Lepidoptera / Butterflies & Moths

Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) in Cantabria, Spain.

Butterfly Bulletin – Alcon Blue – Phengaris alcon (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)

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Introduction

The last post was centred around a chance encounter with a butterfly. I’d not even realised I’d seen it until I got back home and looked at my photos in more detail. Today’s post is about a focused excursion in the hope to see a specific species.

It all starts with setting out a general overview of butterfly species I might come across in Cantabria and listing those all in an Excel. Considering the Alcon Blue is quite a rare species, I then look for scientific articles (PDF format) on the species, which range from a pan-European overview to specific Spanish articles. These documents sit in a neat little folder on my HD and wait for a dreary winter day when I might be inspired to plan some excursions for the warm summer months later in the year …

On that deary day I’ll go through the articles and see if there is more detailed information regarding potential locations where I might find the Alcon Blue. The scarcity of the species means some articles are from the 1960s and 70s (when the province was called Santander, not Cantabria) and come with a short sentence where it was seen. For example, the 1968 source (Agenjo) states “near Herrera de Ibio at 40m”, the problem being that all land around Herrera de Ibio is at least 80m above sea level. We have friends who live in that village, so have made plenty of walks in the country lanes near there and I’ve always kept my eye out for boggy (turbera) areas. There are plenty of those, but I’ve never seen the LHP (larval host plant) at all … I ran into that issue in most other locations I found in documentation. Regarding citizen science web sites, nothing.

So, I had to turn my attention to the LHP (more on that unique relationship below), which I looked up on the citizen science websites (e.g., Observation.org) and I had more luck. From there I turned to Google Maps and scoured potential locations comparing it with what I’ve read in literature, to see how easy it is to get there, some street-view images and so forth.

Then it all came down to waiting for a day, during the butterfly’s flight period, with nice weather (and no other priorities … kids, work, etc.) to head on out, with fingers crossed, to search for the impossible.
All the above led me to the following location (Fig. 1, yes, Cantabria can be stunning).

Cantabrian Coast near San Vicente de la Barquera.
Fig. 1 – The Cantabrian coast, near San Vicente de la Barquera (30TUP80), looking westwards towards Asturias. Notice the traditionally grazed pastures (there is a small group of cows mid left) right up to the cliff edge. Has potential spots to find more small populations of the Alcon Blue. The butterflies discussed below were found in the field behind me. Photo taken 28.vii.23.

The result: moist costal pasture that had continued under traditional grazing methods (cows) and that was assessable via walking path. Phew.

Alcon Blue

The Alcon Blue (Phengaris alcon) is part of a group of butterflies that have an intricate and complicated life cycle. Not only does it need a very specific plant (Gentiana sp.) on which it lays its eggs on or near the flower. It also needs a specific species of ant (Myrmica sp.)!

After the egg hatches, the tiny caterpillar will feed on the plant for a bit, but then it drops to the ground where it starts emitting pheromones (and I think even emits a sound) to attract that specific species of ant. Hopefully, there is an ant wandering around, and when it comes across the caterpillar it thinks that it is an ant larva. Gathering some mates from the ant nest, they drag the caterpillar down into the nest and put it in the nursery with the other larva. There it gets fed by worker ants (via regurgitation) and then goes into the chrysalis stage. When the time comes to emerge, the butterfly high tails it out of the ant nest because as a butterfly it does not emit a pheromone anymore, which means that the ants see it as a hostile entity within the nest. Finally, when the butterfly makes it out, it crawls up a blade of vegetation and pumps its wings full of “blood” to fly off and try to find a mate in the vicinity (it can’t go far because it is so closely linked with the plant and ant).

Male Alcon Blue.
Fig. 2 – Male Alcon Blue (Phengaris alcon). San Vicente de la Barquera, 30TUP80, 38.vii.23. This was just after release, the blue upper sides of his wings are not visible here.

Holy smokes … even with all the above going perfect, there is still so much more that can go wrong, such as the weather, parasites … there is one wasp that exclusively lays its eggs in the chrysalis of the Phengaris alcon, so if the butterfly disappears from a location so will the wasp(!), another link in the chain of super exclusive dependence … anyway, you can see why I just had to find this marvellous little insect …

But it does not stop there … Firstly, Phengaris alcon is often listed as Maculinea alcon in older literature. Nothing too drastic, but it can make searching the internet a bit more complicated.
Then there is debate in scientific circles if Phengaris alcon and Phengaris rebeli are separate species or if P. rebeli is a subspecies of P. alcon. In general, P. rebeli is found at high mountain altitudes (Picos de Europa in Spain) and P. alcon elsewhere. There are many more details around why they should, or should not, be listed as one species but the most important aspect is centred around the IUCN Red List, where P. rebeli is listed as Vulnerable (Vu) and P. alcon as Least Concern (LC), but that is because the latter takes both possible species into account. It is absolutely clear that both should be seen as Vulnerable because it is very easy to wipe out the small colonies of butterfly due to coastal development, or landscape management changes and more. For example, if you see the field where I saw the female and LHP (Fig. 3 and Fig. 1) it needs human intervention through traditional grazing methods at certain times of the year that keeps shrubs at bay, grasses not too long, but the soil quality poor in general (i.e., don’t spray it with fertilizer or manure). This is one of those cases where conservation regulations are not moving fast enough for a species and the only thing that I can do is to publish my findings publicly so that someone can use it to further their conservation cause.

Granted, you could ask yourself why such a demanding species requires conservation effort, but that’s for another blog debate.

This is turning into a long post, and I’ve not even mentioned the day itself … I went to visit the site I’d identified as a good candidate for a population. When I sat down for lunch in a dip in the landscape, sheltered from the wind and in a lovely sun, I noticed a couple of larger than standard blue butterflies flying about. I managed to net one and when I took pictures of it while I had it in a glass container I quickly saw that it might be an Alcon Blue. Double checking my field guide I was overjoyed to find I was correct. I released it, finished lunch and walked a few meters on to an open field where I saw a couple Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) emerging from the grass (Fig. 3).

Marsh Gentian in field.
Fig 3. – Two Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) in a steep meadow right near the cliff’s edge. They are the two blueish flowers in the middle. The humid meadow has been grazed by cows. San Vicente de la Barquera, 30TUP80, 28.vii.23.

I walked the field. It was quite steep and ended in a cliff with a 15-20m drop straight into the sea. With the breeze coming in from the sea I was slowly tiring. I was going at a measured pace and spotted a butterfly perched on a blade of grass, a female (Fig. 4)! The difference between male and female is that the male is bright blue on the upper parts of its wings, where the female is dark grey/brown with tiny specks of blue. I checked a couple more flowers for eggs (no luck) and then headed up to the top of the steep field, where I had a snack and rest before heading back to the car.

Since then, I’ve identified a couple of other sites I think could be contenders and come July this year (work and a move of house permitting) I’ll certainly try for more success. The two butterflies I saw last year are the first that have been recorded in Cantabria for over more than 20 years.

