We set off for an early start butterfly counting up in Sierra Nevada with friend and wildlife guide Mick Richardson. A previous count in 2012 came up with a grand total of 47 species of which I saw 45, that was hugely impressive. I was not confident we could match that as subsequent visits have not been anywhere near as successful, but we would give it our best shot.
Our first butterfly was a Grayling which landed on my car bumper as we sat having a coffee on the way up. Needless to say we did not get a photograph, it was probably a Common Grayling.
Up on the higher slopes, out past the Virgin of the Snow Statue we picked up our main target species. This Apollo sat down long enough for a decent shot.
Our first butterfly was a Grayling which landed on my car bumper as we sat having a coffee on the way up. Needless to say we did not get a photograph, it was probably a Common Grayling.
Up on the higher slopes, out past the Virgin of the Snow Statue we picked up our main target species. This Apollo sat down long enough for a decent shot.
Apollo - parnassius apollo
Next was one of several Spanish Brassy Ringlets, a local endemic.
Spanish Brassy Ringlet - erebia hispania
Small Tortoiseshells were fairly numerous, providing a very bright splash of colour against the grey rocks.
There were a few Blues around. Mick suggested the Idas Blue was more likely than Silver-studded up at this altitude. I admit that I cannot distinguish between the two. Apparently the black upper wing border is wider on the Silver-studded but I didn't get good enough open wing shots to differentiate.
Idas Blue - plebejus idas
Purple Shot Copper was a fairly numerous species up here.
Purple Shot Copper - lycaena alciphron
There were a few of the endemic Nevada Blues about, always a good species to find here.
Nevada Blues - plebicula bolbus
The photo below is an Argus but I'm not sure if it's Spanish or Mountain. I do not have the ability to distinguish from just an underwing photograph. My gut feeling is it is Spanish Argus because of the rounded edge of the upper forewing, which would be straighter in Mountain Argus. But hey??
Spanish Argus - aricia morronensis
We were not only looking at butterflies and I was pleased to get a couple of nice opportunistic shots of a parent Northern Wheatear feeding a fledged youngster. The Wheatears were in their Summer moult which makes them look a bit scruffy, but this was a decisive moment shot, well worthwhile.
Northern Wheatears - oenanthe oenanthe
Northern Wheatears - oenanthe oenanthe
Northern Wheatear - oenanthe oenanthe
Other birds of note included Booted Eagle, Griffon Vulture, Rock Thrush (female), Tawny Pipit, Red-billed Chough and Mick spotted a solitary Common Cuckoo fly across as we parked lower down the slopes to continue with our butterfly count. We heard many other birds which Mick is able to recognise, I do not know the calls well enough to do that.
At the lower altitude the observed species changed. here is a Bath White and below I managed to capture a flying Bee in the shot which makes it more interesting.
Marbled Whites were quite prolific and I post this shot of what I believe is an Iberian Marbled White - melanargia lachesis. I hoped it was a Western Marbled White, which would be a first for me as I usually see the Common or Iberian varieties. Unfortunately it is the Iberian variety.
Iberian Marbled White - melanargia lachesis
I think the insect below is a Common Blue, but for all I know it could be one of several varieties, for example Eschers Blue. I just wish I could tell the difference but prudence requires us to choose the most common species.
Common Blue - polyommatus icarus
Here's another example of doubt. Is the next photo a Silver-studded or an Idas Blue? I really don't know but because it was seen lower down the mountain I will opt for Silver Studded Blue. It must be one of the two as it has the blue scales inside the outer black wingspots.
Silver-studded Blue - plebejus argus
There were relatively few Fritillaries to be seen today. This is a Dark Green Fritillary, I post two shots as an underwing view is good for identification.
Dark Green Fritillary - speyeria aglaja
Dark Green Fritillary - speyeria aglaja
The only other Fritillary I photographed all day was at a stop on the way down the mountain where we picked up this Lesser Spotted Fritillary. I would expect to have seen at least three or four more varieties which were conspicuous by their absence. I do believe insects in general are in decline and this is more anecdotal evidence of that.
