Trip report 2010 Day 1: 14th June– Arrival in Kalavryta We set off on a leisurely drive up from Kalamata at around lunchtime, arriving in Kalavryta on the slopes of Mount Chelmos during the late afternoon to settle in at the hospitable and comfortable hotel Helmos. After a group briefing about the week ahead we took a short walk into the centre, where we sat outside at one of the local tavernas for a pleasant and very welcome evening meal. Day 2: 15th June - Lower Chelmos / Cave of the Lakes at Kastria We began with a breakfast of natural yogurt, local honey, fruit, and scrambled eggs sitting outside our hotel in 26 degrees of sunshine. Here we were treated to our first butterflies of the holiday. These were 2 European Swallowtails, a Southern Festoon, a male Cleopatra, an egg-laying Mallow Skipper, Small Heath, and Clouded Yellow. Some of the group were also fortunate enough to see Large Tortoiseshell and Scarce Swallowtail on a fly-by. We also saw a male Beautiful Demoiselle (the eastern form festiva) and a calling Hoopoe Upupa epops, which gave us a glorious introduction to the day. Following the road up out of Kalavryta, one couldn’t help but notice hundreds of bee hives painted in pastel shades adorning the meadows along the roadside. Here also Balkan Marbled Whites made their first appearance, together with Painted Lady’s that fluttered along the verges which were festooned with blue Scabious flowers and Chicory. Nearly every other roadside bush seemed to contain a Red-backed Shrike. We soon began exploring some of the meadows of Lower Chelmos. Here we saw Painted Lady, Olive Skipper (major form) - ovipositing on potentilla spp., Black Veined Whites, Cardinal, Cleopatra and myriad ‘blues’ flitting everywhere. We also found ova of Southern Swallowtail on an umbelifer along with Inky Skipper, Chapman’s Blue and a Grecian Copper egg laying on Rumex spp. An Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba swept overhead, its pale under parts still visible against the bright blue sky. For a welcome break from the midday heat, we took a refreshing drink at the nearby tavern and an early lunch. Next, we visited The Cave of the Lakes at Kastria where we passed through a labyrinth of underground corridors opening into stone basins and dams with numerous picturesque lakes. The walls were adorned with stalagmites and stalactites and high up on the ceiling, a chattering of bats made its presence felt. When we emerged into the light, we sat on a small terrace for a short while and watched numerous Swallows hawking and on a white wall, 2 Large Tortoiseshells Nymphalis polychloros came up from the garden to rest. From our high view across the terrace with Chelmos in the background several Lattice Browns were spotted, perched quite still and almost invisible on the trees. Day 3: 16th June - Ancient Lousi In the lower regions of Mount Chelmos at approx. 900 metres above sea level lies Ancient Louisi. Parking close to a water trough near to the archaeological site, everybody rushed out the vehicle to view an assortment of mud- puddling polyommatus/agrodiaetus blues. Among them Chapman’s - thersites, Common - icarus and Escher’s - escheri. We also watched a pristine Great Banded Grayling fluttering around one of the group’s feet on the roadside and 2 Greek Goldenring Dragonflies hovering only momentarily over the water. These were too fast for our cameras, though one of the group did manage to photograph a more sedate Broad Bodied Chaser. Moving up the slope we couldn’t help but be dazzled by yet more Cleopatra and Clouded Yellow in mixed flights containing up to a dozen at a time. We were also enthralled by an abundance of Ilex Hairstreak and Balkan Marbled White. Other species present included Small Heath and Small Skipper, whilst overhead were lots of Buzzards circling and mewing. A couple of the floral delights also being observed were Love-in-a Mist Nigella and a pink variety of Kidney Vetch Anthyllis vulneraria. On one side of a track we were following Great Sooty Satyr was seen on Catchfly. Large Tortoiseshell, Southern White Admiral, Forester moths, an Oriental Meadow Brown with its scalloped outer wing margin along with the nominal form, Knapweed Fritillary, a couple of Southern Small Whites were also seen. Arriving back at the vehicle to collect our picnic, we found the goats had moved in for a drink but this didn’t stop a Nightingale singing from one of the adjacent bushes. After lunch, we went back past Louisi and continued through the meadows which were still awash with butterflies. That afternoon we found our first Mountain Small White. Day 4: 17th June - Upper Chelmos and Agia Lavra We made our first venture into Upper Chelmos and the ski area after an early breakfast. This area lies at approx. 