
where I found at least 2 more "hill topping" individuals. The butterflies
would fly across the slopes, rising to the peak where they would
hesitate for a few tens of seconds before descending and disappearing for
a minute or two, eventually returning to the top... or being replaced by a different
butterfly.
I found a male and female courting Spanish Greenish Black Tip - again hot work chasing the pair up
and down the hills. I managed to follow them for about 10 minutes but I
gave up the chase being finally convinced that the female really wasn't
interested in pairing. In early afternoon I found more hill topping
butterflies, accompanied by Portuguese and Western Dappled Whites, Wall,
Lasiommata megera and a very deep rich yellow Swallowtail,
Papilio machaon. But by
now the butterflies were zipping around in the hot sun and photographs were out of the question.
Few other butterflies were flying, it was still very early season for the
plants and butterflies. Amongst the other species were numerous Painted
Ladies, Cynthia cardui, all flying roughly northwards and no more than a few
individuals of Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus, Black Eyed Blue,
Glaucopsyche melanops, Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus, Brown Argus,
Aricia (agestis) crameri and Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta.
I left the area when a strong wind picked up in late afternoon. Driving
just 20km to the east, I left the beautiful unbroken blue skies and dived under the
dense dark cloud plaguing the east coast of Spain. Just minutes later I
entered an intense rain storm and then some 30km of dense fog.
Temperatures plunged to 8°C. I'd been very lucky with the weather today.
4th - Just the morning to look for butterflies. The weather on the
east coast continued to be mixed, with some sun on the planes but the hills covered by
"nuisance" cloud. I revisited my Common Tiger Blue, Tarucus
theophrastus, site I found in May 2008. The first butterflies were on
the wing, but they were alone apart from the constant northward flux of
Painted Ladies, Cynthia cardui, arriving from N Africa.
I was lucky enough to find a sunny valley in the Cabo de Gata. Great! I
found several species flying much earlier than I would have expected.
There were dozens of Spanish Gatekeepers, Pyronia bathseba,
skulking around the low vegetation - nearly impossible to approach for a
good photograph. Also surprising to see so many wonderful but very nearly
impossible to photograph Spanish Marbled Whites, Melanargia ines.
Best of all were my first Green Striped Whites, Euchloe
belemia from Europe. They too flew incessantly, so I was very lucky to come across on
lethargic individual which allowed me a few photos.
Also surprisingly early on the wing were, single Small and Sage Skippers,
Thymelicus sylvestris and Muschampia proto.
8th - A morning visit to
the Monarch, Danaus plexippus, colony to the west of Malaga. A few
very worn individuals were flying and several larvae were found in various
stages of development on the Milkweed
Asclepias food plant. The site
also appears to be a winter breeding ground for the Geranium Bronze,
Cacyreus marshalli, which were flying in low numbers. Several Spanish
Festoons, Zerynthia rumina, were flying higher up the hillsides. I
was lucky with a single Lang's Short Tailed Blue, Leptotes pirithous.
10th - I took a trip inland to sites I found to be very productive
last May. Unfortunately the season had barely started moving and the
vegetation was that of very early spring. Temperatures dropped off quickly
with increasing distance from the coast. I found no butterflies at all.
11th - A chance roadside sighting of the Provencal Orange Tip,
Anthocharis euphenoides. No sign of African Grass Blue, Zizeeria
knysna, where I found it at the coast in May last year. But I did find
a few more Green Striped Whites.
13th - Back home in Switzerland, the weather was just as hot but
without the coastal winds of S Spain. Whites were flying though the garden
all day, an even mixture of Small and Green Veined Whites, Artogeia
rapae and A. napi.
14th - A lunch time trip to a nearby grassland was productive with
high numbers of Violet Fritillary, Clossiana dia flying together in
the corner of a field. A female Brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni laid a
single egg on the smallest plant it could find - just 10 cm of twigs
emerging from a stump of a vigorously cut back Buckthorn shrub. A few
Dingy Skippers, Erynnis tages, were flying across the grass with
similar numbers of Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus.
19th - Hazy sunshine welcomed me to Martigny, Valais. Unfortunately
the conditions didn't last long and the initial brightness faded, giving
way to increasingly dark clouds, and finally a rather nippy breeze. I did
enjoy an hour or so of good butterfly activity though picking up some of
the early spring species I would normally have expected to have found by this
stage in the season.
A dozen or so Chequered Blues, Scolitantides orion, were flying in
their usual places at the base of bare rocky slopes where a little grass
and a few flowers can grow. Several dozen Southern Small Whites,
Artogeia mannii, were widely distributed, mostly fresh. They were in
higher numbers than I have ever seen at this location. A pair of Baton
Blues, Pseudophilotes baton, frequented one small meadow and
several Common Blues, Polyommatus icarus, were flying in another
small meadow. The Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages, was in good
numbers, with fewer numbers of the widespread Grizzled Skipper, Pyrgus
malvae, and just one Mallow Skipper, Carcharodus alceae.
