Butterflies of Southern Greece

Naturetrek Tour Report 23 - 30 June 2007

Report compiled by Rob Parker & Philip Thompson

Naturetrek Cheriton Mill Cheriton Alresford Hampshire SO24 0NG England T: +44 (0)1962 733051 F: +44 (0)1962 736426 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk

Tour Report Butterflies of Southern Greece

Tour Leaders: Rob Parker Philip Thompson

Participants: James & Judy Daniels Mike Darlow Caroline Jackson-Houlston Bob Lugg John & Margaret Shepherdson John Vallander Karen Nichols Peter & Ann Wood

Day 1 Saturday 23rd June

The Olympic Airlines flight arrived late in the heat of the Athens evening, but that was soon behind us as we set off in the 2 buses. The uphill journey was completed in the dark and our first meal at the Filoxenia was a midnight feast.

Day 2 Sunday 24th June

Our first butterfly was an unexpected Large Tortoiseshell resting inside the window in the dining room. A gentle stroll after breakfast served as an orientation to the village of Kalavrita and an introduction to the butterflies flying locally. At 744 m above sea level, these included the Balkan Marbled White, the Eastern Bath White, Cleopatra, Sooty Copper, Southern White Admiral, Mallow Skipper and the Great Banded Grayling, as well as plenty of familiar “British” species. Beside the river, Beautiful Demoiselles danced all around us. A good view of a Short-toed Eagle fly-over turned out to be amongst the bird highlights of the trip! Most birds being intent on raising young unobtrusively, we saw rather less than we would have wished.

A drive around the shoulder of Mount Chelmos, and a dip into one of its folds led us to more natural habitat at 970m, close to Lousi, where everyone was delighted with an abundance of Ilex Hairstreaks, Black-veined Whites and a couple of Grecian Coppers along the track leading to our picnic site. The grasses were rich with enormous orthoptera – colourful bush crickets, praying mantids, red-winged grasshoppers and loathsome locusts. A shady gully over the stream attracted a Small Pincertail dragonfly (Onychogomphus forcipatus), and 2 or 3 great reed warblers were seen among the phragmites-lined ditch.

The midday heat came as a shock to some, and we sought out the shade of the ancient plane trees at nearby Planitero (620m) where we took in the atmosphere of a Greek Sunday at a taverna beside the source of the River Aroania. A Greek Goldenring (Cordulegaster helladia), a Sombre Goldenring (Cordulegaster bidentata) and a Short- toed Treecreeper gave us good views. Like us, many of the butterflies were taking refuge in the shade, and everyone was amazed at the abundance of Purple Hairstreaks everywhere from the moist leaves of the fool’s watercress to the branches of the planes around us (not oaks). In the dappled light, Silver-washed Fritillaries cruised with a few Lattice Browns and the only Speckled Woods we were to see in the whole week. Back at the hotel we were able to count 37 species - not a bad start.

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

Day 3 Monday 25th June

The morning began with the drive up to the plateau near the ski area, where we began our quest for the endemic Chelmos Blue, at its only European locality. Unexpectedly, we had to negotiate the course of a road under construction, where the earth moving machinery was raising clouds of dust. At an elevation of 1600m, we found a number of extra species, notably the Clouded Apollo, Greek Clouded Yellow, and Mountain Small White. We picnicked in a gully where a Camberwell Beauty was a welcome guest, bringing the total to 27 species in that one spot. Those who went up the gully after lunch were rewarded with a very close view of a mother Rock Partridge shielding her recently hatched brood.

The blues were becoming a challenge; already we had found Silver-studded at our feet, with some Zephyr Blues, the Mountain Argus and the Blue Argus, the Greek Mazarine was a nice find, as was Ripart’s Anomalous Blue. The Common Blue was everywhere, and we learned how to separate Chapman’s and Amanda’s – all whilst searching for iphigenia - the Chelmos Blue, named for Agamemnon’s daughter. At long last, we discovered the leaking water trough famously used by mud-puddling blues, and there most of the group did see their first iphigenia flitting from one patch of moisture to another. An Ortolan Bunting came down with the intention of drinking to add a nice bonus. We were surprised to see how many Black-veined Whites had drowned in the puddles, and sorry to upset the goatherd, who held us responsible for keeping his flock from the water. The slightly cooler air at the top of the mountain allowed us a longer second day, which we finished with a feeling of achievement, having found our holy grail.

Evening in Kalavrita’s streets was pleasantly cooler, and a fresh emergence of Gypsy Moths made them an abundant guest in the pavement cafes. It is easy to see why they are treated as a pest species whenever they reach UK. Scops Owl was heard each evening, seemingly unconcerned by the noise of traffic and the local population.

