Southern Spain in June

[bobw]

I shall be spending the first week in June on the Costa del Sol and wondered if anyone knows of any interesting butterflies I might be able to find in the area.

I shall be staying in Nerja and I'm prepared to drive up to 2 or 3 hours to find anything of interest.

Thanks

Bob

[Deleted]

if you are able to get any papilio machaon Bob I would be interested along with i podalirius.

[bobw]

Dunc

I've never seen any podalirius down there. I've seen a few machaon but searching fennels has only ever yielded one larva.

In general I'd rather look for larvae than adults as it's not usually good to be seen with a net in Spain.

Bob

[Deleted]

Charaxes Jasius should be there.

[wollastoni]

Bob, you just have to apply for a permit in Spain and you will have no problem at all.

Don't be ashamed of being an entomologists ! We don't want the rest of Europe become like England where entomologists have to hide when collecting.

[bobw]

Dunc

Yes, I've seen jasius there, but only the odd one here and there; not in huge numbers like I've found them in north-east Spain.

Olivier

It's not a collecting trip; I'm just visiting friends, eating tapas and drinking far too much. I just thought it would be nice if I can find something interesting while I'm there, but I don't intend to put too much effort into it so I certainly can't be bothered to go through the hassle of applying for a permit.

Bob

[Deleted]

Don't be ashamed of being an entomologists ! We don't want the rest of Europe become like England where entomologists have to hide when collecting

sigh yes, we do feel like a criminal over here for owning a net, even if its only to catch a gravid female for breeding, you dare not let anyone see you.

[wollastoni]

Bob < it's not hard to get a permit from Spain, they are clever authorities.

Dunc < I know and it is very sad.
In France, there are still a respect for field entomologists but of course sometimes you can meet some people who will think you are crazy (and it's not totally false ) and some who think you are a criminal (but I just ask them politely what knowlegde they have in entomology and in 99% of times they feel totally stupid).

[pittendrighinsects]

If you come to central Spain in June, near Talavera or even Madrid, I can take you to the best collecting spots...central Spain in June yields many species, though as for the south, since it is basically a desert, you would have to go to the mountains if you want to find anything interesting.

I will leave to Spain on May 27 and will be collecting for the whole summer, so anyone who wants to join me is welcome!

Quintin

[miguel]

Hello:

Danaus plexippus and Charaxes jasius fly there,but it´s forbidden their collecting because both species are protected.

Miguel

[wollastoni]

I have heard that the good spots of Danaus plexippus and Danaus chrysippus in Spain have been "concreted" into tourist resorts Is it true ?

If true, those protections are once again totally stupid if not applied to protect habitats.

[miguel]

Danaus plexippus and Danaus chrysippus fly together in Torrox,near Nerja.

Seems that people with a net is more dangerous for wildlife than touristics resorts (and touristics resorts are more lucratives for our politics)

Miguel

[bobw]

I've been to Nerja about a dozen times at various times of the year, but not in the summer. Last October I saw my first D. plexippus there. I'd expected to find it in this spot because Asclepias curassavica grows quite commonly there.

Bob

[bobw]

Apr 16, 2013 8:36:49 GMT -8 pittendrighinsects said:

If you come to central Spain in June, near Talavera or even Madrid, I can take you to the best collecting spots...central Spain in June yields many species, though as for the south, since it is basically a desert, you would have to go to the mountains if you want to find anything interesting.

Unfortunately, central Spain is way too far from where I'm staying on what is not primarily a collecting trip.

I may spend a day or two in the Sierra Nevada but I don't know what I might expect to find there in early June. I've been up there in early May looking for larvae but I've seen nothing flying except for a few commom Pieris and Aglais.

Bob

[lepidofrance]

In Spain, you have to get a permit to collect butterflies. Not so difficult to obtain, but you must know that it will be not a national permit but a provincial permit (for Catalunya, or Murcia, or Andalusia).

Some years ago, in August, I rented a nice house near Osuna (Andalusia) : the property was full of Charaxes jasius (second brood) ! So many !!

Difficult to understand why this species is protected ?

The scenario was as follows: having spotted a "spot" on a hill top, you capture this male on this strategic point. 5 minutes later, a new male takes the same position, you capture. 5-6 minutes later, a third jasius takes the position. And so on!

I noticed the same pattern in Corsica.