A brace of perfect Pearl Bordered Fritillaries, Clossiana euphrosyne,
welcomed me in the forest clearings with half a dozen immaculate Glanville
Fritillaries, Melitaea cinxia.
It took me a long time, but finally I found my first Orange Tip (a female)
of the year, followed much later still by several males. A single, perfect
Scarce Swallowtail, Iphiclides podalirius, was a surprise in the
gloom near the end of my walk and was one of the last butterflies I saw. A
surprisingly productive day in warm but on the whole rather dull
conditions.
23rd - The work's car park turned up trumps this lunch time with a
single perfect Provençal Short Tailed Blue and two Short Tailed Blues, one
of which was rather old already (Everes alcetas and E. argiades).
I was greatly relieved as the car park was extended last autumn and the
majority of the meadow harbouring these species last summer has been lost.
Evidently, just enough remains for the species to have survived, it
remains to be seen if the area is large enough for successful breeding
this summer.
25th - A wonderful day in the Valais. I met Guy Padfield at around
about 10 am, just as butterflies were starting to move in the cool and
windy but sunny conditions. Immediately several Chequered Blues,
Scolitantides orion, started sunning themselves with several Southern
Small Whites, Artogeia mannii. Nearby we found a very strong colony
of Red Underwing Skippers, Spialia sertorius, buzzing around beds
of their food plant Salad Burnet, Sanguisorba minor.
Our next site produced an amazing 29 species over the next couple of
hours. Very fresh Adonis Blues, Lysandra bellargus, greeted us,
including a paired couple on the hot grassy slopes. Beautiful dark blue
Osiris Blue, Cupido osiris, males were present and occasionally
rested on dandylion flowers - a spectacular image. I found a wonderful
Mallow Skipper, Carcharodus alceae, pink shades attesting to its
freshness. But the most interesting species present was the Rosy Grizzled
Skipper, Pyrgus onopordi. Maybe half a dozen individuals were
present, and all but one was fresh. They were whizzing across the very low
turf, incredibly difficult to follow. A female was going through the
motions of laying on a non flowering Cinquefoil, Potentilla sp.,
but didn't actually lay. The literature says that this butterfly lays on
Rock Rose, Helianthemum sp., despite the presence of Potentilla
species, although captive larvae accept both.
Our final spot was a boulder strewn river bed amongst light woodland. The
water level was very low so it was easy to walk amongst the rocks and the
sand. Many Comma, Polygonia c-album and Peacock, Inachis io
were passing up and down this hot, still place. Then we found the
spectacular Camberwell Beauty, Nymphalis antiopa. One had set up a
territory and would frequently return to a large rock and a nearby branch
that projected over the running water. From here he would frequently chase
the passing Peacocks, but ignore the Commas and whites that were also
passing through his territory. I presume Peacocks were singled out as it
is a fairly large butterfly with a similar dark purple colouration. He
would also glide slowly up and down a 50m stretch of riverbed gliding
passed at head height just inches from us, apparently un concerned by our
presence. At one moment he was simultaneously trying to chase of rival
Camberwell Beauties at both ends of his stretch of river, swirling
dogfights around our heads. A wonderful experience.
A staggering 38 species during the day was surprising considering the
early date and how cold and long the last winter had been.
May
Latest Update
2nd - a warm and sunny day, I only managed 45 minutes in the
countryside. It was a very productive visit to a nearby site which saw my
find my first Erebia of the year - Woodland Ringlet, Erebia medusa.
Several were flying but they were devilishly difficult to get photos of.
Good numbers of Sooty Copper, Lycaena tityrus, were also flying in
the meadow.I witnessed a female Colias lay on Sainfoin,
Onobrachis, not a plant cited in the literature for either the Pale or
the Berger's Clouded Yellow, Colias hyale and C. alfacariensis.
However the latter seems to have a specific list of food plants, the
former more diverse, and thus more likely to be the species in question. I
hope to find larvae in the coming weeks to confirm one way or the other.
3rd - I started the morning with a trip to a quarry I had found
last season. The Southern Small White, Artogeia mannii, was quite
common and to my surprise a single female Duke of Burgundy Fritillary,
Hamearis lucina, was sunning itself at the base of the cliff. A good
start to the day!
Then I met up with Guy Padfield. A brief look for Chequered Blues,
Scolintadotes orion, was successful but they were starting to look
worn. Just the very first signs of flowering Bladder Senna in places, but
not at our best Iolas Blue, Iolana iolas site. This means we are
still a few weeks away from the first butterflies of this species. Good to
find the first Turquoise Blues, Plebicula dorylas, amongst half a
dozen species of blue.