Fremale Alcon Blue.
Fig. 4 – Female Alcon Blue (Phengaris alcon). San Vicente de la Barquera, 30TUP80, 38.vii.23. A stunning fairly fresh emerged individual (wings are in excellent condition). You can see the dark upper sides of her wings, the blue flecks are more towards the base and not visible here.

Conclusion

When I released the male that I’d caught, I helped it onto a blade of grass (see Fig. 2), and then sat there for about 5 minutes watching it gather itself. A million thoughts flashed through my head from the mundane to introspective to existential. Even if I was the best poet on the planet, I don’t think I could put into words what went through me looking at a little Alcon Blue. A half hour later, when I saw a female, I was jumping for joy along the cliff edge.

This will be one of those days of my life that I’ll never forget, I just wish others would have been there to share it with me.

Further Reading

  • The Proyecto Lepides Observation.org page is down … nooooo … will ask to see if it can be reinstated.
  • The list of the butterfly books I own.
  • The Dutch Vlinderstichting has a good page on it. The butterfly does not fly in the UK, hence no English-text link to the Butterfly Conservation page.
  • The species is not listed on the IUCN’s Red List, sigh. This needs to be addressed asap.

Butterfly Bulletin – Alcon Blue – Phengaris alcon (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)

Butterfly Bulletin – Duke of Burgundy – Hamearis lucina (Linnaeus, 1758)

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Introduction

Now is the time so see them fly. The Duke of Burgundy is a species I’ve been looking for over the past 5-6 years and have struggled to find it. Going back to 2010, there are only 1-2 annual sightings of this species in the region. When I say region, I mean the area we had identified for Proyecto Lepides, which included all of Cantabria, parts of Asturias and País Vasco, as well as a thin strip of northern León, Palencia and Burgos.

In Cantabria I’ve not had any success, even though it is possible. So low and behold my surprise when out on a hike last weekend (June 1st) with the boys and some friends, I snap a rushed photo of a butterfly and only realise when I return home that the photo was of the all elusive Duke of Burgundy … reflecting on the day I’m sure I saw more flying about, but I thought it was some species of fritillary, a little faded. I was mainly rushing between calls from the kids to come help identify a snake (Vipera seoanei), an orchid (Neotinea ustulata) or any multitude of flowers, butterflies and insects out and about. There was little time to crouch in a sunny spot and watch the butterflies bob and weave about, waiting on little blues to land and show me the underside of their wings, or big brown ones to flatten against the warm rocks … ah well, there will be more opportunities to document the Duke. The key thing was that it was a great day out with friends and family … “best hike ever, thanks for taking me on it” was a comment from one of the friends, I could not have asked for more.

Duke of Burgundy

The Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina) is unique within European butterflies, as it is the only one in the Riodinidae (metalmark) family here. Most species in the family live in tropical America and in the tropics of Africa and Asia, not quite the landscape you think of when you see the picture below (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1 – Looking down (in a southeast direction) the gorge made by the Río de Covalagua. In the clearings between the trees is where we spotted the Duke of Burgundy. Pomar de Valdivia, Palencia, 30TVN03. 01.xi.24.

Technically, I was not in Cantabria that weekend, but in Palencia, a kilometre or two from the border with Cantabria … which is actually quite a spectacular area, but I’ll feature it as a future Local Hotspot post on the Páramo de Covalagua (you can translate páramo as moor in English).

Anyway, Hamearis lucina feeds on Primula sp. (such as primrose, Primula vulgaris), which is quite abundant in the area where we live. However, as always, it comes down to the ecosystem, environment and microclimate of an area. So, here in northern Spain the Duke of Burgundy can be found in the hilly, mountainous areas with native, scrubby woodland.

Fig. 2 – Hamearis lucina / Duke of Burgundy. Pomar de Valdivia, Palencia, 30TVN03. 01.xi.24.

The butterfly flies quite early in the season in May and June, which might be a reason for the very low numbers of observations because the influx of tourists (nature enthusiasts from abroad who would be recording their nature sightings) has not yet begun … well, the area where Hamearis lucina flies is not that touristic anyway. I spotted the butterfly around 12.30 in the afternoon and, outside of our little group, there was no one there. We did come across some people walking their dogs later, but numbers remained low.
I guess this highlights a limitation of citizen science observation sites like Observation.org … the numbers of observations of a species are related to the number of users recording their observations in a certain location at a certain time. Only through the likes of butterfly monitoring schemes do you really get good insight into how abundant a species is.
All that said, Hamearis lucina remains a rare sighting in the region, even where the butterfly is more common (central Europe) it flies in low numbers.

Conclusion

I’ve not gone into detail covering the actual insect and meandered along talking about nature observations etc. but I think that is because I didn’t spend much time observing the Duke of Burgundy as it flew around. Does it fly in a determined manner like a Boloria dia (I thought that might be the species I’d taken a picture of) or flop around like a Wood White (Leptidea sp.)? Does it fiercely defend its territory, or does it stay calm, soaking in the sun? I can hazard a guess based on what I thought it was, but I’m not certain. And so, I’ve rambled a bit on what is actually a really exciting discovery for me.

Which brings me to my Species Schedule Excel that I first mentioned in 2023’s March/April review. This was one of the highlight species on it. Up next Lycaena helle (Violet Copper), another one I’ve been looking for the past 5-8 years, and which I feel is probably/unfortunately not around anymore in this region … this coming Sunday, I’ll give it a shot.

Further Reading

  • As always, the Proyecto Lepides Observation.org page to keep up to date on current sightings.
  • The list of the butterfly books I own.
  • The UK’s Butterfly Conservation has a good page on it.
  • The species is listed on the IUCN’s Red List, where for all of Europe it falls under Least Concern (LC), but the assessment for Europe dates from 2009 with the population trend decreasing at that time. I cannot imagine it has gotten any better.

Butterfly Bulletin – Duke of Burgundy – Hamearis lucina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Nature 101 – Base Knowledge – Lepidoptera

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Introduction

Today we’ll cover the order of Lepidoptera … In the Nature 101 Naming post we discussed a little bit about where order fits into the taxonomy picture. Basically, order covers a whole group of animals/insects/plants/etc. that have fairly similar characteristics.

Within the order of Lepidoptera we have both butterflies (Rhopalocera – a clade, or natural group) and moths (Heterocera) … what are common characteristics and what makes them different? Is it the time of day at which they fly or is that more an over-generalisation?

1.0 Common Aspects

There are two key common elements within Lepidoptera:

  1. Scaly wings – Lepidoptera is a term that is derived from Greek … “lepis” meaning scale and “ptera” meaning wing.
  2. The life cycle – this can be split into:

Egg – larva (caterpillar) – pupa (cocoon/chrysalis) – imago (butterfly or moth)

1.1 Scales

The closest insects to butterflies and moths are caddisflies, which are part of the order Trichoptera. The main difference is that their wings are covered in hairs (“trich”) and not scales! It can be really tricky to spot the difference. One of the ways to tell is that if you catch a moth in your hand and close it into a fist (don’t crush it!), when you release it you can notice that the palm of your hand is covered in a light dust, those are the scales that have fallen off (been knocked off) the wings while it was fluttering and trying to escape. A caddisfly won’t leave anything behind. But I’d suggest you take good macro photos and then you can sort of see the scales (or not).