Day 4 Tuesday 26th June

Up to 3 middle-spotted woodpeckers were seen below the hotel in the orchards during an early morning walk. They were in the same area on most mornings of our stay at Kalavrita. Red-rumped Swallows were also a feature of this area and were also seen in small numbers throughout our trip, demonstrating their distinctive slower more gliding flight as opposed to the more darting rapid flight of the common Barn Swallow.

A stop at the monastery of Agia Lavra proved productive, with good views of the Anomalous Blue as well as Ripart’s, and our first glimpse of Iolas Blue amongst a mass of hairstreaks on a bramble patch. We drove downhill a few kilometers to join the quiet road up towards Souvardo, and stopped to examine two tortoises en- route (Hermann’s and Marginated) before exploring a long hot terrace. Here we encountered a Persian Skipper, numerous Ilex Hairstreaks enjoying the thyme, and one Blue-spot Hairstreak, as well as Tree Grayling and Eastern Rock Grayling.

One interesting discovery was brought in by Caroline – a stem of grass supporting a freshly emerged cicada clinging to its pupal case. Limp and pale green initially, it took 20 minutes to assume its more familiar brown livery. The hamlet of Souvardo, at 1260m, provided a picnic site in deep shade with running water, and was a nice place to watch mud-puddling blues and a succession of other species.

2 © Naturetrek August 07

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

Sitting with a glass of wine and letting the butterflies come to us was becoming a lifestyle; Swallowtail and Scarce Swallowtail soared around, the Anomalous Blue was joined at the mud by the Spotted Fritillary, as well as the Glanville, whilst Large Tortoiseshell, Southern White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary were becoming commonplace. A pair of Grecian Golden-ringed Dragonflies mated quietly in the branches above our heads whilst at a smaller scale, a Yellow-legged clearwing displayed in the sun.

A sudden shriek of delight announced the arrival of a Two-tailed Pasha, which stayed with us for almost an hour, getting tipsy from wine on the rim of a plastic beaker. Despite its frayed margins, it was a photogenic creature, and someone devised the perfect posing solution; it was placed on a small rock with a drop of wine, and the resulting butterfly paperweight could be moved around to suit the whim of the photographers. Another treat was encountered just up the track after lunch – Iolas Blue at the flowers of a large bush of bladder senna. Inspecting the pods, Mike was able to show us how the larvae consume the seeds, leaving just frass inside the husks. Another bladder senna played host to Long-tailed Blue, and nearby, a Tufted Marbled Skipper sat on a baking rock, close to a Peloponnese Wall Lizard. Only later did we discover that a Great Sooty Satyr had also been photographed at the same spot, but not seen by everyone.

Day 5 Wednesday 27th June

We set off at 0830 for the descent to sea level, admiring the spectacular views across the Vouraikos gorge until we saw the smoke of a serious forest fire. Soon four Canada air amphibian fire-bombers appeared, and set up a circuit, collecting seawater on a low pass over the Gulf of Corinth, and climbing back up the gorge to discharge their cargo. Arriving at Egio in good time for the ferry, we took a coffee before boarding for the 50 minute crossing to Agios Nikolaos. A lone Little Tern and several Yellow-legged Gulls were the highlights of our crossing of the Gulf despite constant lookout!

The northern shore looked immediately more parched than the southern side had been, but the coastline made an agreeable journey to Galaxidi. We stopped at the harbour, and walked in the intense heat in what looked like good Grayling country. It took us a while to find them, but when we got our eyes in, we were able to get closer to them than had been possible in the mountains. All that we photographed proved to be Freyer’s Grayling, superbly camouflaged on the bark of their favourite pines. A nice incidental find was a freshly emerged adult ant- lion. We might have taken a swim here, but we settled for hanging our feet in the cooling sea before an agreeable lunch in a taverna at the water’s edge.

The onward drive took us past Delfi and we arrived at our Arachova hotel at about 4:30, in time for an excursion at 6pm, at which time it was still exceedingly hot and few butterflies were to be found on the parched hillside 7 kms above the hotel. Two of them were new species, however – the White-banded Grayling was flying along a rocky gully, and an odd-looking meadow brown turned out to be a male Oriental Meadow Brown. The first Rock Nuthatch of the trip was seen by 2 lucky group members on their balcony at the hotel in Arachova. These birds could be heard calling below the hotel throughout our time here.

