Butterflies of Cuba
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    • Species List >
      • Papilionidae : Papilioninae >
        • Battus devilliers - De Villiers' Swallowtail
        • Battus polydamas - Polydamas Swallowtail
        • Heraclides andraemon - Bahaman Swallowtail
        • Heraclides androgeus - Androgeus Swallowtail
        • Heraclides caiguanabus - Poey's Swallowtail
        • Heraclides oviedo - Oviedo's Swallowtail
        • Heraclides oxynius - Cuban Black Swallowtail
        • Heraclides pelaus - Pelaus Swallowtail
        • Heraclides ponceana - Dusky Swallowtail
        • Neographium celadon - Cuban Kite Swallowtail
        • Papilio demoleus - Lime Swallowtail
        • Papilio polyxenes - Black Swallowtail
        • Parides gundlachianus - Gundlach's Swallowtail
        • Pterourus palamedes - Palamedes Swallowtail
        • Pterourus troilus - Spicebush Swallowtail
      • Hesperiidae : Eudaminae >
        • Aguna asander - Gold-spotted Aguna
        • Aguna claxon - Emerald Aguna
        • Autochton potrillo - Potrillo Skipper
        • Cecropterus dorantes - Dorantes Longtial
        • Chioides marmorosa - Cuban Longtail
        • Epargyreus zestos - Zestos Skipper
        • Phocides pigmalion - Mangrove Skipper
        • Polygonus leo - Hammock Skipper
        • Proteides maysi - May's Skipper
        • Proteides mercurius - Cuban Mercurial Skipper
        • Telegonus anausis - Caribbean Yellow-tipped Flasher
        • Telegonus cassander - Cuban Flasher
        • Telegonus cellus - Golden-banded Skipper
        • Telegonus habana - Frosty Flasher
        • Telegonus talus - Green Flasher
        • Telegonus xagua - Antillean Flasher
        • Urbanus proteus - Common Long-tailed Skipper
      • Hesperiidae : Hesperiinae >
        • Asbolis capucinus - Monk Skipper
        • Atalopedes mesogramma - Mesogramma Skipper
        • Calpodes ethlius - Canna Skipper
        • Carystoides mexicana - Mexican Ruby-eye
        • Choranthus radians - Radians Skipper
        • Cymaenes tripunctus - Three-spotted Skipper
        • Euphyes cornelius - Cornelius Skipper
        • Euphyes singularis - Singularis Skipper
        • Holguinia holguin - Holguin Skipper
        • Hylephila phyleus - Fiery Skipper
        • Lerodea eufala - Eufala Skipper
        • Nyctelius nyctelius - Violet-banded Skipper
        • Oarisma bruneri - Bruner's Skipperling
        • Oarisma nanus - Nanus Skipperling
        • Panoquina corrupta - Corrupt Skipper
        • Panoquina lucas - Purple-washed Skipper
        • Panoquina ocola - Ocola Skipper
        • Panoquina panoquinoides - Obscure Skipper
        • Parachoranthus magdalia - Magdalia Skipper
        • Perichares philetes - Caribbean Ruby-eye
        • Polites baracoa - Baracoa Skipper
        • Pyrrhocalles antiqua - Caribbean Skipper
        • Rhinthon cubana - Cuban Rhinthon
        • Saliana esperi - Perching Saliana
        • Synapte malitiosa - Caribbean Faceted Skipper
        • Wallengrenia misera - Cuban Broken-dash
      • Hesperiidae : Pyrginae >
        • Anastrus sempiternus - Common Anastrus
        • Burca braco - Braco Skipper
        • Burca concolor - Concolorous Skipper
        • Burca cubensis - Cuban Skipper
        • Burnsius crisia - Antillean Checkered Skipper
        • Burnsius oileus - Tropical Checkered Skipper
        • Chiomara gundlachi - Gundlach's Duskywing
        • Eantis munroei - Munroe's Sicklewing
        • Eantis papinianus - Cuban Sicklewing
        • Ephyriades brunnea - Florida Duskywing
        • Ephyriades zephodes - Zephodes Duskywing
        • Erynnis zarucco - Zarucco Skipper
        • Gesta gesta - Impostor Duskywing
        • Ouleus fridericus - Fridericus Spreadwing