1.2 Lifecycle

When it comes to life cycle, most of us only really notice the last stage, that of imago. It is during that stage when we see them fluttering (or zipping, some are amazing fliers) around, looking for a mate or food (nectar from flowers or minerals from mud, or rotting fruit or dog poo). They can have brilliant colours, but even the drab ones can catch our eye as they spring up to defend their sunny patch of woodland.

Eggs are tiny and you must know what you are looking for or spot them in big bunches for some species. So, they generally go unnoticed.

Larvae are either easy to spot or super difficult. Some are bunched by the hundreds is silky nests that look like giant spider webs. Other are brightly coloured. Then there are caterpillars that look like twigs or are within parts of a plant.

Then there are pupae … again something that is less common to see … most tend to be well camouflaged and hidden; some are even underground. But I guess that should be self-evident … the two life stages at which they are most vulnerable (egg and pupa – cannot do much against attackers) they are hidden and least noticeable.

There’s one area I want to touch upon but not really go into too deep because buy can it get detailed … but basically each moth or butterfly is associated with a plant or group of plants. This is because the imago will lay an egg on a specific plant so that when it hatches the larva has plenty of food that it can eat straight away. No use laying an egg on a blade of grass if the caterpillar is only interested in eating cabbage leaves. This plant is called a larval host plant (LHP), and this is super critical in the life of a moth or butterfly … either it can be labelled a pest if the LHP happens to be a plant us humans rely on for food (or really like). Or the moth/butterfly can get itself into a really tricky situation (nature conservation-wise) if that LHP happens to become scarce (think climate change or humans changing the landscape (e.g., drying out marshy areas)).

What this means is that the average moth or butterfly you see is probably a generalist regarding LHP (so can lay eggs on lots of different types of plants) or feeds on plants we do not value much (e.g., nettles). Therefore, if you really want to see different types of Lepidoptera it often means going to very specific ecosystems … which can be used as the basis for an adventure …

2.0 Differentiating Aspect

Before I go into the one key differentiating factor, first the following:

  • Not all Lepidoptera can fly in the imago stage. There are several moth species (in Europe) where the female is basically wingless (she has little stubs). Males find her (from quite far away) through a pheromone she emits. She just nestles tightly against the tree’s bark waiting for the males to figure out how to find her.
  • Butterflies fly by day but not all moths fly at night. Or in other words … there are day-flying moths. Quite a few actually, so no, the time of day is not always accurate. That said, a moth trap (a light trap emitting UV light) set out during the night is still the best way to see large numbers of moths.

So, what is that key differentiating factor? … if you know Greek you might have guessed by the name of their clades …

Butterflies have little clubs at the end of their antenna, whereas moths have straight or feathery antenna (see Fig. 1).

Three types of antenna for Lepidoptera.
Fig. 1 – Euphydryas aurinia (left), Rionansa, 17.vi.18 (butterfly with a club antenna); Aglia tau (top right), Valdáliga, 05.iv.19 (moth with a feathery antenna – males fly around during the day); Hypena proboscidalis (bottom right), Cabezón de la Sal, 15.x.21 (moth with a straight antenna – it came to my light trap at night).

Now, as you might expect, it is not all as crystal clear as that (when is it ever?) … there are moths whose antenna look “clubby” in shape … examples are clearwing moths (Sesiidae) and burnet moths (Zygaenidae), both of which fly by day. There are also butterflies that have antenna that look less “clubby” in shape, such as skippers (Hesperiidae). (Fig. 2)

Fig. 2 – Pyrgus armoricanus (left), Valdeprado del Río, 08.v.21 (a butterfly with fairly flat antenna); Pyropteron chrysidiformis (top right), Camargo, 07.vi.17 (a beautiful dayflying moth from the Sesiidae family); Zygaena rhadamanthus (bottom right), Valdeprado del Río, 06.vi.18 (another stunning dayflying moth with chunky antenna).

Conclusion

Well, I hope this has been informative. Butterflies have been the insect that help draw me into nature observation. There is so much more I could cover, like flight generations etc. but that would make this post too long. I wanted to keep the post relatively short and not overwhelm the reader with too much (new) information in one go.

The next Nature 101 will probably cover Odonata, another favourite of mine.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask I can either answer them below or decide to dedicate another Nature 101 to it if the topic is extensive (e.g., migration, lifecycles etc.).

Nature 101 – Base Knowledge – Lepidoptera

Butterfly Bulletin – Map Butterfly – Araschnia levana (Linnaeus, 1758)

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Introduction

Climate change means that over time micro adjustments in local environments slowly transform habitats to be suitable, or unsuitable, for certain species. We normally associate climate change with increase in temperature, which means that, in Europe, southern species expand northwards. So, Mediterranean dragonflies slowly start to appear in places like Cantabria, as the general temperature of suitable bodies of water increases, or instead of being permanent bodies of water they become ephemeral (not suitable for fish, so dragonfly larva have a better opportunity to grow to full size and transform into imagoes).

Today the curious case of a butterfly that appears to be expanding southwards and westwards further along the Cantabrian coast.

Map Butterfly

No matter which books you dive into, distribution maps of the Map butterfly (Araschnia levana) show the southern limits of the range just creep into Spain into the Basque Country around San Sebastian. I always found this fascinating, as in Cantabria we have a fairly similar climate to countries like the UK and The Netherlands and with the larval host plant (LHP) being nettles (Urtica sp.), abundant here, it seemed like a no-brainer that this species should be found here. However, there is no mention of the species in Pablo Sanz Román’s book, and he was an avid collector of butterflies … if it flies here, he has it pinned in his collection.

Picture of a Map butterfly.
Fig. 1 – Map butterfly (Araschnia levana), first generation, 24.iv.21, Arredondo, Cantabria, Spain, 30TVN58. Photo Bart van Hoof.

In 2019 I got news from some friends that they had seen Araschnia levana near Liérganes, a village quite near to where I live (say 40 km east as the crow flies). However, it wasn’t until 2021 that I’d see the butterfly myself. After a lovely hike with the family around the Collado de Ason (a waterfall), we’d made our way back down to a picnic area near Arredondo. After a good meal I took my camera to scout the area a bit and almost straight away saw it flying and land to take some moisture from water coming from a natural spring nearby.

I’ve not seen the species since, but it was recorded a reasonable number of times in 2022 (in the Basque Country) and it was even seen last week in Cantabria (with photo evidence)!

Distribution map for the Map butterfly in the Cantabrian region.
Fig. 2 – Distribution map for the Map butterfly (Araschnia levana) in the Cantabrian Mountains. Screen capture of the Observation.org page (see links below), taken on 23.iv.23.