Day 6 Thursday 28th June

After breakfast, we headed straight up towards the ski slopes of Mount Parnassos, making a morning stop amongst pines at 1390m. At this level, there was plenty to watch, but all the blues were Common, and all the

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

skippers Essex. The sight of our first Cardinal eclipsed a mating pair of Silver-washed Fritillaries. At 1815m, the top of the ski centre car park had a dry, barren look about it, which belied its cardinal quality. A big patch of thistles at the edge of the tarmac was smothered in Cardinals, all delightfully accessible to photographers, and the rocky gully nearby harboured Clouded Apollos in quantity, though these were all extremely worn. An elusive male rock thrush was seen here, as well as several equally elusive black redstarts. Later, we were graced with a splendid party of 15 Alpine Chough. Working our way down the gully, we found Greek Clouded Yellows, and a couple of exquisite Balkan Coppers before our picnic amongst the pines below.

The best stop of the day was a damp meadow, where we found the Nettle-tree butterfly mud puddling along with Turquoise Blue, Blue Argus, and Escher’s Blue. Flitting around were Southern Commas, Dark Green and Niobe Fritillaries, as well as Pearl-bordered and Heath Fritillaries. Our second Tawny Pipit of the trip was seen by most on the afternoon walk. This bird proved rather difficult to pick out despite it obligingly perching and preening for some time not too far away due to its splendidly cryptic colouration (or dullness if you prefer!).

The one Wood White we saw here sported the white antennal tips of L. sinapis, the “British” Wood White, as distinct from the Eastern Wood White. We could have stayed forever, but 5pm saw us making a final stop at an impressive bank of bramble at the roadside lower down. To our surprise, the dozens of hairstreaks here were mostly White-letters, and a Pigmy Skipper put in an appearance too.

Day 7 Friday 29th June

The ancient site of Delfi is a major tourist attraction, and we made a point of arriving for 9am for 3 hours of culture. There were no Apollos at the temple of Apollo, no L. boeticus at the Treasury of the Boetians, and only a few Graylings on the trees. Close to the cave of the oracle, Karen disturbed a Dahl’s whip snake (Coluber najadum) sitting on a wooden bench. It was hard not to notice the highly vocal rock nuthatches, which were all around the ruins. There was also another memorable vocal performance, when Caroline stepped into the acoustically perfect center of the ancient Theatre and sang two folk songs quite exquisitely to an appreciative audience - proving that Naturetrek clients are no ordinary mortals!

Some of the group also had views of a family of fledged Sombre Tits with their parents at the top of the site alongside the stadium. A very obliging Black-eared Wheatear showed very well at close range as we descended towards the Castalian Fountain. Hoping for the two interesting species found by last year’s group, we were disappointed to find that the area had been closed to visitors, so we had to make do with a Jersey Tiger moth at the locked gate. We also rescued an almost-drowned Nemopteran (a long-tailed lacewing, Nemoptra coa, or similar) from a lesser fountain, and were pleased that it recovered to fly off after a few minutes in the sun.

The afternoon was another excursion up Mount Parnassos, to a meadow at 1260m near Eptalafos, where we did better than expected, finding the familiar “British” Marbled White and Lulworth Skipper for the first time, as well as the Olive Skipper, and unexpectedly, the Levantine Skipper. A patch of dwarf sambuca had attracted an assortment of nectar feeders, including Blue-spot Hairstreak, and not far away we found a fine male Meleager’s Blue. Sadly, this excellent upland meadow is already filling up with newly built chalets, and soon the habitat will be lost forever. Our evening debriefing was conducted with the uplifting mountain view from the hotel’s open air terrace, whilst watching bats drop out of the eaves for their evening moth hunt.

4 © Naturetrek August 07

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

Day 8 Saturday 30th June

After a final early morning bird walk below the hotel, we bade farewell to Arachova and made an uneventful journey to Athens. A thermalling White Stork enlivened the approach to the airport. Our delayed Olympic Airways flight brought us to Heathrow at the same time as a major security alert, which unfortunately disrupted everyone’s onward travel plans. After such an uplifting trip, we came down to earth with a bump, but at least the photography will keep us thinking about the butterflies of Greece. It will be interesting to discover whether the results of the lightweight digital cameras match the quality of the macro film and digital SLR enthusiasts. Without the photography, a number of species might have gone unidentified, so thanks are due to the whole group for their endeavours.