We investigated some new areas
further east along the Rhône valley and found some nice grasslands at mid
altitudes (around 1000m). Early season at these heights but great to see
so many hill topping Swallowtails, Papilio machaon, and Walls,
Lasiommata megera. The highlight was the year's first Spotted
Fritillary, Melitaea didyma, a tatty worn specimen. Higher still
and only the seasons first Orange Tips, Anthocharis cardamines and
the occasional Peacock, Inachis io, were flying.
Back down at valley bottom levels, we found a tremendous 32 species at one
site. Best of all was the year's first de Prunner's Ringlet, Erebia
triaria, and a magnificent insect it is too.
Despite a very good species list of 40 for the day, the butterflies were
not really showing as well as last weekend. But then, we didn't finish the
day with Camberwell Beauties, Nymphalis antiopa, buzzing around our
ears...
9th - half an hour at each of two sites was enough
to note that little had changed since the previous weekend. The Bladder
Senna is only just starting to open its flower buds so Iolas Blue
Iolana iolas is still a week or two away. At the second site at around
800m altitude Osiris Blues Cupido osiris were much more widespread
than previous years albeit in low numbers. Ditto for the Duke of Burgundy
Fritillaries, Hamearis lucina. The first Mazarine Blue, Cyaniris
semiargus, was flying in a corner of a field The magnificant Tau Emperor,
Aglia tau, was a frequent visiter to this field.
A final brief stop and I found 3 Mountain Dappled Whites, Euchloe
simplonia, flying around their food plant. They didn't stop and I
didn't find any eggs. The skies darkened further and by about 11:30 there
were few butterflies moving despite the warm temperatures.
10th - A quick trip out to look for the first generation Map,
Araschnia levana. Sure enough a slightly worn orange form butterfly
was found, but unfortunately it seemed to be alone during my brief visit.
Good numbers of male Brimstones, Gonepteryx rhamni still flying but
little else of note.
17th - A quick trip out, this
time to Madrid! Making the most of a 2 day training course starting on the
Monday, I flew out a day early and enjoyed an excellent Sunday in the
field just out of the city in the Campo Real/ Loeches area. These low
hills crossed by shallow valleys are hot and dry with only patches of
scrub and occasionally a few trees. Otherwise the land has low grade
fields and the steeper areas are wild and have sparse vegetation.
It was breezy and fairly cool until around 10am. A few Adonis Blues,
Lysandra bellargus were struggling to fly when disturbed with one or
two other butterflies. I found a small patch of Bladder Senna bushes
covered in bladders. One bladder had a small blue disk, indicating Iolas
Blue, Iolana iolas, was in the area. No adult Iolas were found.
Then the temperature climbed quickly. Suddenly there were numbers of
Western Marbled White, Melanargia occitanica, and the Adonis Blues
were flying freely. A few Long Tailed Blues, Lampides boeticus,
were buzzing around. I eventually caught up with a large fritillary, and I
was very happy to identify the Spanish Fritillary, Euphydryas
desfontainii.
At last I had my first Astragalus alopecuroides, larval food plant of the extremely local
and vulnerable Spanish Zephyr Blue, Plebejus hespericus. There were
numbers of these large and distinctive yellow milk vetches on the
hillside, but they were extremely local. Then I found the first male
hespericus. It was in very good condition. With an unusual slate grey blue
upperside and a small but distinct upperside forewing cell spot, it is
clearly distinct from my local Swiss populations, (subspecies or full
species?) trappi. Then I found a second male and a beautiful
female. She was large, dark brown and with a lot of orange upperside
submarginal lunules. Over the next couple of hours I found an estimated 9
males and 6 females in this small area. It is quite early for this species
but recent weeks had been very hot and the season was advanced.
Green Underside Blues, Glaucopsyche alexis were vastly out numbered
by the very similar Black Eyed Blues, G. melanops. I checked many
of this group for Pseudophilotes (Baton blue group) but I found
non. I was very pleased to find Marsh Fritillaries, Euphydras aurinia,
on one hot dry hillside. Two gorgeous Sooty Orange Tips, Zegris eupheme,
passed through. Both were very fresh. This seems odd as it is supposed to
be an early species in the year, but these two were anything but old. I
had a similar situation in 2007 in NE Spain where I found a few
individuals in good condition in mid May. Finally I was very pleased to
find Cleonia lusitanica, larval food plant of the False Baton Blue,
Pseudophilotes abencerragus. Not surprisingly the adults had
already finished, April being their typical flight time. The plant is much
smaller and more inconspicuous than I had expected, but good to identify
it for future reference.
23rd - The intense overnight thunderstorm cooled the air
tremendously. It was 35°C on arrival yesterday evening in Cluj (or Cluj
Napoca, as
Ceauşescu
had renamed it in honour of its ancient Roman name).