An interesting thing about the Map butterfly is that it has two flight periods (called generations) in a year, the first from April to June and the second from July to August. The cool thing being that it shows seasonal dimorphism … this means that both generations look markedly different, with the first being more orangey (the one I saw, see above) and the second being almost all black! (the one my friends saw).

If we look at the screenshot above (Fig. 2), the species seems to be creeping westwards along the coast (each red square is a 10×10 km UTM square). The observation in the Picos de Europa (the left-most red square on the map) was in 2022 but is not supported by a photo, so we can’t validate it. My sighting in 2021 is the square at the bottom of the “cross” near Santander, with Liérganes being the left-most of that “cross”.

Conclusion

So, what is going on here? The species clearly seems to be expanding towards the west across Cantabria … where in literature there is mention of it expanding northwards in Europe into Finland and Scandinavian countries (as you’d expect with climate change). My speculation … and I clearly want to state that this is just a first idea … is that Cantabria is becoming drier (less rain during the winter – another friend has a weather station and he mentioned this to me a while back) and maybe it was the humid (temperate) conditions that the butterfly was not adapted to.

Anyway, this would be an interesting scientific paper … and is on my list to write up (I need to connect with some scientists on this topic). One of the difficulties is that because the LHP is nettles it is not a butterfly that you can pinpoint in an excursion (as you might a high-mountain species or one that has a very specific LHP) … so you basically have to luck into seeing it here. It is the perfect species for a general monitoring scheme that they have in many European countries because volunteers walk the same transects throughout the year and will therefore spot changes earlier. Since 2019 my eyes have been peeled around this time of year … but I’ve only been lucky once.

This species also illustrates that while something might be common (read: slightly boring) in the temperate, central-European landscape … here (also considered temperate), at the fringe of its distribution range, it is still an exciting, rare sight.

Further Reading

  • As always, the Proyecto Lepides Observation.org page to keep up to date on current sightings.
  • The list of the butterfly books I own.
  • The Dutch butterfly organisation (Vlinderstichting) has a good page on it, in Dutch but easy to get the basic info from it even if you do not read Dutch.
Butterfly Bulletin – Map Butterfly – Araschnia levana (Linnaeus, 1758)

Book Club – Books on Moths

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I’ve decided to move the Book Club posts to Fridays … they might not drop each week, as there is only so much I can read. This will allow me to highlight species and excursions etc. on Tuesdays each week, there is a lot more I want to cover there.

Just like the other Book Club entry where I discuss reference books on butterflies, this one is on moths (Lepidoptera). Now, I have nowhere near the same number of books on moths as I do on butterflies, but still I think it might be interesting none-the-less … so without further ado …

General

  • Sterling, Phil, Mark Parsons & Richard Lewington (illus.) – Field Guide to the Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland – 2012 (reprint 2015) – Bloomsbury – 416 pp. – Great companion piece to the above below, they go together really. Again, this will cover a lot of what you can find in Cantabria, but because these moths are so much more difficult/complex to ID, care does need to be taken when doing so. A must-buy for those interested in moths. Just excellent.
  • Waring, Paul, Martin Townsend & Richard Lewington (illus.) – Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland – 2nd edition – 2009 (reprint 2015) – Bloomsbury – 444 pp. – An excellent guide for macro moths (the “larger” species) and even in Cantabria it covers most of what you’ll find here (we have a similar climate to the UK). The more south you go and the higher the altitude (e.g., Picos de Europa) is where you’ll find the most gaps. Still, great to have and a must-buy if you want to start an interest in moths. Stunning book.
  • …

Spain

  • Redondo, Víctor, Javier Gastón & Juan Carlos Vicente – Las Mariposas de España Peninsular: Manual ilustrado de la especies diurnas y nocturnas – 3a edición – 2019 – Prames – 464 pp. – In Spanish and it includes butterflies, but it does not include micro moths. All pictures are of collection specimens with their wings spread, which makes it a bit weird because that is not how living specimens usually rest (wings open etc.), although some families do. Very basic distribution information. However, it does a decent job of covering most, if not all, the species present in peninsular Spain. This means that it has some of the warmer climate species that my other books do not mention. Okay I guess but only really needed if you are going south of the area I live (Cantabrian mountains).
  • Sesma, José Manuel, Juan Ramón Córdoba, Luis Carlos Herrero, Óscar Ventura & Diego Gil Tapetado – Guía de indentificación de las gitanillas (Zygaena) ibéricas – 2019 – Asociación Fotografía y Biodiversidad – 84 pp. – This thin book covers the distribution etc. of the 22 Burnet species found in Spain. Pretty informative with lots of photos, but still makes identification of some species difficult without dissection etc. Much of the distribution data is based on citizen science websites. I’d classify this book under nice-to-have for the completionist.
    However, it is also a bit (understatement) frustrating because the book is labelled as “Volume 1” on the cover … so you’d think there would be more publications on other families etc. by the publisher … but so far no. Also, the publisher’s website is not good, or up-to-date and the main source of observations (biodiversidadvirtual.org – the publisher runs this site) is massively frustrating to use … so were this the business world this would fail spectacularly … If I owned a citizen science website/company (or was a millionaire with a passion for nature), I’d buy up the site, and everything associated with it, and consolidate all the data into a decent repository (e.g., Observation.org), a merger as it were … not to detract from the amazing work done by the publisher/site (volunteers, experts, etc. etc.) but it basically ticks all the boxes of what you can do wrong … if you want the general public to care, and be interested in nature, it needs to be a lot, and I mean a lot, more accessible (modern phone app etc.) … in 2023 it has to be much better and it should be with all the innovative technology at hand (using AI to help with IDing species, detailed mapping of species in Spain (i.e., where spieces have been recorded and where they might be found if we take ecosystem requirements into consideration) etc. etc.) … rant over.
  • …

Specific Regions in the Cantabrian Mountains (my area of interest)

  • Sanz Román, Pablo & Juan Manuel Marcos Gómez – Mariposas y Ecosistemas Cántabros – 2004 – Cantabria Tradicional S.L. – 196 pp. – I’ve not had this book too long, but I’ve read parts of it many times. It is in Spanish, has photos and maps of some moth (and most butterfly) species in Cantabria. Long since out of print (the publisher went bankrupt years ago) and hard to get. The selection of moths is strange, some are day-flying but not all are covered in the book. Then there are some night-flying moths, but only a select few. There is also extensive information on larval host plants (LHP) for the species in the book, Yes, interesting species (some mistakes there), but all quite random. Not really useful for moths, a bit of an oddity. Only for completionists.
  • …

Comments

Now … the moth book publishing world is massive … you can get huge, expensive tomes in multiple volumes on one moth family of in Europe (Palearctic region). I do not have the space or money for these at present, but boy can you go down the rabbit hole in this area. I’ve also noticed that people interested in moths are a bit special/weird but in a good way. Once you start with this hobby it can get quite carried away, you need a special light trap etc. etc. With the above list I’ve only just grazed the surface.

For information on specific regions in Spain you’ll have to consult scientific publications. There are extensive lists of moths for Palencia and other regions in the north.