      • Pieridae : Colladinae >
        • Abaeis nicippe - Sleepy Orange
        • Anteos clorinde - White-angled Sulphur
        • Anteos maerula - Yellow-angled Sulphur
        • Colias eurytheme - Orange Sulphur
        • Eurema amelia - Cuban Yellow
        • Eurema boisduvaliana - Boisduval's Yellow
        • Eurema daira - Barred Yellow
        • Eurema elathea - Banded Yellow
        • Eurema lucina - Smudged Yellow
        • Kricogonia cabrerai - Cuban Sulphur
        • Kricogonia lyside - Lyside Sulphur
        • Nathalis iole - Dainty Sulphur
        • Phoebis agarithe - Large Orange Sulphur
        • Phoebis argante - Apricot Sulphur
        • Phoebis avellaneda - Orange-washed Sulphur
        • Phoebis neleis - Neleis Sulphur
        • Phoebis orbis - Orbis Sulphur
        • Phoebis philea - Orange-barred Sulphur
        • Phoebis sennae - Cloudless Sulphur
        • Phoebis statira - Statira Sulphur
        • Pyrisitia chamberlaini - Chamberlain's Yellow
        • Pyrisitia dina - Bush Sulphur
        • Pyrisitia larae - Confusing Yellow
        • Pyrisitia lisa - Little Yellow
        • Pyrisitia messalina - Whitish Yellow
        • Pyrisitia nise - Mimosa Yellow
        • Pyrisitia proterpia - Tailed Orange
        • Pyrisitia venusta - Pale Yellow
        • Zerene cesonia - Southern Dogface
      • Pieridae : Dismorphiinae >
        • Dismorphia cubana - Cuban Mimic-White
      • Pieridae : Pierinae >
        • Ascia monuste - Great Southern White
        • Ganyra menciae - Cuban White
        • Glutophrissa drusilla - Florida White
        • Melete salacia - Black-striped White
        • Pontia protodice - Checkered White
      • Riodinidae >
        • Dianesia carteri - Caribbean Metalmark
      • Lycaenidae : Polyommatinae >
        • Brephidium exilis - Pygmy Blue
        • Cupido comyntas - Eastern Tailed-Blue
        • Cyclargus ammon - Nickerbean Blue
        • Cyclargus thomasi - Miami Blue
        • Hemiargus ceraunus - Ceraunus Blue
        • Leptotes cassius - Cassius Blue
        • Leptotes hedgesi - Hedges' Blue
        • Pseudochrysops bornoi - Antillean Blue
      • Lycaenidae : Theclinae >
        • Allosmaitia coelebs - Cuban Hairstreak
        • Chlorostrymon maesites - Amethyst Hairstreak
        • Chlorostrymon simaethis - Silver-banded Hairstreak
        • Electrostrymon angelia - Fulvous Hairstreak
        • Eumaeus atala - Atala Hairstreak
        • Ministrymon azia - Grey Ministreak
        • Nesiostrymon celida - Caribbean Hairstreak
        • Strymon acis - Bartram's Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon bazochii - Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon istapa - Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon limenia - Limenia Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon martialis - Martial Scrub-Hairstreak
        • Strymon toussainti - Toussaint's Scrub-Hairstreak
      • Nymphalidae : Apaturinae >
        • Asterocampa idyja - Dusky Emperor
        • Doxocopa laure - Silver Emperor
      • Nymphalidae : Biblidinae >
        • Dynamine postverta - Mexican Sailor
        • Dynamine serina - Caribbean Sailor
        • Eunica heraclitus - Cuban Purplewing
        • Eunica monima - Dingy Purplewing
        • Eunica tatila - Florida Purplewing
        • Hamadryas amphinome - Red Cracker
        • Hamadryas februa - Gray Cracker
        • Hamadryas feronia - Variable Cracker
        • Lucinia sida - Caribbean Banner
      • Nymphalidae : Charaxinae >
        • Anaea cubana - Cuban Leafwing
        • Archaeoprepona demophoon - Two-spotted Prepona
        • Cymatogramma echemus - Chestnut Leafwing
        • Hypna clytemnestra - Silver-studded Leafwing
        • Siderone galanthis - Red-striped Leafwing