1600m. As with our previous days, temperatures were in the high 20’s to low 30’s degrees and this together with the location made for an Aurelian’s paradise. Our first noteworthy species was Clouded Apollo, complete with sphragus, the wax chastity belt deposited by the male after mating. Here also, Greek Clouded Yellow, Mountain Small White, Small Heath, Large Tortoiseshell, Large Grizzled Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Oriental Marbled Skipper, and Hungarian Skipper. A lone Camberwell Beauty bombing overhead caused a stir and then was gone as quickly as it had arrived. Continuing at a gentle pace we saw Niobe Fritillary, Odd-spot Blue, near its larval food plant Acantholimon androsaceum, Brimstone, Silver Studded Blue, Zephyr Blue, Mountain Argus, Blue Argus, Greek Mazarine Blue, Chapman’s Blue, Amanda’s Blue and Common Blue. Fritillaries were also seen here in good numbers with Lesser Spotted, Glanville, Queen of Spain, and Dark Green, all showing well. Elated by our good morning haul of butterflies (despite the non-show of any Chelmos Blue) we stopped for a picnic lunch which included dolmathes (stuffed vine leaves) and local cherries. Here another Cambie seemed interested in us whilst we were eating but it too quickly darted off after giving us a once over. In the afternoon we headed toward the monastery at Agia Lavra. It was originally built in 961 AD, on Chelmos Mountain, at an altitude of 961 meters and can be described as the symbolic birthplace of modern Greece. It was here that Eleftheria / Thanatos (freedom or death) was first heard on 25th March 1821, launching the revolution against the Ottoman Empire. This date is celebrated as a national day in Greece. Once in the grounds, our attention was immediately caught by the buzzing of numerous metallic green chafer beetles, clamouring to feed on the creamy flowers of a garden shrub. The undoubted stars of the show though, were the beautiful Southern White Admirals, floating in and out to gain a foothold on this valuable nectar source close to the huge and impressive Plane Tree by the monastery door. There must have been about ten individuals, putting on a great show for the whole group! Also, Purple and Ilex Hairstreaks nectared happily on a bramble patch in a wilder corner of the grounds. We decided to end the day with a relaxing walk down by the river in Kalavryta. Here we saw Middle Spotted Woodpeckers in the trees and Grecian Coppers flicking everywhere on Bramble flowers along with Holly Blues. A ferruginous Duck erupted out of the river giving us a bit of a shock, and a Dice Snake slid along close to the water’s edge. We retired to the hotel to write up our lists, feeling a little tired but very happy with our days butterfly hunting. Day 5: 18th June - Hidden Glades After breakfast we headed off to one of our favourite hidden glades in the mountain, arriving on site at about 10am. Here, we came across a Herman’s Tortoise almost as soon as we started out on our walk. As we ventured further a small stream beside a glade yielded a Speckled Wood of a very pale form, but probably ssp tircis. A solitary Humming bird Hawk-moth was pictured visiting pink flowers on the banks and in the river below some Balkan Crested Newts Triturus Karelinii were seen. There was an abundance of butterfly species seen, including lots of Large Wall Brown, Niobe Fritillary, Dark Green Fritillary and Cardinal. At the edge of a large and sunny forest glade, a couple of Silver- washed Fritillary were nectaring on Dwarf Elder, and flying across the glade in ones and twos were Large Tortoiseshells, Woodland Grayling and the giant Blue Carpenter Bees. Later on our walk, we were pleased to see and photograph one of the local specialities, a Peloponnese Wall Lizard, basking on a rock by the side of the forest track. After such excitement we decided to take a relaxing break and picnic, finishing with a handful of fresh wild strawberries, which were as sweet as the day’s butterflying. The afternoon walk along a track to our second hidden glade provided many similar species to the morning and all in profusion, with the additions of a rather worn looking Southern Festoon flying low over Corydalis, Lattice Brown, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Nettle Tree Butterfly, Brown Argus and Scarce Swallowtail. We arrived back at our base around 7pm, stopping at a local tavern en route for refreshment where we found an Eastern Dappled White laying eggs on a crucifer. Day 6: 19th June - Vouraikos River & Souvardo On our walk to Vouraikos River we passed several egg-laying European Swallowtails, using Wild Carrot and Fennel. We also found a number of larvae.