However, the best source to help ID your moth pictures is through Facebook groups. There is a specific one for Spanish moths (in english) that is great and really helpful … sorta (some people there can be a bit … scientific, lets say).

Book Club – Books on Moths

Moth Matters – Valeria jaspidea (Villers, 1789)

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Introduction

So, I’ve set out the moth trap on the balcony a couple of nights so far in 2023 … zero, zilch, no luck. As I stated in a previous post, the street lighting has been changed to LED … great for the environment when it concerns energy usage but poor when it comes to light polution. Unfortunately, I’ve not had to time to set the trap in a friend’s garden, so the best thing I can do, for the moment, is to write up on some interesting species I’ve managed to see.

However, if all goes well I will set up the trap this evening at a friend’s house and then this weekend I will do it again in Salinas de Pisuerga, Palencia, where another friend lives. I’ve identified a number of species (moths, butterflies and dragonflies) I’d like to see this year, which includes Valeria jaspidea, and put all related data into an Excel sheet. Below is a screenshot of the moth section to give you an indication of what I’ve done. Will add to it as I come across other interesting species.

Overview of interesting moth species to try and see during 2023.
Fig. 1 – Overview of moth species in the Cantabrian mountains that I’d like to see over 2023.

Valeria jaspidea

Valeria jaspidea falls under the Noctuidae family of moths and is quite similar to Valeria oleagina ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775). I cannot find the paper that details the difference and if it is widely accepted or not, but Lepiforum (see links below) has them as different, so I’ll keep it at that too. Apparently,Valeria jaspidea occurs in the western part of southern Europe, whereas Valeria oleagina in the eastern part. I also cannot find a map of where the split would be, and if they overlap.

(Ugh … getting used to using this tool again and lost half of the post in trying to update it … oops) The moth can be found throughout the Iberian peninsula, but it is rare. To be honest, with the continual growth of eucalyptus plantations in Cantabria (which dry out suitable habitats) this species looks to need to be ready for a struggle to continue surviving in the region. Also, with the changes in landscape management (farming techniques) this will only add to the struggle they already face.

The caterpillars of Valeria jaspidea feed on Prunus spinosa (blackthorn) and also Crataegus sp. (hawthorns). The moths fly from March to May and can often be found at rest at the bottoms of walls and stones. They have these stunning streaks of green that make them look like a moss that might grow on a blackthorn.

A photo of Valeria jaspidea.
Fig. 2 – Valeria jaspidea, 19.iv.16 – Casar de Periedo (Cabezón de la Sal), Cantabria, 30TVN09.

Further Reading

  • I have written a blog post about the moth resource books I use. It will be published on Friday (30.iii.23) after which you can find it here(will add link).
  • This is a link to a great site called Pyrgus.de that I reference a lot. Excellent information and photos. He hasn’t updated or added Valeria jaspidea yet (not sure why) but the info can be found here under Valeria oleagina.
  • No moth reference list is complete without a link to Lepiforum, an incredibly in-depth site. Here is a link to the moth’s page.
  • All sightings in my region of Spain as recorded through Proyecto Lepides.
  • I actually wrote a blog about walking the transect when I saw this species, see here.
Moth Matters – Valeria jaspidea (Villers, 1789)

Book Club – Books on Butterflies

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So, for this, and the following Book Club posts, I think I’ll just concentrate on the books I use to help me ID species or general reference books I use. I won’t go into any scientific papers, or PDF documents, as that would make each post massive. The idea here is to get an idea of the books you might like to look into getting if you are interested. I’ll make sure to start from a general overview to a more Spain/regional specific base.
Also, this list will now be used as a reference when I post on butterflies, saves me having to list the books each time around.

Oh, and I’ve got books like Nabokov’s Blues, the ones by Dave Goulson, and many more but I’ll discuss those seperatly … this really is only reference books.

General

  • Haahtela, Tari, Kimmo Saarinen, Pekka Ojalainen & Hannu Aarnio – Butterflies of Britain and Europe: A photographic Guide – 2011 – A&C Black – 384 pp. – Pretty decent, more modern than the two listed here. I had this an the Tolman as my only books for ages. I liked the idea of having one illustrated and one photo book (this one also has living butterflies). This was an accidental buy, but it turned out to be worth it (it also was not expensive at all). There is a new edition out (2019 – Bloomsbury Wildlife – great publisher) and it has been translated in French and English. Unless Tolman comes with a new edition soon, this might be a better buy (it is less than 10 GBP on Amazon), as the photos really are good.
  • Lafranchis, Tristan – Butterflies of Europe – 2004 – Diatheo – 352 pp. – This book has an ID key in it that can be really helpful if you like to use those … based on photos of living buterflies … good companion to Tolman. There’s a French and Dutch version of this book. The Dutch version was published by the KNNV in 2009 and is expensive (currently one for sale for €75), as it is now out of print.
  • Tolman, Tom & Richard Lewington (illus.) – Collins Butterfly Guide – 2009 – William Collins Books – 384 pp. – Pretty much the reference book on everything to do with butterflies in Europe. A must have, stunning illustrations, maps, excellent info on each species … needs an update though (due to taxon changes etc.). I cannot think of a better book to own if you are interested in butterflies. You can also get it in Spanish and, probably, other languages.
  • …

Spain

  • Redondo, Víctor, Javier Gastón & Juan Carlos Vicente – Las Mariposas de España Peninsular: Manual ilustrado de la especies diurnas y nocturnas – 3rd edition – 2019 – Prames – 464 pp. – In Spanish and it includes moths (not micro moths). It is okay, not really worth it for the butterflies though. I got it for the moths. The pictures are of collection specimens so it looks really unnatural and the colours are not very vivid. No maps, very basic info on distribution. Basically a book for those who have already read a lot and just want to have something new for their butterfly library. Still in print and will probably remain so with a new edition coming out every once in a while.
  • There’s a better book on Spain, but I only have it as a PDF … written by E. García-Barros, and others, in 2004. It is good, though is only based around distribution, has no photos or illustrations, because it is based on scientific papers you can really pinpoint species in specific regions. You can probably find this on the internet. It has both Spanish and English text! I used it a lot in the early days.
  • …

Specific Regions in the Cantabrian Mountains (my area of interest)

