Euchloe (Elphinstonia) bazae

Andalucia, Spain, April 2009

Andalucia, Spain, April 2009
Extensive habitat of low hills with sparse vegetation.

Spanish Greenish Black-tip
Elphinstonia bazae

Distribution: Known only from two very restricted areas in Spain - one area north of the Sierra Nevada in the south, the other south of the town of Lleida in the NE.

Identification: No similar species occur in Spain, although it is conceivable that the Greenish Black Tip, Elphinstonia charlonia, may occasionally cross the Mediterranean from Morocco - I have no information to suggest this has ever been recorded. Another similar species, Eastern Greenish Black-tip, Elphinstonia penia, occurs in Greece.

The northern and southern populations may be considered as two subspecies - bazae and iberae respectively.

Flight time: In the north it appears to be single brooded peaking in March and occasionally recorded in May. In the south it is double brooded in March/ early April and again in the second half of May when butterflies are said to be larger than the first generation.

Habitat: Dry, sparsely vegetated hills and gulleys.

Behaviour: From my single experience of this species, it flies widely and purposefully across extensive areas but shows a tendency to follow prominent geological features such as ridges. It also hilltops, often for long periods.

Additional notes: I failed to find the species in mid May in 2008 in southern Spain when I was too early for the second brood but was successful in the same place in early April 2009. I also looked for it in its habitat in early May 2007 in northern Spain but was too late.

Andalucia, Spain, April 2009