Highlights of 2023.

Two highlights stand out during the 2023 season. One of them is the return of the Long-tailed Blue to my garden.I have had several visits of this species in the past attracted by the Everlasting Pea plants that grow in the borders.These visits have been during the latter part of August,but this year a female turned up on the 27th June.She stayed for a while and egg laided on various  flower buds.Although I was not fortunate enough to witness the any offspring ,I am confident that homegrown Long-tailed Blues ensued.

The other is a holiday in the Greek Islands,the first visit I have made since the pandemic.We spent a very pleasant fortnight on the island of Rhodes,close to the coast at Kiotari. A few weeks later this area was ravaged by wildfires and the brown and greens of the countryside were turned black.The result of the fires at the spot of our accomodation can be seen in the photo below taken from drone footage.I am glad to say that the villa where we stayed looks as though it survived the fires.

Among the butterflies encountered around the village of Kiotari were The Aegean Meadow Brown,the Pygmy Skipper,together with the Small and Lulworth Skipper. A great delight was the visit a Two-tailed Pasha on several occasions to nectar from a can of Mythos lager.

A Small Brown Skipper.

Almost four years have passed since I last made a visit to the Greek Islands ,so  a holiday to the island of Rhodes was much anticipated. There is still a burst of colour from flowering plants along the trackways and fields in May to tempt the butterflies. However despite being a rather small brown skipper I was  pleased to encounter  the Pygmy Skipper,Gegenes pumilio, by the side of a track as pictured below. Although a very fast moving butterfliy it was good enough the settle on this stone.

A Spot of Luck.

The Greek Island of Meganisi is reached via the tourist port of Nydri on Lefkada.So a short ferry ride back to Nydri to spend a short time in and around the town is easy and provides an opportunity to see the local butterflies.

A common species here in Greece and in Europe is the Spotted Fritillary.This female was seen enjoying the clover which proved very lucky for me.

Not Just Another White.

The Black-veined White disappeared from the UK in the 1920's but this magnificent butterfly can still be seen on the continent,sometimes in vast numbers.It is a large butterfly,as big as the Large White and graceful in flight.During a recent trip to the Greek Islands I encountered several including a female awkardly laying a batch of eggs to the underside of this leaf.

  

Back on the Road to Paliokatouna.

The road from Nydri to the hillside village of Paliokatuna on the Greek Island of Lefkada is about 3kms.This quiet road passes olive groves and several private villas as it winds up to the village and beyond.I have made a point of exploring the groves and small meadows beside the road ever since staying at Paliokatouna some years ago. and enjoying the wildlife that inhabit the hillsides.

I was happy to see for the first time,a Large Wall Brown fluttering around the side of the road nectaring on scabious flowers.It wasn't long before an impressive Scarce Swallowtail showed up,taking an interest in the many villa garden flowers that straddle the wire fences along the road. This was followed by a Southern White Admiral with the same intention.The surrounding olive groves are home to drifts of wild flowers and consquently many small butterflies.These include skippers and Common Blues.Another butterfly attracted to this mass of nectar are Clouded Yellows and there is always one it seems to be seen in any direction.

Colourful Cleopatras.

It is at this time of the year that I look forward to my first visit to the Greek Islands.The island of Lefkada in the Ionian Islands is always a favourite and last week I enjoyed a variety of butterflies here.

All residents and visitors around the Mediterranean must be familiar with the colourful Cleopatra butterfly Gonepteryx cleopatra. Adult Cleopatras can live up to 10 months as they hibernate over the winter,appearing again in May.The Cleopatras on Lefkada were numerous and guaranteed to be seen in high numbers on any flowering Bougainvillea.

The female is a pale greenish white,as noted in the final photograph below, displayed while seeing off a male.However the dazzling male sports bright yellow wings flushed on the forewings with orange.These upper wing colours are usually only viewed when the male is in flight,although sometimes there is an opportunity to see them while the butterfly is moving from flower to flower.

Favourite Find of 2016.

The 2016  butterfly season in the UK has been disappointing with sightings down on recent years.The results of The Big Butterfly Count can be viewed here.I have found this trend too on my forays around the Isle of Wight this year.A noticeable lack of butterfly numbers in the common species that I would expect to see doing well as our summer  had good spells of warm,even hot weather.

I was pleased to see that the Newport town centre White-letter Hairstreaks were back on the elm tree where they were discovered in 2015.Along our southern seaside cliffs the Glanville Fritillaries seem to have had a good season too.

During my two visits to the Greek Islands in 2016 I had the treat of  seeing several Lang's Short-tailed Blues and that import from South Africa,the Geranium Bronze which has now spread all along the Mediterranean coast from Spain to Greece.An unexpected sighting was a colony of Lulworth Skippers among the wild flowers of an olive grove on Greek Island of Lefkada.A rare butterfly in the UK,only seen on the coastal cliff tops of Dorset.

However my favourite find was during May when a trip was made across the Solent to the New Forest in Hampshire to see the beautiful Pearl-bordered Fritillary.Now alas,gone from the Island since 2011 due to a lack of sustainable habitat at its last location in Parkhurst Forest.The particular New Forest inclosure visited on that day was named New Copse and despite the rather cloudy weather there were good numbers of these fritillaries on the wing.The habitat here is well managed  for the needs of the Pearl-bordered.

  

A Common Skipper.

Skipper butterflies can be very insignificant mainly due to their small size and also because of their fast and low flight.While on the Greek Island of Thassos recently I saw several skippers all of which were the Mallow Skipper.This particular skipper is common in central and southern Europe perhaps due to the diverse range of habitat it is found in.

A Busy Blue.

August is the month for a holiday to the Greek Islands and it was back to the Aegean Island of Thassos.Near to the resort of Scala Panagia there are many tracks that lead towards the mountains and along them plenty of chances to come across butterflies. One of the smallest but no less beautiful is the busy and sometimes elusive Lang's Short-tailed Blue.An African species and now resident in some parts of Greece.

An Unexpected Treat.

After several visits to the Greek Islands and encountering the butterflies that are in the vicinity of our holiday homes,I have learnt to be aware that a 'blue' may not be just another Common Blue or a 'skipper'.just another Large or Small Skipper. This proved so following a trip to Lefkada at the end of May this year.In  a nearby olive grove dispersed with wild flowers and long scrubby grasses there were many skippers busily buzzing about.If the opportunity presents itself, it is a good idea to take some photos just in case I have stumbled upon something more interesting than 'just another skipper'.

That is where I left it until thankfully a fellow butterfly enthusiast advised me that my skippers were Thymelicus acteon or the Lulworth Skipper as it is commonly called in the UK.This species is not widespread in Britain,in fact it only occurs along the south facing grassy cliffs of Dorset.In continental Euorpe however it is found  throughout and tends to be more common in the south including the Balkans.

Under The Olive Trees.

Find an olive grove carpeted in wildflowers on any Greek Island  and it is certain that a good selection of butterflies will be encountered.The mix of butterflies may depend on the altitude, and the particular spot I came across on Lefkada recently was at sea level.The dominant species were Common Blue along with  a favourite of mine, the Clouded Yellow.Other butterflies included Small Copper,Meadow Brown,Brown Argus,Painted Lady,and various Whites.The dark Small Copper below is apparently a form commonly seen in Greece.