www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Janet Turnbull wrote:

bugboy wrote:Looks like a Lulworth to me Janet

I'm also wondering whether your last Small White is actually a Southern Small White?

Pleased you think it's a Lulworth! But I'm afraid the difference between the Small White and the Southern SW escapes me

Yes your Lulworth has the distinctive 'sunburst ray' pattern at the tip of her forewings. I'm not sure about the Small White myself but the black tip to the wing looks quite extensive and if I'm reading Guy Padfields guide right the hindwing black spot looks right.... I defer to the experts though.

As Bugboy has said a definite Lulworth (I go for crescent moon over sunburst ) although I'm surprised you didn't pick those up when you were at Corfe Castle - I've seen them in the NT car park there and in the castle as well as at Ulwell Enjoying your other foreign species.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

The original plan for the day was to walk around the white villages above Pitres, but since everyone in the group had done this on a previous visit, it was changed to a walk on the Elephant Hill (so called because of its shape) on the opposite side of the ravine.
It proved very fruitful for everybody.
A very handsome Bath White was followed by a Skipper which Bugboy identified as a male Lulworth A female Common Blue a Marbled White with a damaged wing and another which was the only shot I managed where its wings were open. Partly concealed, but it looked slightly different from the Marbled Whites I have seen at Pitstone. (Spanish marbled white, Melanargia ines - thanks, Padfield!) After crossing the 'Roman Bridge' I was delighted to find a Queen of Spain Fritillary Another Mallow Skipper and an armoured ground cricket (I think). It was definitely the Day of the Spanish Gatekeeper, for there were dozens flitting around and nectaring. I was lucky to get a shot of this Sardinian Warbler and almost immediately a very late Spanish Festoon A Moth (thanks to Bugboy for identifying it as a Yellow Shell) and an extraordinary Oil Beetle which looked as if it was pulling along its own personal tanker - in fact it excretes a smelly oily substance if threatened. The afternoon was rounded off with a Small Copper a Wall Brown (Large Wall Brown - thanks Bugboy) a Grayling and a Long-tailed Blue.

Beautiful! The Bath White and Queen of Spain remind me of holidays abroad spent many decades ago. Happy days!

We were taken by minibus to Capileira and then by a 'mountain goat' National Park bus to the Alto de Chorillo. From there we walked to the mountain refuge for coffee and then climbed a little, reaching just under 7,000 ft before making our way slowly downhill, watching mainly for birds but also loving the flowers. There were not so many butterflies about, apart from some tiny four-spotted black ones which I think may be either Eurrhypis pollinalis or Anania funebris. It seemed to like the clumps of legumes. The altitude seemed to suit this gecko and the Northern Wheatear I was informed there were Fritillaries to be seen, and here they are, although not quite what I had expected: A Queen of Spain fritillary gave me a much better shot of its underwings than I had managed previously and towards the end of the day I saw a Painted Lady

Janet, this is a most unexpected but welcome surprise. Some lovely natural residents you have captured there.

For the record, I too err towards Southern Small White, although the spring brood isn't as heavily marked as the summer one so I'm not 100%.

Wurzel wrote:As Bugboy has said a definite Lulworth (I go for crescent moon over sunburst ) although I'm surprised you didn't pick those up when you were at Corfe Castle - I've seen them in the NT car park there and in the castle as well as at Ulwell Enjoying your other foreign species.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I did look for them, Wurzel - but they must have been hiding!
Janet

Some lovely images there Janet, those Marbled White are definitely not the species we get in the UK. There's several other species dotted across Europe, someone with more experience with those species will undoubtedly be able to name them.

That skipper labelled as Small, looks like another Lulworth to me, a male this time and your unidentified moth looks like a rather pale washed out Yellow Shell moth.

Also your Wall Brown is a Large Wall Brown form adrasta (according to Guy Padfields website )

Wow! Janet, what a traveler you are Great sequence of Butterflies too, looking forward to seeing more Goldie

bugboy wrote:Some lovely images there Janet, those Marbled White are definitely not the species we get in the UK. There's several other species dotted across Europe, someone with more experience with those species will undoubtedly be able to name them.

That skipper labelled as Small, looks like another Lulworth to me, a male this time and your unidentified moth looks like a rather pale washed out Yellow Shell moth.

Also your Wall Brown is a Large Wall Brown form adrasta (according to Guy Padfields website )

Thank you, Bugboy! I agree, having compared the image online, it does look like a yellow shell moth. I probably had the wrong white balance selected on the camera. I will amend my descriptions accordingly, along with the male Lulworth and the wall brown.