      • Nymphalidae : Cyrestinae >
        • Marpesia chiron - Many-banded Daggerwing
        • Marpesia eleuchea - Caribbean Daggerwing
      • Nymphalidae : Danainae >
        • Anetia briarea - Many-spotted King
        • Anetia cubana - Cuban King
        • Anetia pantherata - Great King
        • Danaus eresimus - Soldier
        • Danaus gilippus - Queen
        • Danaus plexippus - Monarch
        • Greta cubana - Cuban Clearwing
        • Lycorea halia - Tiger Mimic Queen
      • Nymphalidae : Heliconiinae >
        • Agraulis vanillae - Gulf Fritillary
        • Dryas iulia - Flambeau
        • Eueides isabella - Isabella's Heliconian
        • Euptoieta claudia - Variegated Fritillary
        • Euptoieta hegesia - Mexican Fritillary
        • Heliconius charithonia - Zebra Heliconian
      • Nymphalidae : Libytheinae >
        • Libytheana carinenta - American Snout
        • Libytheana motya - Cuban Snout
        • Libytheana terena - Antillean Snout
      • Nymphalidae Limenitinae >
        • Adelpha iphicleola - Iphicleola Sister
        • Limenitis archippus - Viceroy
      • Nymphalidae : Nymphalinae >
        • Anartia chrysopelea - Cuban Peacock
        • Anartia jatrophae - White Peacock
        • Anthanassa frisia - Cuban Crescent
        • Antillea pelops - Antillean Crescent
        • Atlantea perezi - Cuban Checkerspot
        • Colobura dirce - Mosaic
        • Historis acheronta - Tailed Cecropian
        • Historis odius - Stinky Leafwing
        • Hypanartia paullus - Antillean Mapwing
        • Hypolimnas misippus - The Mimic
        • Junonia coenia - Common Buckeye
        • Junonia neildi - Mangrove Buckeye
        • Junonia zonalis - Tropical Buckeye
        • Phyciodes phaon - Phaon Crescent
        • Polygonia interrogationis - Question Mark
        • Siproeta stelenes - Malachite
        • Vanessa atalanta - Red Admiral
        • Vanessa cardui - Painted Lady
        • Vanessa virginiensis - American Lady
      • Nymphalidae : Satyrinae >
        • Calisto aquilum - Cuban Dark Calisto
        • Calisto bradleyi - Bradley's Calisto
        • Calisto brochei - Broche's Calisto
        • Calisto bruneri - Bruner's Calisto
        • Calisto disjunctus - Western Cuban Calisto
        • Calisto dissimulatum - Mimic Calisto
        • Calisto gundlachi - Gandlach's Calisto
        • Calisto herophile - Cuban Common Calisto
        • Calisto israeli - Israel's Calisto
        • Calisto lastrai - Lastra's Calisto
        • Calisto muripetens - Guamuahaya Calisto
        • Calisto occulta - Hidden Calisto
        • Calisto sharkeyae - Sharkey's Calisto
        • Calisto siguanensis - Sand Calisto
        • Calisto smintheus - Cuban Rusty Calisto
        • Calisto torrei - Torre's Calisto
    • Download Species List
    • Thumbnails >
      • Papilionidae - Swallowtails
      • Hesperiidae - Skippers
      • Pieridae - Whites & Yellows
      • Riodinidae / Lycaenidae - Metalmarks, Hairstreaks & Blues
      • Nymphalidae - Nymphalids
    • Hostplants >
      • Picramnia pentrandra
      • Stachytarpheta jamaicensis
    • Other Wildlife >
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      • Reptiles
      • Amphibians
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      • Odonata
      • Moths >
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        • Alucitoidea
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        • Schreckensteinioidea
        • Urodoidea
        • Choreutoidea
        • Tortricoidea
        • Sesioidea
        • Zygaenoidea
        • Pyraloidea
        • Lasiocampoidea
        • Bombicoidea
        • Geometroidea
        • Hedyloidea
        • Noctuoidea
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jibacoa 7-10 Mar 2014