Lesser Spotted Fritillary - melitaea trivia
We stopped by the botanical Gardens on the way down where Mick drew my attention to a pair of mating Clouded Yellows. It's not often we see this common species like this so it is definitely worthy of inclusion.
Clouded Yellows - colias crocea
The Spanish Purple Hairstreak is a nice species to find as it is restricted to the Iberian Peninsula. This one was on an Ash Tree which is one of its favoured foodstocks.
Spanish Purple Hairstreak - laeosopis roboris
Spanish Purple Hairstreak - laeosopis roboris
I also post here a previous photo of this species as the one we captured today was rather faded, the markings and colours less distinct than my previous effort.
Spanish Purple Hairstreak - laeosopis roboris
The Speckled Wood is one of the most common species in these parts but I post this shot anyway as it has fully open wings showing it to advantage.
Here's one I missed from earlier in the day, a Long-tailed Blue. We also saw Lang's Short-tailed and False Ilex Blues.
Long-tailed Blue - lampides boeticus
The shot below is a nice one of Lang's Short-tailed Blue on a wild dog-rose.
Langs Short-tailed Blue - leptotes pirithous
......and the next is a Blue Spot Hairstreak
Blue Spot Hairstreak - satyrium spini
We picked up both species of Swallowtail further down the mountain, I post here a decent shot of the Scarce Swallowtail, even though it's missing a large section of one wing.
Scarce Swallowtail - iphiclides feisthameli
The last butterfly shot is a Dusky Heath.
Dusky Heath - coenonympha dorus
Finally an image of a rather nice beetle that caught my eye. I have no idea what it is called, I just include it here as I like it.
In summary we had an excellent day. It was great to see Mick again after such a long time and we hope to have more wildlife adventures with him in the near future. We didn't manage the 45 - 47 species we picked up in 2012 but I understand Mick's count is 36 which is not bad at all. I hope to list them all later. We also enjoyed the birds but today was all about the mariposas of Sierra Nevada, a special environment.
Here's my butterfly count, I make it 33 species which I was very pleased with. I must say I was pretty tired out by the end of the day and was thankful that Elena drove back to Frigiliana while I slept. Climbing around the mountain with two cameras with 500mm and 180mm lenses is exhausting work, but very satisfying.
Common Grayling
Great Banded Grayling
Apollo
Spanish Brassy Ringlet
Small Tortoiseshell
Purple Shot Copper
Small Copper
Wall Brown
Mountain Argus
Spanish Brown Argus
Idas Blue
Nevada Blue
Silver-studded Blue
Common Blue
Langs Short-tailed Blue
Long-tailed Blue
Spanish Purple Hairstreak
False Ilex Hairstreak
Blue Spot Hairstreak
Black Satyr
Dark Green Fritillary
Lesser Spotted Fritillary
Small White
Bath White
Iberian Marbled White
Meadow Brown
Swallowtail
Scarce Swallowtail
Brimstone
Cleopatra
Clouded Yellow
Speckled Wood
Small Skipper
Common Grayling
Great Banded Grayling
Apollo
Spanish Brassy Ringlet
Small Tortoiseshell
Purple Shot Copper
Small Copper
Wall Brown
Mountain Argus
Spanish Brown Argus
Idas Blue
Nevada Blue
Silver-studded Blue
Common Blue
Langs Short-tailed Blue
Long-tailed Blue
Spanish Purple Hairstreak
False Ilex Hairstreak
Blue Spot Hairstreak
Black Satyr
Dark Green Fritillary
Lesser Spotted Fritillary
Small White
Bath White
Iberian Marbled White
Meadow Brown
Swallowtail
Scarce Swallowtail
Brimstone
Cleopatra
Clouded Yellow
Speckled Wood
Small Skipper