How did this happen? I was logged in, loaded my draft which consisted only of the subject and first line, spent 2 hours writing up - pressed Preview and wow! I'm not logged in any more and it all disappears Shame the story can't be saved as you go along without having to actually submit.
Anyway, let's try again. I'll Submit from time to time and then edit to continue.

Taken by minibus to Pitres and then walking from Pitres through chestnut and encina (oak - the national tree of Spain) forests. In the woods we spotted many birds and flowers, but no butterflies other than a Speckled Wood which was so much more orange than our British variety it took me a while to realise what it was. Once out of the woods we followed the watercourses which provided lovely habitats for all manner of wildlife. First off was a pair of Southern Brown Argus (Aricia cramera - thanks Padfield!) and then a Marsh Fritillary beckeri form (thanks, David M!) More in the sun and less in the shade were Small Heath (David M corrects me here - it's a Meadow Brown but 'might be Dusky Meadow Brown. It has that 'stonewashed' look to the hindwing underside'.) and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth caused a lot of excitement I was thrilled to capture a Blue Spot Hairstreak which posed beautifully for me and then spent a while chasing down this Clouded Yellow I was delighted with the Moroccan Orange-tips and the Long-tailed Blue which, when I checked the photo, was in the process of laying an egg although unfortunately the egg is hidden from view I had been disappointed to miss a Swallowtail but then a Scarce Swallowtail arrived and spent some time nectaring on lavender Meanwhile the rest of the party had moved on, leaving me and Peter concentrating on the Swallowtail. When we looked up there was nobody in sight and it was a while before contact was made by phone and we were reunited!
Another Wall Brown (Large, I think, although much more orange on its upper hind wings than the examples I have seen online) followed by some gorgeous Common Blues Finally I saw this lovely fritillary which I think is a Knapweed Fritillary - but as with all of my sightings, I'm open to correction.

I agree with tho others Janet. Lovely images of gorgeous butterflies - very cheering on this overcast day

The fifth day we were taken to what the guides called 'Wetlands' but they had really struggled to find anything that approximated to what we think of as wetlands. It was quite good for birding but not for butterflying, and it was so hot that even the birds were taking shelter.
The one insect to cause excitement was a stick insect, which was a good four inches long and my attention was also caught by a goatherd taking his flock for walk Final Day
Our flight on the last day was not til late afternoon so Alan and I had time for a final wander from the back door of the villa (on which a Large White was roosting), straight onto the old olive terraces.
We saw a Southern Marbled Skipper Grizzled skippers another Wall (which I don't think was Large) another Clouded Yellow and a Brimstone Altogether a superb holiday, and not such a shock to the system to come home - it was sunny here too!

Like you, Janet, I've sometimes lost a connection in the middle of posting. Nowadays, I do my write-up in 'notepad' first and then copy and paste the text into the website. You can use the 'Save draft' button to save the text, while you check for editing.

I enjoyed reading the diary of your trip

Mike

Goldie M wrote:Good luck for tomorrow Janet, don't think the weather will be too good but you never know, I was up at Arnside Yesterday it was awful to start with then turned really nice later, if you see any Northern Brown Argus let me know. Goldie

In the end I didn't go, Goldie. I contacted Tom Dunbar who reckoned it would be a long trek for very uncertain returns. I'll go when the weather improves.

MikeOxon wrote: Nowadays, I do my write-up in 'notepad' first and then copy and paste the text into the website. You can use the 'Save draft' button to save the text, while you check for editing.

Mike

Good idea Mike. I'll do that!

janet, that's what I call a fantastic holiday and what beautiful photo's you took of fantastic butterflies, don't bother about the Dukes you'll easily meet up with them next year, may be I'll see you at GB on the 12th of August, I was thinking maybe they might bring that forward with the Butterflies coming out sooner, I must remember to check, Goldie

Hi Janet. Sorry to join the party so late! It looks as if you had a wonderful holiday in Andalucía.

Your marbled white is a Spanish marbled white, Melanargia ines. Your small white, however, is just that - a small white. I can see why Bugboy suggested southern, and the fault is clearly partly mine, as he kindly referred to my website, but that probably means I have to update my pages. In southern small white the dark apical patch extends down the outer margin at least as far as the discal spots - at least, in a summer, female, which this is. Bugboy is absolutely right about the large wall. Your brown arguses are southern brown arguses, Aricia cramera. This is generally regarded as a good species these days.

Guy

Thank you, Guy! Why would southern bown argus be reckoned a 'good species'?
Janet

Sorry - taxonomy jargon! What I meant was, a species in its own right, as opposed to a subspecies. Older books (Tolman, for example) count it as a subspecies.

Guy