29/4/2015

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Hotel Superclubs Jibacoa © Lynn Fomison
Our last four days were spent at an all-inclusive hotel hotel on the north coast about an hours drive east of Habana airport. It was the idea of Goedyssey, who organised the trip for us, to stay here at the Hotel Superclubs at Jibacoa to either wind down and relax or to carry on wildlife watching at our own pace. We opted for the latter although perhaps due to the fact that we were nearing the end of the dry season we were rather running out of things to do after three days. On the butterfly front there wasnt a great number of species though Phaon Crescent were very common along the roadside and White Peacock were abundant. Una made an exciting find near the beach one day in the form of an American Lady Vanessa virginiensis and this was the only new species that we added here.
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American Lady Vanessa virginiensis 7 Mar 2014 Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
The adjacent fields were grazed by goats and several killdeer were here every day as were Smooth-billed Ani.
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Killdeer Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
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Smooth-billed Ani Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
In the hotel grounds Palm Warblers were the commonest warbler and Red-legged Thrush fed on the lawns and were very tame whilst outside our room a Pseudobombax ellipticum tree was in flower and attracted Cuban Blackbird and Cuban Oriole where they stripped the large pink flowers to get at the nectar.
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Palm Warbler male 8 Mar 2014 Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
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Red-legged Thrush 8 Mar 2014 Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
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Cuban Oriole 8 Mar 2014 Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
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Yellow-throated Warbler 8 Mar 2014 Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
Common Ground Doves ran about on the paths and lawns looking for seeds and West Indian Woodpeckers were often heard calling and sometimes allowed a close approach.
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Common Ground Dove 9 Mar 2014 Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
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West Indian Woodpecker 9 Mar 2014 Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
The beach by the hotel was sandy but either side of the bay was a rocky coastline so we spent time each day walking on the beach or rock-pooling to see what we could find. There had been an on-shore wind for a couple of days that had brought in some beautiful barnacles on driftwood and quite few Portuguese Man o War Physalia physalis. These jellyfish are not to be messed with as they have long stinging tentacles that hang down from the gas-filled bladder called a pneumatophore. Actually they are not a single organism but are a colony of minute organisms called zooids that are attached to one another and physiologically integrated so that they are incapable of independent survival.
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Physalia physalis 8 Mar Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
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barnacle sp 8 Mar Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
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brittle star 8 Mar Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
We also found this porcupinefish Diodon sp that had been washed up and was extremely smelly! They have the ability to inflate their bodies with air or water if threatened. This can cause a doubling of the size and make the spines stick out make them less appealing to a predator. They also build up very powerful toxins in their internal organs as they develop making them extremely dangerous to eat.
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Porcupinefish 8 Mar Jibacoa © Tim Norriss
We had had a great trip and seen lots of very special things that we mulled over as we waited for our taxi to take us to the airport. We watched and waited as the others who had booked an all-inclusive package at the hotel were picked up and taken off in top of the range Audis - a bit excessive I thought as I eyed the clapped-out, rusty Vauxhall that had arrived 15 minutes after the supposed collection time and joked that there was ours. But no we were told that wasn't ours as the guy at reception checked our voucher again. And we waited, and we waited... and our an hour after the supposed collection time, under pressure from the hotel manager, and after many phone calls the clapped-out Vauxhall driver finally relented and agreed to take us. Apparently the bit of paper that he had said there were only two of us not three - and the paperwork must be right! So we sprang into action and to my surprise our three heavy cases did fit in the boot and as we climbed in with our rucksacks on our laps I noted the bald front tyre on my side and the half-deflated one on the rear but said nothing so as not to raise the 'fret' level any further.

So we set off towards Habana whilst the driver had an animated discussion with his boss with his mobile pressed to his ear with one hand and the other deftly steering around the many potholes in the road. Well we got all of half a mile before the rear tyre blew with a loud bang and we ground to a halt. We all jump out in double quick time, and though not up to F1 standard it must have taken no more than three minutes to remove the cases and the spare tyre from the boot (this time it was encouraging to note that it did have some tread and air inside it), jack up the car, change the wheel, restow the wheel and the cases, and be back on our way. I got the impression our driver had done this before. Further mobile conversations en route ensured that we were transferred to another more roadworthy Vauxhall in a layby a few miles down the road.

Such is life in Cuba - we were told by our guide Adrian on the first day, as he explained why our vehicle would not be arriving till the following morning, that Cuba is not like western countries and things don't often go smoothly and without a hitch but things always get sorted in the end and with good humour. Our new driver got us safely to the airport on time - he told us that he was a lawyer but had been driving taxis for a few years because the salary as lawyer (less than 20 USD per month plus staple rations) wasn't sufficient to keep him and his family. As a driver he had the chance of making quite a lot extra in tips.

So, go to Cuba, enjoy Cuba, and tip generously.
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hanabanilla 5-6 Mar 2014