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

Species Lists

Butterflies

June Common name Scientific name 24 25 26 27 28 29 Remarks 1 Swallowtail Papilio machaon K C S Pa E 2 Scarce Swallowtail Iphiclides podalirius K S A Pa A E Parnassius 3 Clouded Apollo C Pa mnemosyne 4 Black-veined White Aporia crataegi K L C S K 5 Large White Pieris brassicae K L C S A' Pa E 6 Small White Pieris rapae K L P C S Pa E 7 Mountain Small White Pieris ergane C S 8 Green-veined White Pieris napi S 9 Eastern Bath White Pontia edusa KL KS A' Pa E 10 Clouded Yellow Colias crocea KL C S Pa E Colias crocea var 11 Clouded Yellow C S A' helice 12 Greek Clouded Yellow C. libanotica C A' Pa aurorina heldreichii 13 Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni KL C S Pa E Gonepteryx 14 Cleopatra KL C S Pa E cleopatra 15 Wood White Leptidea sinapis S Pa 16 Purple Hairstreak Quercusia quercus P K S 17 Sloe Hairstreak Satyrium acaciae L C S Pa 18 Ilex Hairstreak Satyrium ilicis K L S D 19 Blue-spot Hairstreak Satyrium spini L E 20 White-letter Hairstreak Satyrium w-album A' 21 Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas L C K S Pa E 22 Grecian Copper Heodes ottomanus K L K S 23 Sooty Copper Lycaena tityrus K L K Pa 24 Balkan Copper Lycaena candens Pa 25 Long-tailed Blue Lampides boeticus S F 26 Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus K S Pa E 27 Iolas Blue Iolana iolas K S Pa 28 Zephyr Blue Plebejus pylaon C S A' Pa E 29 Silver-studded Blue Plebejus argus C S Pa 30 Idas Blue Plebejus idas Pa E 31 Brown Argus Aricia agestis K S E 32 Mountain Argus Aricia artaxerxes C Pa 33 Blue Argus Ultraaricia anteros C Pa 34 Greek Mazarine Blue Cyaniris helena C 35 Ripart’s Anomalous Blue Agrodiaetus ripartii K C K S 36 Anomalous Blue Agrodiaetus admetus K S A. iphigenia 37 Chelmos Blue C nonacriensis 38 Escher's Blue Agrodiaetus escheri L Pa 39 Chapmans Blue Agrodiaetus thersites L C K Pa E 40 Amanda's Blue Agrodiaetus amanda C S 41 Turquoise Blue Plebicula dorylas Pa E 42 Meleager’s Blue Meleageria daphnis E 43 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus K L P C S K Pa E

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

June Common name Scientific name 24 25 26 27 28 29 Remarks 44 Nettle Tree Butterfly Libythea celtis Pa 45 Two-tailed Pasha Charaxes jasius S 46 Southern White Admiral Limentis reducta K L P C S Pa E Nymphalis 47 Large Tortoiseshell K L C S polychloros 48 Camberwell Beauty Nymphalis antiopa C Pa E 49 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta K Pa E 50 Painted Lady Cynthia cardui K L C S K A' Pa E 51 Small Tortoiseshell Aglais urticae C Pa 52 Comma Polygonia c-album P S Pa E 53 Southern Comma Polygonia egea K Pa D 54 Cardinal Argynnis pandora Pa 55 Silver-washed Fritillary Argynnis paphia K L P C K S Pa E 56 Dark Green Fritillary Argynnis aglaia C Pa 57 Niobe Fritillary Argynnis niobe Pa E 58 Queen of Spain Fritillary Issoria lathonia C S Pa E Clossiana 59 Pearl-bordered Fritillary Pa euphrosyne 60 Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxia C S 61 Spotted Fritillary Melitaea didyma S Pa 62 Lesser Spotted Fritillary Melitaea trivia C 63 Heath Fritillary Mellicta athalia Pa 64 Marbled White Melanargia galathea E 65 Balkan Marbled White Melanargia larissa K L C S A Pa E Neohipparchia 66 Tree Grayling S statilinus 67 Freyer’s Grayling Neohipparchia fatua G D E 68 Eastern Rock Grayling Hipparchia syriaca S Pseudochazara 69 White-Banded Grayling A' A' A anthelea 70 Great Sooty Satyr Satyrus ferula S late photo ID 71 Great Banded Grayling Brintesia circe K L P C K S Pa A E 72 Meadow Brown Maniola jurtina K L P C S A' Pa E 73 Oriental Meadow Brown Hyponephele lupina A' Pa Coenonympha 74 Small Heath L C Pa pamphilus 75 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria P 76 Wall Brown Lasiommata megera K C S A' Pa E 77 Large Wall Brown Lasiommata maera C G Pa 78 Lattice Brown Kirinia roxelana L P C K A 79 Hungarian Skipper Spialia orbifer C Pa E 80 Persian Skipper Spialia phlomidis S 81 Olive Skipper Pyrgus serratulae E 82 Mallow Skipper Carcharodus alceae K L K D Carcharodus 83 Tufted Marbled Skipper S flocciferus Carcharodus 84 Oriental Marbled Skipper C K Pa orientalis 85 Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages C 86 Lulworth Skipper Thymelicus acteon E 87 Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola Pa E 88 Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris K L C K Pa