  • Sánchez, Juan Manuel, Rafael Obregón & Tomás Sanz – Mariposas diurnas de Somiedo – Asturias: Pequeña guia para senderistas – 2018 – Ayuntamiento de Somiedo – 96 pp. Small, informative, handy, and in Spanish … so, great if you are going to visit this stunning national park (I haven’t yet but one of the authors was associated with Proyecto Lepides so I got this book). Maybe you can pick up a copy on a visit to the park, it cost me €5, so why not. There’s a new version (2022) out (without Tomás Sanz) that is double the page number. No idea what the difference is, but I’m sure it is pretty decent
  • Sanz Román, Pablo & Juan Manuel Marcos Gómez – Mariposas y Ecosistemas Cántabros – 2004 – Cantabria Tradicional S.L. – 196 pp. – I’ve not had this book too long, but I’ve read parts of it many times. It is in Spanish, has photos and maps of butterfly (and some moth) species in Cantabria. A good place to start to get an indication where you might find certain species of butterfly in this ecologically diverse province … but websites are better these days because they are more current. There is also a whole section on larval host plants (LHP). Mistakes do occur in this book, the names are really far behind regarding taxon (Lafranchis, from the same year, is way more up to date), so my copy is full of pencil corrections. It is like you’re reading a book from the 1980s. You can get by without this book when you visit Cantabria, for the completionist, as it shows its age and needs a refresh/update for sure. Long since out of print (the publisher went bankrupt years ago) and hard to get.
  • Verhulst, Georges, Joseph Verhulst & Hugo Mortera – Mariposas dirunas del Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa – 2005 – Organismo Autónomo Parqeus Naturales Ministerio de Medio Ambiente – 184 pp. – Book in Spanish written by two Belgian brothers and an expert on butterflies in Asturias (I have Mortera’s book on butterflies in Asturias in PDF format – also excellent and available on the internet). A bit old, but quite cool and quirky (has common names in 4 different languages), as it also includes some pictures of caterpillars and pupae. The photos are okay, both of living and collection specimens. There are some mistakes but those aren’t really an issue. You’ll need to buy this online, with the best/cheapest option being Oryx in Barcelona (how I got it). Take care because this book can be very expeinsive on other sites, and it probably isn’t worth that unless you are a completionist.
  • …

Comments

The region-specific books can be really hard to get a hold of. If you want to pick them up for a vacation to Spain it is best to do so well in advance. Most of them are out of print. For example, the Lafranchis I’ve seen with quite a high price-tag (e.g. there’s currently one for sale for €40 online – I got mine for €10 – but there’s one on Amazon for GBP 155!). If you want to get a good overview of butterflies in a specific region in Spain then the García-Barros PDF is an excellent place to start and get a checklist going. You’ll need something like Tolman for IDing the butterflies you see though (even though it desperatly needs a refresh).
Also, I have a lot of PDFs for other regions outside of the Cantabrian Mountain range, I’m sure you can find those PDFs on the internet.

Do take care when picking up any odd butterfly book. I once got one as a present that had a ton of mistakes and wasn’t really helpful in any way (terrible photos), so just gave it away again (should have had the foresight to keep it and give it a negative review here – cannot remember the author or title). Also, many of the multi-insect guides are not that great, just get one that is specific to butterflies. Tolman is not expensive.

I’m always looking for new books, and on my travels to regions in Spain I do keep an eye open for region-specific books. There are quite a few. This means that I’ll try and keep this list evergreen …

Final Note

My list of non-reference works includes: Nabokov’s Blues, The Butterfly Isles (already discussed), Fine Lines, In Pursuit of Butterflies, The Jungle Garden, Rainbow Dust, The Collector, A Buzz in the Meadow (also discussed), and some that I am probably forgetting.

Book Club – Books on Butterflies

Proyecto Ledipdes – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 25.04.16

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Introduction
With one day of good weather suddenly upon me I decided to head out. There was the occasional gust of wind, but the sun was fully out and the temperature was around 15C. The forecast said rainy periods over the days after. So … out I went …

Recorrido A – 25.04.16 – 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo
There was not much going on at the start of the walk until I noticed a little white butterfly flittering along the edge of the field and road. It was clear that it was a Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) but it was acting strange and it was in a spot where I’d not seen many before … quite far from any woods! 🙂 Anyway, I looked closely and it seemed to be laying eggs individually in a plant that hung over a small dirt edge along the dirt track. In my quest to see if I can find out which Wood White it is I took some pictures, but, as I’m very poor with plants I’ve not made much headway in that department. Furthermore, the plant does not look like any that are listed in the books I have … Will go into it in a post specific on Wood Whites in the (hopefully near) future …

Oak Eggar (caterpillar) in Cantabria, Spain. 25.04.16
Oak Eggar (caterpillar) in Cantabria, Spain. 25.04.16

As I was marveling at this funny lone white, I looked down and at my feet was a hairy caterpillar … Lasiocampa quercus (Oak Egger), a moth … have read that you shouldn’t really handle hairy caterpillars due to skin irritation, so lifted the stick onto the dirt track to get a better angle for a picture. Noticed that it seemed to just have shed its skin, had not seen this before.

On I went … in the first really interesting field that I like to take a closer look in I spotted quite a number of Small Heaths (Coenonympha pamphilus), they were starting to come out in large numbers! I also spotted a dark little thing … this time I was able to get it on camera in a decent manner … a Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages). Later in the walk I’d spot a second. This was starting well, it isn’t every day I see a Dingy Skipper. I thought I saw another close by, but the Burnet Companion (Euclidia glyphica), a day-flying moth, that it turned out to be was a bit of a let-down. This species and other day-flying moths will become a feature in the months to come. An inexperienced eye will think “hey butterfly” and that’s what I did … but through endless frustration last year I was slowly learning. However, now for Proyecto Lepides we also record moths we see … so, hey, this is an easy one (i.e. don’t have to go out at night to see it)!

Dingy Skipper in Cantabria, Spain. 25.04.16
Dingy Skipper in Cantabria, Spain. 25.04.16

For most of the rest of the walk there was more standard stuff, always good to see, but after a while those species become a touch boring.

Sooty Copper (male) in Cantabria, Spain. 25.04.16
Sooty Copper (male) in Cantabria, Spain. 25.04.16

I did see my first Sooty Copper (Lycaena tityrus) of the year, a male. I quite like this butterfly, and it is reasonably common around here during the summer months. The females have a spectacular mix of orange and brown. The males are more “drab” dark blackish brown (sooty is a fitting name for the males). But when they thus fly you see flashed from their white underside wings … so for males you get a neat black/white strobe-action going. They aren’t the greatest of flyers, so do not go far if you disturb them and hence are easy to follow. One of my goals this year is to see as many Copper species as possible. There are 6 species in this area of Spain, but three are rare and one of those is really extremely rare … and apparently the most common I cannot seem to come across here (just once last year)!

Orange-tip (male) in Cantabria, Spain. 25.04.16
Orange-tip (male) in Cantabria, Spain. 25.04.16

Towards the end of my walk I saw another year-first … an Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines). Again apparently a common sort that I do not come across much here … I’d actually seen a female earlier in April during a stroll, and those are difficult to spot … but males should be easy with their flashy orange wing-tips. Usually, I just seen them flying up and down a path, relentlessly, never seeming to stop for a drink of nectar. I was thus very happy to see one drinking away, and quickly took a picture before it zipped off again.

During the walk I’d also seen three butterflies I had not been able to ID, one was probably a moth and the other two were darkish-looking in flight (one a Small Tortoiseshell?!). Still again, even though I was a touch disappointed with my daily haul, I had some hope for if the weather should turn good for a more extended period.