29/4/2015

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Hotel Islazul Hanabanilla 5 Mar 2014 © Tim Norriss
Last night we transferred to Hotel Islazul on the shores of Lake Hanabanilla which is actually a man-made reservoir built by the Americans. The hotel dates back to the times when the Russians subsidised the economy and Cubans received free holidays each year. The backdrop of the Escambray mountains makes it an idyllic setting even if the food isn't the best. In fact this was the only place that we have been in Cuba where we were served something inedible - it was only the soup course so no big deal. I suggested to our guide Adrian that he point out to the waitress that there was something wrong with it but he declined saying that he might have to stay here again with other customers! So it was left to me to make the point but there wasn't a flicker of recognition in her face that it was anything other than our problem. Such is a culture where it gets you nowhere to 'complain' - or maybe worse! Long live the Revolucion? But the times are changing.
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Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus ceraunus 05.03.2014 Hanabanilla © Tim Norriss
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Cuban Oriole 05.03.2014 Hanabanilla © Tim Norriss
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Queen Danaus gilippus 05.03.2014 Hanabanilla © Tim Norriss
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Barred Yellow Eurema daira 05.03.2014 Hanabanilla © Tim Norriss
On a short walk from the hotel we saw a Cuban Emerald and several Queen Danaus gilippus. These butterflies are closely related to the Monarch and a Caribbean Banner Lucinia sida just a short way from the hotel.
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Cuban Emerald 05.03.2014 Hanabanilla © Tim Norriss
There was an osprey over the lake in the morning along with a limpkin, pied-billed grebe, lesser scaup and 2 white-collared swifts while in the garden were cuban parrots, yellowthroat and two cuban oriole feeding on flowers in one of the trees. Amongst the butterflies were a female Dorantes Longtail Urbanus dorantes that was busy laying on small Leguminosae plants, and also Ceraunus Blue Hemiargus ceraunus and Barred Yellow Eurema daira. This species can be difficult to split from Eurema elathea but in this instance with the sun shining through the closed wings you can see the broad curved black bar on the trailing edge of the forewing showing through.
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Caribbean Banner Lucinia sida 06.03.2014 Hanabanilla © Tim Norriss
On our second day here we took a boat ride across the lake and then started hiking up a steep narrow trail and had a great view from the top where we also had excellent views of Caribbean Daggerwing Marpesia eleuchea. We also saw both Devilliers and Androgeus Swallowtails but neither stopped to be photographed.
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Caribbean Daggerwing Marpesia eleuchea 06.03.2014 Hanabanilla © Tim Norriss
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06.03.2014 Hanabanilla reservoir © Tim Norriss
And then it was back down the hill, back on the boat and this time to a little isolated restaurant on the far shore accessible only by boat where we had a late lunch.
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Anolis lucius Slender Cliff Anole 06.03.2014 Hanabanilla © Tim Norriss
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escambray mountains 3-4 Mar 2014

26/4/2015

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Land crabs Cienfuegos © Tim Norriss
Our destination the previous day was Topes de Collante in the verdant Sierra de Escambray east of Cienfuegos. On the way we stopped at a viewpoint with a spectacular view over the forest. We had also been told that on the way we would pass an area where land crabs cross the road in huge numbers and sure enough they were difficult to miss - literally. They have such horny carapaces that they are known to cause punctures to the tyres of vehicles. Luckily we managed to avoid a puncture - but I fear the crabs didn't. But the ever-present Turkey Vultures got the benefit.
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Escambray Mountains © Tim Norriss
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Turkey Vultures © Tim Norriss
Although butterflies are not generally well known by many Cuban guides due to the difficulty of obtaining literature on the subject and the slowness of the internet Greta cubana is an iconic species and endemic to Cuba. It is most common in the dark forests of the east but is also found here in the mountains of Sancti Spiritus, and there is also a record from Pinar del Rio province in the west but I'm not sure how recent this is. As you can see from the fact that the above is not my photo we were unsuccessful in our quest on this occasion, so it's left for another time. But we did see some other nice things including this Many-spotted King Anetia briarea.
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Photo: Emilie Chich 13 July 2011 (CC-BY-SA-3.0 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greta_cubana.JPG), via Wikimedia Commons
One of the main reasons for wanting to come to this area in the centre of the island was that I had found a reference on the internet to the fact that the Cuban Clearwing Greta cubana had been seen here. This is one of the family of clearwing butterflies found in the New World and not one of the clearwing moths. Our local naturalist guide while we were in this area was Jer Luis Vera (known as Luis) and is wonderfully knowledgeable on Cuba generally and its wildlife including the plants. It therefore wasn't long before I got round to asking whether he had seen Greta cubana. 'Yes I saw one a few days ago - we can go and have a look there'. Luis speaks near-perfect English as well as several other languages and is an excellent guide and we would thoroughly recommend his services. Please contact me via the Contact page if you would like his contact details.
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Many-spotted King Anetia briarea 3 Mar 2014 © Tim Norriss
We also saw this Pierid that I believe to be a female Mimosa Yellow Pyrisitia nise. Its very similar to Little Yellow Pyrisitia lisa but the extent of black on the forewing is much reduced.
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Mimosa Yellow Pyrisitia nise female 3 Mar 2014 Topes de Collante © Tim Norriss
We walked the trails near the hotel on the first day..
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Topes de Collante 3 Mar 2014 © Tim Norriss
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Green Heron 03.03.2014 Topes de Collante © Tim Norriss
..and on the second day walked in a different direction through the forest and saw our first Mosaic Colobura dirce. and several Fiery Skippers H. phyleus by the road on the way back.
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Mosaic Colobura dirce 04.03.2014 Topes de Collante © Tim Norriss
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Fiery Skipper H. phyleus 04.03.2014 Topes de Collante © Tim Norriss
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Broad-winged Hawk 04.03.2014 Topes de Collante © Tim Norriss
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cienfuegos 2 Mar 2014

