Butterflies from Fuerteventura.

 My final post from our Naturetrek trip to Fuerteventura is about the butterflies we found. With the trip being in November and very few flowers surviving the drought that appears to be happening over there we didn't see too many species. However, there were a few flying and some really nice ones too. Several were species we regularly see in the UK including Small White, Painted Lady , Red Admiral and Clouded Yellow. However, there is little to beat the view of a large Monarch flying slowly around you. We only saw a small number but there were at least 2 around the Hotel, one was very tatty on its left wing, but the other one was pretty good and that was the one that briefly posed for me on the foliage of a small bush.

Monarch.

On one of our outings we came across several Plain Tiger butterflies and one of our clients who was checking out a plant also found several larvae of the Plain Tiger. All the butterflies here were unfortunately showing signs of wear and tear but they were still mighty impressive.

Plain Tiger.

Plain Tiger larva.

We did have a bit of confusion with the blue butterfly that was in the Hotel grounds, but after arriving home and checking the books we discovered that the Lang's Short-tailed Blue had made it across to the Canary Islands in the years since my European book had been written. Quite a few were seen including some egg laying.

Lang's Short-tailed Blue.

Another butterfly we saw a few of that had a tail were the Geranium Bronze. This species occasionally appear in the UK when they are presumably imported as eggs on Geranium plants. 

Geranium Bronze.

Clouded Yellow.

In the grounds of the Hotel I spotted a small moth that I have just managed to identify. It is the Maize Moth (Spoladea recurvalis) that on checking has actually appeared in Sussex on a handful of times. A beautiful little moth, although in some parts of the World it is considered a pest species. I certainly wouldn't mind getting it in my moth trap sometime!! Up to 2015 there had been 9 Sussex records.

Maize Moth

Finally from the trip, and nothing to do with insects, we did see quite a few of the local Ground Squirrels. They would feel very put out if I didn't include a photo of one of these guys!!

Ground Squirrel.