(I wrote the above but did not finish the post … it is now just into May and we’ve got a couple of excellent days of sun ahead … will go out this Wednesday for my monthly walk, it is looking to be amazing weather … keeping my fingers crossed for some real dazzle!)

Jan. to April Summary
The month of April is almost at a close and it has been a mixed bag … both of butterflies, and of hopes and expectations … for the year.
With regards to 2015, I’m at the exact same numbers, for the year till the end of April I had seen 19 species, of which I’d seen 17 in April. I should also note that of the April species, 3 (of the 17) were not in 30TVN09 (I was not a volunteer yet either), and for the year that number was at 4 (of the 19).

The species I’d seen in 2015 but not so far this year are; Carcharodus alceae, Papilio machaon*, Pieris brassicae, Callophrys rubi*, Cupido argriades, Vanessa cardui* and Aglais urticae. The ones with a * are non-30TVN09.
I realise that some of these are pure luck due to the migratory nature of the species (Pm, Vc, and Au) and the others will surely be seen in May – the one exception to all being Callophyrs rubi, I cannot understand why I have not seen this species in 30TVN09 yet. It is apparently very common but I’ve only seen this butterfly once – however, I cannot but feel slight disappointment with how the sightings have gone this year. Especially seeing as the first months (Jan. and Feb.) looked to be building up quite well. I thought that with a bit more knowledge and experience I’d be able to ID more butterflies, but that has not been the case. Most I’ve seen I’ve been able to ID this year, but I’ve not seen many new species. I assume this has to do with:
– Habitat.
– Weather.
– Luck.
And it is with the last two categories that frustration comes in …

But it is thus also with a bit of luck that I’ve seen two new excellent species so far this year … Boloria dia and the Pyrgus spec. … both not the most common of butterflies in these parts.
I guess what I should take from this is that I should focus more on the positives of 2016 so far … there’s still a lot to go in the year and May looks to be exciting with a friend coming over and the possibility to explore some new areas!

Summary
– Lasiocampa quercus (a moth – caterpillar).
– Leptidea sinapis – a few, around 5-8.
– Pararge aegeria – reasonable amount 10-15.
– Gonepteryx rhamni – a small number, around 5 in total.
– Coenonympha pamphilus – around 20.
– Colias croceus – quite a few, maybe 10.
– Erynnis tages – 2 in total.
– Euclidia glyphica (a moth) – 2 in total.
– Pieris napi.
– Lycaena tityrus – first of the year, 2 in total.
– Anthocharis cardamines – first of the year.

Species year total — 19 (2015 – 45). 16 species seen in April.
Notes:
– Only species of butterflies are counted, I really have no knowledge of moths, but they are part of Proyecto Lepides goals and results so, I mention them in write-ups.

Further Reading
– My sightings for the walk on Observation.org.
– Overview of what has been happening with Proyecto Lepides and butterfly sightings all over Spain. Note the lack of “action” in the north.

Proyecto Ledipdes – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 25.04.16

Proyecto Ledipdes – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 19.04.16

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Introduction
The end of March gave hope for a good April and also April 2015 had been quite excellent with 17 species seen (although 2 of those were not in the area here) even though I was just starting out in the world of butterflies. A year on I’m a bit wiser, but with still so much ahead of me to learn …

Anyway, back to the start of this month. Work was a bit on the slow side, so in that sense I had time off … but illness hit the kids hard so they were home and needed close attention. The month started of with reasonable weather but a little gusty in the wind department … as the month went on the rains came when I had little to do and the sun was out when work was staring at me in the face … very frustrating! The 2016 butterfly-bug was starting to hit hard.

I was able to do a few truncated rounds of Recorrido A in the first days of April … pushing the least ill kid around in the pram so he could get some rest outside of the stuffy house where his brother was busy vomiting every time a spoon came close to his mouth … anyway, the usual suspects were out: Pieris napi, Pararge aegeria, Aglias io, Colias croceus to name but a few.
It was on the 1st of April when totally unexpectedly two new species popped infront of my camera lens … Boloria dia (Violet/Weavers Fritillary) and Erynnis tages (Dingy Skipper) … both within a couple of meters from each other. I spotted the one when I’d spotted the other. I was drawn to the fritillary due to colouring and patterns on the wings and only got a couple of poor shots off of the skipper, luckily one was good enough for a positive ID. I got quite a few decent photos of the fritillary and knew I needed some underside pictures for a proper ID, with with some patience I managed to get (though poor lighting! still just enough for an ID). This fritillary is not very common and a great find. Where these the butterflies I’d seen a few days earlier in the same spot but without being able to find out what they were? It sure seemed that way and I was well pleased even though some initial complaints had started coming from the pram telling me it was time to head home.
Both were a first for me and thus also a first for the area/transect, even though I was not officially walking the transect.

Violet (Weavers) Fritillary in Cantabria, Spain. 01.04.16
Violet (Weavers) Fritillary in Cantabria, Spain. 01.04.16

Violet (Weavers) Fritillary in Cantabria, Spain. 01.04.16
Violet (Weavers) Fritillary in Cantabria, Spain. 01.04.16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the 3rd of April I again went for a walk (with same kid) but this time around grandma’s house (very nearby here and also in 30TVN09). The wind was blowing so hard I almost decided not to go out, but the sun was out in full force, so who knew …
I went to a favourite spot, a sheltered field on the side of a sunny hill. A little dirt trail runs along the bottom of the hill accompanied by a shrub-lined brook. The wind was whipping high around the trees with the occasional gust through my hair … but I slowly walked the track with the sun as my guide … and there it was, amongst many other larger whites a relatively smaller white flying just that little bit different. The first Leptidea sinapis (Wood White) of the year. Only male genital analysis will tell us if it is this species or in fact Real’s Wood White that flies here, so until that day I’ll keep it to the more common of the two species.

Comma in Cantabria, Spain. 03.04.16
Comma in Cantabria, Spain. 03.04.16

As the track started to climb I decided to turn around and while walking back my next new species … Polygonia c-album (Comma Butterfly). For me this has always been an elusive species so I was again elated to see it. It sat on a sand bank and flew around a bit, happy for me to take pictures. Again a first for the year.

After this came two frustrating weeks of bad weather or no time. In the weekend I marked a day that looked to be good for the following week …

Recorrido A – 19.04.16 – 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo
… but it ended up being poor … continually overcast (after a sunny morning – no time, argh!) and with strong gusts of wind. The temperature was the only thing going for the day, just above 20C, when I headed out.

Even with the poor weather I saw the first butterflies instantly, flying up and down along the scrub. Dutifully checking the first few I came across it was clear they were probably all Pieris napi (Green-veined White). This white butterfly will be so plentiful in the coming months that it will drive me crazy.
It was a while before I saw something else fly by, this time it was a disturbed Pararge aegeria (Speckled Wood), again common stuff, though again this time around not as plentiful as in earlier months of this year.
A little later I spotted the first Leptidea sinapis (Wood White) for the transect this year, bouncing around in a field before it got swept away by a strong gust of wind.