26/4/2015

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Today we headed across to the centre of the island to Cienfuegos where we had lunch at a classy restaurant the Club Nautico - well classier than we had been used to anyway! I wish we had skipped it really because it would have meant that we had more time at the Jardin Botanico de Cienfuegos.
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Club Nautico Cienfuegos © Tim Norriss
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Cienfuegos Botanic Gardens © Lynn Fomison
The Botanic Gardens were full of flowers and it would have been good to have had much more time there instead of the hour and a half that we were left with. We lost Una at one point and when we went back to find her she was watching a strange bird in a tree that she didn't recognise so was waiting for us to go back rather than leave and miss it. It was a Limpkin - one of three that we saw on this trip. It is a bird of wetlands that feeds on molluscs.
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Limpkin Cienfuegos Botanic Gardens © Tim Norriss
But it was good butterflies that we went there primarily to see. We did manage some pictures of the endemic Cuban Peacock that were the only ones that we saw on this trip as well as a few other commoner species.
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Cuban Peacock Anartia chrysopelea Cienfuegos Botanic Gardens © Tim Norriss
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White Peacock Anartia jatrophae Cienfuegos Botanic Gardens © Tim Norriss
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Large Orange Sulphur Phoebis agarithe Cienfuegos Botanic Gardens © Tim Norriss
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Little Yellow Pyrisitia lisa Cienfuegos Botanic Gardens © Tim Norriss
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Baracoa Skipper Polites baracoa Cienfuegos Botanic Gardens © Tim Norriss
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Zapata 27 feb - 1 mar 2014

26/4/2015

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Stygian Owl © Tim Norriss
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Bare-legged Screech-owl © Tim Norriss
Zapata is the richest single area for birds in Cuba. It contains a wide range of habitats from swamp, mangroves, shallow saline lagoons and coastal thickets to semi-deciduous forest and dry evergreen forest and some rice paddies thrown in for good measure. It is therefore also good for butterflies though I must say the majority of our time was spent birding. 

We had the use of a local bird guide who on the first day managed to show us Stygian Owl, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Bare-legged Screech-owl, Cuban Pygmy-owl, Cuban Lizard-cuckoo, Grey-headed Quail-dove and lots of the more usual things as well.

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Bee Hummingbird female Zapata © Tim Norriss
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Bee Hummingbird garden Zapata © Tim Norriss
One morning we drove out to the tidal flats lined with mangroves at La Salina on the south shore of Zapata. It was a very long bumpy drive (and back) but the photo opportunities in the poor light were not great though we did see quite a lot of birds including Cuban Black-hawk. An early morning visit to the forest produced Key West Quail-dove and Zenaida Dove along with Ovenbird but not a great deal else though we later saw Cuban Parakeet too.
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Gulf Fritillary Agraulis vanillae Zapata © Tim Norriss
One of the real highlights here at Zapata was being taken by our guide to a garden adjacent to the forest where both Cuban Emerald and Bee Hummingbird (the smallest bird in the world) were regularly seen nectaring on the flowers on this tree, and we were not disappointed. The lady who lived there was going to chop the tree down as it took so much light and was in the way in her tiny garden but she agreed not to when it was learnt that Bee Hummingbirds regularly used it. In return she is paid a commission by the guides that take their clients there. This, along with the Cuban Tody, were the two main birds that drew me to Cuba in the first place. We spent a magical hour in this kind lady's garden with both males and females sometimes only a few feet away.
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Cuban Pygmy-Owl © Tim Norriss
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Key West Quail-dove Zapata © Tim Norriss
We also started to recognise the commoner species of butterfly at a glance including White Peacock, Gulf Fritillary, Tropical Checkered Skipper and the Malachite.
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Zenaida Dove Zapata © Tim Norriss
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Tropical Checkered Skipper Pyrgus oileus Zapata © Tim Norriss
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Cuban Parakeets Zapata © Tim Norriss
We saw a few new butterflies in the area and a new moth very similar to the Crimson Speckled that we get here in Europe but with pink instead of white hindwings. It is called Utetheisa ornatrix.
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Cuban Crescent Anthanassa frisia Zapata © Tim Norriss
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Utetheisa ornatrix Zapata © Tim Norriss
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Bahaman Swallowtail Heraclides andraemon in cop Zapata © Tim Norriss
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vinales 25-26 Feb 2014