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

June Common name Scientific name 24 25 26 27 28 29 Remarks 89 Levantine Skipper Thymelicus hyrax E late ID 90 Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus K K K 91 Pigmy Skipper Gegenes pumilo A'

Notes: Sequence follows Tolman, 1997

Taxonomy updated to Lafranchis 2004

Locations visited, Elevn. Lat/Long Species K Kalavrita 744m 38 01.98N 22 06.64E K 36 L ancient Lousi 970m 37 58.56N 22 06.58E L 27 P Planitero 620m 37 59.56N 22 08.72E P 9 C Chelmos 1610m 38 01.76N 22 14.01E C 43 S Souvardo 1250m 38 02.92N 22 10.03E S 46 F Ferry at Egio 0m F 1 G Galaxidi 0m G 2 A' above Arachova 1050m 38 33.71N 22 34.85E A' 13 Pa Parnassos 1200 - 1815m 38 33.07N 22 34.86E Pa 54 D Delfi 665m (top) 38 22.96N 22 29.89E D 4 A Arachova village 936m 38 28.71N 22 34.85E A 5 E Eptalafos meadow 1260 38 34.26N 22 30.14E E 37

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

Birds

June 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 White Stork 1 2 Short-toed Eagle 2 3 Common Buzzard Heard 1 1 4 Kestrel 2 1 3 2 5 Lesser Kestrel 1 6 Rock Partridge 5 7 Moorhen Heard 8 Yellow-legged Gull 15 5 9 Little Tern 1 10 Feral Pigeon 15 13 12 15 11 Wood Pigeon 5 5 10 12 5 3 4 12 Collared Dove 2 4 3 2 5 2 5 13 Scops Owl Heard Heard Heard 14 Swift 20 25 15 10 30 45 40 25 15 Hoopoe 1 1 2 16 Green Woodpecker Heard 17 Middle-spotted Woodpecker 2 3 3 18 Crested Lark 1 19 Woodlark 1 3 20 Swallow 12 10 10 15 5 10 21 Red-rumped Swallow 4 5 6 6 22 House Martin 10 8 12 8 23 Tawny Pipit 1 1 24 White Wagtail 2 25 Grey Wagtail 2 3 2 26 Wren Heard 27 Robin Heard 28 Nightingale Heard Heard 2 Heard 29 Black Redstart 5 30 Wheatear 2 3 31 Black-eared Wheatear 1 32 Rock Thrush 1 33 Mistle Thrush 1 34 Blackbird 2 2 3 2 35 Blackcap Heard 10 Heard 2 36 Orphean Warbler 1 37 Sardinian Warbler 1 2 38 Whitethroat 1 Heard 39 Subalpine Warbler 1 40 Cetti's Warbler Heard 3 2 41 Great Reed Warbler 3 Heard 42 Olivaceous Warbler 1 43 Spotted Flycatcher 3 44 Great Tit 2 2 1 45 Blue Tit 3 2 3 46 Sombre Tit 2 4 47 Long-tailed Tit 4

Butterflies of Southern Greece Tour Report

June 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 48 Nuthatch 1 2 49 Rock Nuthatch 1 15 5 50 Short-toed Treecreeper 1 51 Red-backed Shrike 1 2 2 4 52 Woodchat Shrike 1 53 Magpie 4 2 54 Jay 1 2 4 55 Jackdaw 10 56 Alpine Chough 15 57 Hooded Crow 30 25 25 30 15 58 Raven Heard Heard 59 House Sparrow 10 15 12 15 13 20 5 60 Tree Sparrow 6 61 Spanish Sparrow 1 62 Chaffinch Heard 5 8 63 Linnet 5 6 64 Goldfinch 5 6 10 15 5 10 65 Greenfinch 2 5 4 2 66 Serin Heard 5 5 67 Ortolan Bunting 1 68 Cirl Bunting 2 6 4 2 69 Black-headed Bunting 1 70 Corn Bunting 3 3 2 71 Rock Bunting Heard 1

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