A mixed bag this week with visits to Julian & Margarate´s delightful plot near Torrox Pueblo, a superb barbeque held by Alan and Yvonne at the stunning villa and estate they manage high in the Rio-de-la-Miel Valley, and some Bee-eater shots from the Rio Seco near Frigiliana. The Bee-eaters are feeding young so they turn up with all manner of insects for the brood. It is interesting to watch how they knock and scrape the stingers out of a bee, then squeeze the venom out of the abdomen before anything gets eaten.
Bee-eater - merops apiaster
Chamaeleon This Chamaeleon was lurking in the flowerbeds by the barbeque so everyone was taking pictures, he didn´t seem to mind. His eyes move around in all directions and I wonder how they reconcile the different views. Do they have two virtual screens in the brain each with a different view, or can they switch from one to the other at will? Scientists can only speculate.
The Little Skipper butterfly below was captured on a tangled spider´s web. I thought it was stuck and awaiting its fate like the other victims whose empty shells can be seen in the web, however the butterfly did manage to pull itself free and take off.
The Little Skipper butterfly below was captured on a tangled spider´s web. I thought it was stuck and awaiting its fate like the other victims whose empty shells can be seen in the web, however the butterfly did manage to pull itself free and take off.
Small Skipper - thymelicus sylvestris
 Dusky Heath - coenonympha dorus fetigii |  Dusky Heath - coenonympha dorus dorus There were a lot of butterflies around in the Rio-de-la-Miel but not the Two-tailed Pasha that I was hoping for. It did take me quite some time to identify the butterfly on the left though. It turns out to be a Dusky Heath, but one of the Moroccan/Algerian sub-species "fetigii" which is quite unlike the more commonly seen "dorus", which I post above. |
Clouded Yellow - colias crocea I am searching for a means of differentiating between a Clouded Yellow and a Berger´s Clouded Yellow. So far I have drawn a blank, they look the same to me. A top wing shot might help but they always alight with closed wings.
The Striped Grayling is a handsome butterfly. Quite large with very distinctive grey-brown markings it is a common sight on the hot sunny slopes of the Axarquia,
Blue-spot Hairstreak - satyrium spini This butterfly is a Blue-spot Hairstreak. Another quite familiar insect in the hot, dry scrubby hillsides of the Axarquia. It is readily identified by the speckled blue spot just forward of the "Tail" on the hindwing underside.
Bee-Fly - bombylidae
A final photo from the bbq at Alan & Yvonne´s, this one is of grey Bee Fly, one of many varieties of the genus bombylidae which are not bees at all. It may be useful for them to closely resemble bees in order to deter some predators. They are all characterised by the long fixed proboscis which is used to suck nectar from flowers. They are expert hoverers and can fly backwards and are capable of sudden bursts of speed.
I was disappointed not to be able to post any of the photos taken at Julian´s idyllic plot because everything was "Soft" (Blurred). I now see that the low light in the shade of all Julian´s trees meant very slow shutter speeds and consequently slightly blurred images.
I was disappointed not to be able to post any of the photos taken at Julian´s idyllic plot because everything was "Soft" (Blurred). I now see that the low light in the shade of all Julian´s trees meant very slow shutter speeds and consequently slightly blurred images.