26/4/2015

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Our hotel at Vinales was the La Ermita - not the greatest by western standards but ok for a couple of nights and the views are stunning. There were also large numbers of Antillean Palm Swifts that roosted in the palm-thatched roof of the bar area. It amused us to see the dogs congregating outside the restaurant at meal times and to begin with we thought they lived there until, on one of our early morning walks just as breakfast was about to be served at the hotel, we noticed the same dogs come out of houses near the village and head for the hotel. They had been home for the night to get fed and were heading out on the scrounge. They had perfected the art of looking hungry and hard-done by and clearly knew exactly when the hotel meal times were!

In the afternoon we spent a while trying to get pictures of the large blue and black striped 'butterflies' before eventually realising that they were the moth Urania boisduvalii. And we never did manage any pictures.
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Hotel La Ermita Vinales © Tim Norriss
and a Cave Swallow was nesting in the roof of the viewing area next to the hotel Los Jazmines and we also saw a Stinky Leafwing Historis odius from the terrace here.
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Cave Swallow 24 Feb 2014 Vinales © Tim Norriss
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Mimosa Yellow Pyrisitia nise 25 Feb 2014 Vinales © Tim Norriss
This Mimosa Yellow Pyrisitia nise is one of several similar 'yellows'.
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Cuban Green Anole Anolis porcatus 25 Feb 2014 © Tim Norriss
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Frog sp 26 Feb 2014 Vinales © Tim Norriss
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cueva las portales - vinales 23-25 Feb 2014

26/4/2015

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Cueva las Portales 23.02.2014 © Tim Norriss
We set off towards Vinales stopping for picnic lunch at Cueva las Portales 11km west of Parque la Güira, This was Che Guevara’s cave base during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Here we eventually had good views of Cuban Solitaire and cottoned on to the distinctive calls of Cuban Vireo. 
We also made a stop at Hacienda Cortina gardens to try and see Gundlach's Hawk without success. This site is an early 20th century folly set in the tropics!
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Leptotes cassius Cassius Blue Hacienda Cortina © Tim Norriss
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Hacienda Cortina © Tim Norriss
The Vinales valley is meant to have a large proportion of the butterfly fauna of Cuba including many endemics though I think we must have been looking in the wrong place! We are looking forward to our next trip when we will be staying there with Rayner Nunez to show us what we missed. The views of the valley are spectacular and it is a UNESCO Heritage site very popular with tourists. The conspicuous karstic mounds rising out of the valley floor are called mogotes. 
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Anolis bartschi - Pinar del Rio Cliff Anole 23 Feb 2014 Cueva las Portales © Tim Norriss
At Parque la Güira we saw Olive-capped Warbler, Fernandina’s Flicker, Giant Kingbird, Summer Tanager and La Sagra’s Flycatcher.
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Vinales © Tim Norriss
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Olive-capped Warbler 24 Feb 2014 © Tim Norriss
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Habana – Soroa  21 – 22 Feb 2014

26/4/2015

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Habaguanex hotel, Old Habana 21 Feb 2014 © Lynn Fomison
We spent our first night in the old quarter of Habana and after a quick visit to the bank in the morning we were on our way to Soroa. Actually it was a rather slow visit as the bank wasn’t open yet and despite this there was already a queue outside. When it did finally open there was a guard at the door letting one person in at a time. But it was a nice warm morning and there were our first endemic Cuban Martins visiting nesting sites on the church on the opposite side of the square.
Soroa - what a beautiful place. The two days that we spent here were not nearly enough to do it justice. We will have to come back here another time! A walk with local bird guide Yoannis produced a few of the commoner endemic birds including Cuban Trogon, Cuban Tody, Cuban Blackbird and Cuban Grassquit. Butterflies too were starting to appear and were nectaring on the Ixora hedge although the only one that I managed to identify was Polydamas Swallowtail. When you arrive in a country for the first time it is always difficult to know where to look as there is so much new to see. Yoannis could do a fair impression of Cuban Pigmy-Owl which caused many of the North American warblers, that winter on the island, to show themselves including Black & White Warbler, American Redstart and Worm-eating Warbler.

