Butterflies of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Andalucia, Spain


Home Cooking Holidays Somatic Education Holiday Rentals Group Rentals The House In the area Activities Bookings Gallery Testimonials Contact	Home>In the area>Butterflies of the Sierra Nevada in Spain Butterflies of the Sierra Nevada in Spain With over 2,100 plant species (more than 80 of those endemic) the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalucia are also home to an enormous variety of insects, butterflies and birds. As far as we can find, there is no accurate census of the number of species of butterflies in the Sierra Nevada, and the figure of 120 species is often quoted. However, authoritative Spanish sources quote a likely 116 species of butterflies in the Sierra Nevada mountains, 5 of them endemic [1]. The same sources quote a total of 223 species of "diurnal" butterflies within Spain. This means that more than half of Spain's daytime butterflies can be found in an area that represents less than 1% of Spain's land area. Visits by butterfly lovers In June 2007 a group from the Surrey Butterfly Conservation Society (UK) spent a week at Casa Ana on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and were delighted by the variety of butterflies they saw. They were followed by members of the Kent branch in late May 2008, who have provided a report of their trip to Casa Ana. The list below details the butterflies that the Surrey Group saw during their short visit. If you are interested in butterflies, particularly those in Las Alpjuarras and the Sierra Nevada in Spain, and would like to contribute to this page, please contact Anne Hunt at Casa Ana, email: info@casa-ana.com Butterflies seen by Surrey Butterfly Conservation Society, June 2007 This list represents less than half the butterflies that can be seen in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Latin name Common name Agrodiaetus Amanda Amanda’s blue Anthocharis belia Moroccan orange tip Aporia Crataegi Black-veined white Argynnis niobe Niobe fritillary Arica agestis Brown Argus Artogeia rapae Small white Cacyreus marshalli Geranium bronze Carcharodus alceae Mallow skipper Carcharodus lavatherae Marbled skipper Celastrina argiolus Holly blue Coenonympha dorus Dusky heath Colias crocea Clouded yellow Colias alfracariensis Berger’s clouded yellow Cyaniris semiargus Mazarine blue Erynnis tages Dingy skipper Euchloe crameri Western dappled white Eurodryas aurinia Marsh fritillary Gonepteryx rhamni Brimstone Gonepteryx Cleopatra Cleopatra Hipparchia alcyone Rock grayling Iphiclides podalirius Scarce Swallowtail Issoria lanthonia Queen of Spain fritillary Kanetisa circe Great banded grayling Lampides boeticus Long-tailed blue Lasiommta megera Wall brown Leptidia sinapsis Wood white Leptotes pirithous Lang’s short-tailed blue Libythea celtis Nettle-tree butterfly Lycaenia alciphron Purple-shot copper Maniola Jurtina Meadow brown Melanargia ines Spanish marbelled white Melanargia occitanica Western marbelled white Melitaea didyma Spotted fritillary Melitaea phoebe Knapweed fritillary Mellicta deione Provencal fritillary Mellicta parthenoides Meadow fritillary Muschampia proto Sage skipper Papilio machaon Swallowtail Pararge aegeria Speckled wood Parnassius Apollo Spp nevadensis Apollo Pieris Brassicae Large white Plebejus argus Silver-studded blue Polyommatus icarus Common blue Pontia daplidice Bath white Pseudophilotes panoptes Panoptes blue Pyrgus carthami Safflower skipper Pyrgus malvae Grizzled skipper Pyronia bathseba Spanish gatekeeper Satyrium spini Blue-spot hairstreak Satyrus actaea Black satyr Thymelicus sylvestris Small skipper Vanessa atalanta Red admiral Zerynthia rumina Spanish festoon For information and enquiries about walking and nature holidays, other special interest holidays, holiday rentals or group accommodation at Casa Ana in Las Alpujarras (Andalucia, Spain), contact Anne, email: info@casa-ana.com, tel 0034 958 76 62 70. Finally, we would like to warmly thank Grahame Checkley for his kind permission to use the butterfly photos on this page, taken from his gallery of insect photos. [1] Conservación de Mariposas Diurnas en Los Parques Protegidos de España Peninsular por Doctores Javier Carrión Herrero y Miguel López Munguira, available as a direct download (in Spanish) as a pdf article or from the downloads page of Zerynthia - a Spanish association for the protection of butterflies and their environment. top

Butterflies of the Sierra Nevada in Spain

Visits by butterfly lovers

Butterflies seen by Surrey Butterfly Conservation Society, June 2007