Butterflies of the Swiss Alps Naturetrek Tour Report 29 June - 6 July 2014 Alpine Blue Large Wall Brown Sudetan Ringlet Red Fox Report & images compiled by Jon Stokes 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 the Swiss Alps Tour Leader: Jon Stokes Naturetrek Naturalist Participants: Judy Daniels Tony Daniels Sonia Anderson Matthew Gandy Yasminah Beebeejaun Rosemary Brooke Geoff Adams Margaret Adams Angela Lechner Gordon Small Day 1 Sunday 29th June Three quarters of the group left Heathrow and arrived in Switzerland in the rain – which was a bit of a surprise as we had left a warm and sunny London! We were joined at the airport by three more members of the group and then climbed aboard the train, which whisked us away towards our mountain destination. Four hours and a couple of changes later, we arrived in the beautiful village of Wengen. En route we had seen a couple of Black Kites and a few Great Crested Grebes on Lake Thun and our first Swiss butterfly - a Peacock from the train. Although Wengen was wet on arrival, by the time we had finished our dinner in the lovely Hotel Berghaus, the sun had managed to break out and we were presented with a beautiful double rainbow and a magnificent view of the mountains. So after dinner we went to bed, hoping for great weather and lots of butterflies! Day 2 Monday 30th June At breakfast on our first day in the mountains we had a covering of cloud over all the mountain tops. However with the prospect of the weather lifting, we set off for the top of the mountain which rears up behind the hotel - Männlichen. As we travelled up the hill in the cable car we could see a couple of Chamois feeding on the slopes below, before the cloud swallowed us up as we arrived on the top of the hill. The temperature on the top was a little chilly and as we began to walk, there was a fluttering of snow and a cold wind. As we walked and got accustomed to the altitude and the cold, we looked at the stunning alpine flowers that were all around our feet. Trumpet Gentian Gentiana acaulis and Mountain Pansy Viola lutea, Bird’s-eye Primrose Primula farinosa, Moss Campion Silene acaulis and Alpine Cinquefoil Potentilla crantzii were all around us along with a vast array of other alpine flowers. Overhead in the mist and snow, Water Pipits chipped their calls as they flew, then a much larger Snowfinch whisked into sight. A few decided to return to the warmer climes of Wengen, whilst the remainder of the group escaped from the snow flurries with a warm tea or hot chocolate in the mountain top restaurant. As we finished our warm drinks the cloud began to lift, so we set off for our walk to Kleine Scheidegg. On the ground, beautiful Alpine Snowbell Soldanella alpina were flowering in patches where the winter snow had just cleared with Alpine Butterworts Pinguicula alpina and Spring Crocus Crocus vernus subsp. Albiflorus and large numbers of ‘Lackey’ Moth caterpillars which appeared to be everywhere and were probably the snout moth Malacosoma alpicolum. © Naturetrek August 14 1 Butterflies of the Swiss Alps Tour Report Lunch was a picnic taken on top of a hill with a supporting cast of Snowfinch and our first Alpine Choughs who came for picnic scraps. Although there were no butterflies, small moths appeared in the heather every time the sun glimmered and on adjoining slopes Black Redstarts, Wheatears and Ring Ouzels were calling and often displaying. The next leg of our journey had large numbers of Small White Orchids Pseudorchis albida, Frog Orchids Coeloglossum viride and many Alpine Pasqueflowers Pulsatilla alpina subsp. Apiifolia. On the top of the hill we spotted a small group of Chamois, but further observation revealed that there was actually a large herd of 52 individuals including about half a dozen very young animals. Matthew then caught our first butterfly of the day a Small Blue whilst Yasminah caught the most beautiful green ground beetle which was probably Carabus auronitens. Now in the late afternoon the cold had begun to bite, so we decided to drop down the hill in the train back to Wengen. As we did so the sun came out, so on arriving back at the hotel we took a short walk up the hill beside the hotel. Here in the last warm rays of the sun we found Ringlets, a Chequered Skipper, a Meadow Brown and some Purple-edged Coppers adding hugely to our butterfly list, which now stands at 6 species. After dinner, some of the group went out with a bat detector to see what they could find. Excitingly we found 4 species of bat - the Common Pipistrelle, some