A Few Butterflies from Spain

On my previous trip to Spain, I ended up seeing about 60 species of butterflies. I was surprised to find that I was still able to recognize a few. Once Paul arrived, we spent 20-30 minutes or so at both Monfrague and the Sierra de Gredos to photograph cooperative butterflies.

Two-tailed Pasha (by Paul Thompson)

At Monfrague, the main highlights were Two-tailed Pashas and an abundance of hairstreaks. We also saw a number of Spanish Gatekeepers and a couple of Cleopatras, although the later eluded the camera. Unfortunately, on closer inspection, the hairstreaks all seemed to be just the same two species.

Spanish Purple Hairstreak (by Paul Thompson)

False Ilex Hairstreak (by Paul Thompson)

Southern Gatekeeper (by Paul Thompson)

I then found another butterfly that looked rather like a Common Snout, a species that occurs in America. We saw several of these and they turned out to be Nettle Tree Butterfly, which is in the same sub-family as the Common Snout.

Nettle Tree Butterfly (by Paul Thompson)

In the Sierra de Gredos, a brief birding spot at a somewhat lower altitude morphed into a butterfly photography session. Unfortunately a boleria (e.g. Pearl-bordered or similar) fritillary eluded the camera and we didn't bother with the Clouded Yellow-types, given how hard identification is, even from photographs.

Long-tailed Blue (by Paul Thompson)

Glanville Fritillary (by Paul Thompson)

Sooty Copper (by Paul Thompson)

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