I was feeling a bit hopeless, the poor weather was getting me down. Even a decent number of Colias croceus (15-20) (Clouded Yellow) zipping around just above the various Plantago spec. flowers at great speeds (wind no deterring factor for those excellent fliers) could not cheer me up. With a sigh I looked down and scratched my beard, what to do? It was staring right back at me … A colourful caterpillar, a blazing warning signal amidst the green grasses. This caterpillar (Zygaena spec.) looked about ready to start building a case. In a month+ the field I was standing at would be filled with the day flying moths that this caterpillar would turn in to. I’d have to wait until then to find out the exact species of vivid black and red moth that it will become. If I saw one I might see other caterpillars out …
Within 30cm was the next, this time a rich green with some light striping. I’d need to search internet for this difficult ID (turned out to be probably be the common Maniola jurtina – Meadow Brown – that will also be ever-present in a month or two).

Valeria jaspidea in Cantabria, Spain. 19.04.16
Valeria jaspidea in Cantabria, Spain. 19.04.16

Humming-bird Hawk Moth in Cantabria, Spain. 19.04.16
Humming-bird Hawk Moth in Cantabria, Spain. 19.04.16

I walked on, keeping my eyes peeled to the ground. This helped me spot a beautiful moth, Valeria jaspidea, on a small concrete post in the field. Incredibly subtly coloured, what a beauty. A bit further I spotted more Zygaena spec. caterpillars (3) and the weird but wonderful Macroglossum stellatarum (Humming-bird Hawk Moth) hovering and taking nectar from a knapweed.

Not at all bad after all … and then came the highlight of the day … I’d stopped at a favourite spot of mine to look at 4-5 different species of bumblebee when I spotted an incredibly small whitish fluffy thing zip by, at a crazy speed. By pure luck I had been able to track it with sight, I quickly whipped up my binoculars to get a closer look … what was that!? I took some quick pictures, as it was clear I’d never seen something of the sort before. Slowly I circled around inching forward and getting a better look from the other side. I almost lost sight of it as I made sure I had proper footing.
A Pyrgus spec., a tiny butterfly that at times resembles a moth. I was able to get quite close, but it refused to open its wings (or move for that matter). Without further scientific examination it is impossible to say whether it was a Pyrgus onopordi (Rosy Grizzled Skipper) or a Pyrgus armoricanus (Oberthür’s Grizzled Skipper). The second is slightly more probable, but either way, both are rare in Spain and especially here.
Due to the stubbornness to not open its wings I decided to call it a day and left. I do not see many butterflies of this family here so I was keen to get home and see what I’d seen (at that time I didn’t know an exact determination was impossible).

Skipper in Cantabria, Spain. 19.04.16
Skipper in Cantabria, Spain. 19.04.16

Summary
– Pieris napi.
– Pararge aegeria.
– Leptidea sinapis.
– Maniola jurtina (caterpillar).
– Zygaena spec. (a moth – caterpillar).
– Colias croceus.
– Valeria jaspidea (a moth) – a first for me.
– Celastrina argiolus.
– Macroglossum stellatarum (a moth) – first of the year.
– Pyrgus spec. – first on all accounts; me, year and transect!

Species year total — 17 (2015 – 45). 11 species over March 2016.
Notes:
– Not counting caterpillar species, as there is uncertainty around the ID and did not add those to the 2015 results. There will be plenty of Maniola jurtina imagos in a short while.
– Pyrgus spec. has been counted as one species.
– Only species of butterflies are counted, I really have no knowledge of moths, but they are part of Proyecto Lepides goals and results so … I will mention them in write-ups.

Further Reading
– My sightings (butterflies only) for the month of April so far on Observation.org.

Proyecto Ledipdes – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 19.04.16

Proyecto Lepides – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 27&29 03.16 – unofficial

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Introduction
The 26th had been spectacular weather, all be it a bit windy, with temperatures in the mid 20s. Unfortunately, there were visitors over and other plans had been made. The next day however, I was able to walk the outer track of the route when all of us went on an afternoon stroll. The visitors were interested in the volunteer work I do for Proyecto Lepides and wanted to get a feel of the transect. This meant that I would point out butterflies etc. as we walked the route and we did not do this too intensively by walking into fields etc. We saw quite a lot of butterflies out and we even saw another first-for-the-year species.

A couple of days later I did another “lite” walk of the transect, not walking the two interior dirt tracks. Again I saw a new species for the year.

I will give a very brief account below and the summary will only mention the species seen, most were seen over both days. No mention of numbers as such, as I was not really counting. Both walks were interesting, as they came so soon after a warm period and I was hoping to see the first real signs of a change in the air …

Recorrido A – 27 & 29 03.16 – 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo
The 27th was interesting, as it came after the first really warm day of the year. We went on an afternoon walk and it was around 21C but there was quite a breeze out and it was fresh in the shade.

The first butterfly we saw was instantly a new species for the year, Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus). Not the most common of butterflies here but I did see it on numerous occasions last year. It was sitting on a fallen leaf and did a quick flutter, flashing its crisp blue wings. Normally, I spot these zipping along at great speeds a metre or two above the ground.
During the rest of the walk there was an abundance of the usual suspects. It was quite an impressive walk for the guests due to the numbers of butterflies seen.

Holly Blue in Cantabria, Spain. 27.03.16

The 29th was similar weather, sunny, with some clouds and the temperature was around 17C with not much wind this time around. The time between the walks was filled with rain. I was able to go a bit more at my own pace this time around and headed out into a field or two, where I spotted the first Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) of the year. Last year I never saw them in great numbers, but it was a butterfly that was constantly present during most of the year.
The other butterflies seen were again the standard ones and in decent numbers.

Small Heath in Cantabria, Spain. 29.03.16

Highlight of the walk was watching a Stoat (Mustela erminea) criss-cross the road a couple of minutes carrying a bird in its mouth. Difficult to get good pictures, but was able to get a couple from very close by, as it was curious to see what I was doing and came quite close to have a look (safely sheltered in the bramble).

Stoat in Cantabria, Spain. 29.03.16

Stoat in Cantabria, Spain. 29.03.16

During the walk I’d not been able to identify a couple of butterflies, where this normally irritates me a bit it gave me hope for the coming period. I suspected I saw a skipper and another blue … and maybe an early fritillary, but I couldn’t be sure. A couple of days later it would become clear that my hunch was in the right direction …

Other interesting animals seen:
– Lissotriton helveticus.
– Lacerta bilineata.
– Mustela erminea (Stoat)!

Summary
– Celastrina argiolus – first for the year.
– Pararge aegeria.
– Pieris napi.
– Aglais io.
– Gonepteryx cleopatra.
– Colias croceus.
– Gonepteryx rhamni.
– Coenonympha pamphilus – first for the year.

Species year total — 12 (2015 – 45).

Further Reading
– My sightings for the days on Observation.org.

Proyecto Lepides – Recorrido A, 30TVN09, Casar de Periedo – 27&29 03.16 – unofficial