Noctules, Northern Bats and a Savi’s Pipistrelle. Then we retired to bed. Day 3 Tuesday 1st July In contrast to the weather yesterday, this morning was startlingly beautiful with a crystal blue sky and not a cloud in sight. In consequence we set off to Grutschalp from where we would walk to Murren. Upon arrival at the cable car station, a meadow immediately next to the station was filled with butterflies. First up was a Large Wall Brown, then False Heath Fritillaries, Heath Fritillaries, and Black Veined Whites were everywhere. The flowers were also beautiful with Round Headed Orchids Traunsteinera globosa being the highlight of the meadow. As we walked Chimney Sweeper moths were everywhere and around Wood Cranesbill Geranium sylvaticum the very beautiful Geranium Argus was in abundance. Fritillaries were abundant along our pathway and along with the 2 Heath Fritillaries we also found Pearl and Small Pearl Fritillaries, Ghost Moths and our first sighting of the Alpine Heath butterfly. Beside the path was also a superb yellow Waxcap fungus. A stop on a bench with an astonishing view of the Eiger and Jungfrau had additional Black Kites, Serins and Nutcrackers, whilst a little later with lunch we were joined by lots of False Heath Fritillaries, many of which gathered on an animal scat on the ground seeking salt, whilst our own sweat also attracted a number of others. Orange Tips and Swallowtails were also part of the lunchtime butterfly feast whilst we also took our time to identify our second ringlet which turned out to be Bright Eyed Ringlet, one of the 19 ringlet species that live in these valleys. As we walked along the final stretch of the route to Murren, Pale Clouded Yellows and Black Veined Whites mixed with Clouded Apollo’s and Wood Whites. From Murren we took the short train ride up to Almendhubel, at 1900 metres above sea level. At this altitude butterflies were thin on the ground but there were large numbers of ‘Lackey’ Moth caterpillars. We also found a beautiful moth – Setina aurita a high alpine moth which can only be found from 1000m – 3000m. 2 © Naturetrek August 14 Butterflies of the Swiss Alps Tour Report We searched the flower filled hillsides covered in Greater Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus alectorolophus and Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor and Globe Flowers Trollius euopaeus in the hope of finding a butterfly and eventually saw a blue, which Matthew caught and we immediately identified as a stunning Alpine Blue. This then lead to a major photographic session, as fortunately it was a very cooperative individual leading to some fantastic pictures of this lovely species. Our time in the field was now up and we set off on the train and cable car trip home and three trains and one cable car ride later, we arrived home for another of Mr. Fontana's superb dinners. After dinner we went out to look for bats and close to the hotel discovered lots of Common Pipistrelles, before retiring for a well-earned rest. Day 4 Wednesday 2nd July The weather had reverted to damp and cloudy today, so we set off for the Trummelbach Falls, the outflow stream for the Jungfrau and Monch Glaciers which corkscrews through the sheer limestone cliffs. Here 20,000 litres of water rush through a cave system every second and the noise and vibrations in the tunnels are astonishing. Outside in the valley bottom as we waited for a bus, we found a few Ringlets hiding in the wet grass, and then we caught the cable car to the very pretty village of Gimmelwald. In the village the clouds were low over our heads, so we headed to the nearby valley where butterflies are known to be in abundance. En-route we found a family group of 15 Chamois but as we arrived at a good picnic spot, it began to rain lightly. As we sheltered under a tree to eat lunch we became aware of roosting butterflies in a neighbouring meadow and we were able to get superb photographs of an Apollo butterfly, one of Europe's most protected species, roosting on a Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza maculate. Also present were a few Wood Whites and a False Heath Fritillary. As the rain set in, some of the group decided to head home to the dry but others forged on into the valley and it was not wasted effort. As we walked we found more roosting Apollos and Geranium Argus along with some superb flowers including lots of Lesser Butterfly Orchids Platanthera bifolia and Birds Nest Orchids Neottia nidus- avis and a superb display of the protected Wolfsbane Aconitum vulparia.