Wednesday 19 April 2017

The Queen of Spain comes to Pantokrator

Queen of Spain Fritillary, Issoria lathonia
April 9th was day 2 of the Corfu Butterfly Enthusiast's (CBE's) tour of Corfu and brought us to Old Perethia on Mount Pantokrator. We enjoyed wandering along the mountain tracks admiring the many Eastern Dappled Whites, Wood Whites, Green-underside Blues and other butterflies, insects and flowers. We lunched at a Taverna in the town and were immediately impressed by a tree beside our table which was soon  identified as a Nettle Tree. A glance up revealed butterflies fluttering round the tree top and these were soon identified as elusive Nettle-tree Butterflies - we had struck gold! This was the first of many fabulous Greek lunches.
  We were accompanied on this day by two wildlife notables: photographer Giannis Gasteratos, whose knowledge of all things Natural on Corfu (and the surrounding countries) is astounding, plus Chris Little, a British wildlife enthusiast who has extensive knowledge of the butterflies here. Dan then drove us to Pantokrator where we walked along a cliff path which dropped down several times to bays. We had a very brief swim in one of them in very cold water.
  Giannis showed us a Nose-horned Viper, one of two small poisonous snakes on the island, and a Whip Snake. We were pleased to see a Glanville Fritillary larva crawling over the rocks. A Blue-throated Keeled lizard and a Mallow Skipper were among many interesting sightings for the group. The afternoon highlight was a Queen of Spain Fritillary which gave us a great show as it flew along the path.
 Thanks to Chris Little for the morning's butterfly species list: Green Underside Blue, Holly Blue, Eastern Dappled White, Large White, Large Tortoiseshell, Clouded Yellow, Wall Brown, Orange Tip, Wood White, Small Copper, Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, Brown Argus, Mallow Skipper, Red Admiral, Nettle Tree Butterfly (16 species).
morning view from John & Lynne;s villa


Perethia:

Chafer, Oxythyrea funesta

Eastern Dappled White egg

Eastern Dappled White egg

Eastern Dappled White

Eastern Dappled White
Grass Eggar larva, Lasiocampa trifolii

Grass Eggar larva

Grass Eggar larva

Greek Slow Worm juvenile, Anguis graeca

Green-underside Blue, Glaucopsyche alexis

Green-underside Blue female

Green-underside Blue female

Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus

Green Longhorn, Adela reaumurella







possibly an abberant of Green-underside Blue, Glaucopsyche alexis
only 4 spots on upper wing and one tiny one of lower wing

Provence Orchid, Orchis provincialis

Speckled Bush Cricket nymph, Leptophyes punctatissima

Wall, Lasiommata megera

White Asphodel, Asphodelus ramosus

White Asphodel

Nettle-tree Butterfly, Libythea celtis

Nettle-tree Butterfly on its food-plant, probably egg laying

Nettle-tree Butterfly

Nettle-tree Butterfly

Nettle-tree Butterfly

Pantokrator:

Bee, Andrena species from Corfu

Blue-throated Keeled lizard, Dalmatian Algyroides

Brassica, Erysimum species

Clouded Yellow, Colias croceus

Cretan Alkanet, Anchusa cretica

Four-spotted Orchid, Orchis quadripunctata

Glanville Fritillary larva 7th Instar, Melitaea cinxia

Glanville Fritillary larva 7th Insta

Hairy Shieldbug, Dolycoris baccarum

Horseshoe Bee-orchid, Ophrys ferrum-equinum

Latticed Heath, Chiasmia clathrata

Mallow Skipper, Carcharodus alceae

Man Orchid, Orchis anthropophora

Myrtle Spurge, Euphorbia myrsinites

Myrtle Spurge

Nose-horned Viper, Vipera ammodytes

Nose-horned Viper

Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui

Painted Lady





CBEs wandering the path



possible Common Blue
Mediterranean Banded Centipede, Scolopendra cingulata
poisonous

possible nest of a bee, Megachile parietina
10cm deep, sandy texture on rock

Queen of Spain Fritillary, Issoria lathonia

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Dan chasing the Queen of Spain Fritillary

Dan photographing the Queen of Spain Fritillary

Scarlet Pimpernel blue form, Anagallis arvensis


micro-moth, Tortrix species
Short-toed Snake Eagle, Circaetus gallicus
unidentified Myriapods

Wolf Spider, Lycosa praegrandis

Woodlouse, Armadillidium werneri

Yellow Bee Orchid, Ophrys sicula

Yellow Bee Orchid

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