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Hotel Horizontes Villa Soroa 23 Feb 2014 © Tim Norriss
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Phaon Crescent Phyciodes phaon Soroa 22 Feb 2014 © Tim Norriss
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Soroa Orchidarium 22.02.2014 © Tim Norriss
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Astraptes cassander Cuban Flasher 22.02.2014 Soroa © Tim Norriss
Our driver José and guide Adrian were great fun and good company during our stay. José was a very safe and careful driver and Adrian gave us lessons on Cuban history during our journey. He has studied several languages and English literature. 

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to give the butterflies in this area our full attention and the following day the weather was cloudy and rather damp so although we saw some tantalising things like Mexican Sailor Dynamine postverta, Many-banded Daggerwing Marpesia chiron, Antillean Checkered Skipper Burnsius crisia and the endemic Cuban Flasher Astraptes cassander the photographs that I got of all these were far from satisfactory. Luckily Phaon Crescent Phyciodes phaon was rather more obliging.

Our walk around the Orchidarium could have been so much better if the sun had shone but we cant wait to go back..
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Cuban Peewee 22.02.2014 Soroa © Tim Norriss
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Jose and Adrian © Lynn Fomison
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Sol Rio de Luna y Mares

25/4/2015

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Direct flights are operated from the UK to Cuba. There are two destinations, Habana the capital in the west, and Holguin in the east. On our first trip in February 2014 we flew to Habana and travelled around the west of the island for nearly three weeks ending up for four days at an all-inclusive resort at Jibacoa on the north coast about an hours’ drive east of the airport. This was our first taste of ever staying at an ‘all-inclusive’. These are hotels where all your food and drinks, including alcohol, and use of the facilities and any entertainments, are included in the price. Only tips and trips out are not included.
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Looking down on Jibacoa resort 10 March 2014 © Lynn Fomison
This sort of resort may not be to everyone’s taste, especially those like us who go abroad mainly for the wildlife, but they do have their advantages – not least that they are relatively cheap! After our return to UK we quickly decided that we would have to return before too long and visit the east of the island. Lynn found that Thomas Cook did all-inclusive holidays to various resorts near Holguin and on further investigation we decided on the Sol Rio de Luna y Mares hotel at Playa Esmeralda just west of Guardalavaca – and what a good choice this turned out to be – a very friendly comfortable hotel with good food. We had two weeks for under £900 each (December 2014). That is cheaper than a holiday in Europe, and much cheaper than in the UK. The cost included flights, transfers, all food and drink, evening entertainment and use of the gym, sauna, tennis courts, swimming pools etc. Flights are approximately 9 hours to fly out and 8½ hours coming back due to the prevailing winds.

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Sol Rio de Luna y Mares hotel with adjacent Las Guanas reserve to the left 18 March 2015 © Tim Norriss
There are several resorts in the area to choose from of varying standards.  The adjacent hotel is the Paradisus which has different grades of high standard accommodation which start at about 50% more than staying at the Luna y Mares. It does have the advantage that the gardens there are more extensive and have many more trees and mature vegetation and so I suspect would be very much better for birds and butterflies but we decided to go for the cheaper option and explore the surrounding countryside, and spend the money saved on taking a trip into the forested hills of the Parque Nacional de Mensura to the east, more of this in a later blog.

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Paradisus Hotel with Parque Nacional Bahia de Naranjo forest to the right 18 March 2015 © Tim Norriss
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The beginning...

14/4/2015

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PictureSoroa Orchidarium Feb 2014 © Tim Norriss
How did www.butterfliesofcuba.com come into being?

Tim Norriss and Lynn Fomison tell the tale…

We went on our first tour of western/central Cuba in February/March 2014 arranged by Geodyssey. The focus was on birds and although butterflies were frequently seen at the places we were taken to see birds, the guides had little knowledge and sadly little interest in them or the plants they needed. There were some notable exceptions to this - Yoanis at Soroa, and Jer Luis Vera at Topes de Collantes did have useful local knowledge and a true passion for the wildlife there. The lack of information and interest was not surprising given both the difficulty of obtaining books in Cuba and the poor internet access.

We had one book with us, the Field Guide to the Butterflies of the West Indies (pub Dec 1975) by Norman D. Riley which was quite helpful. But it was with the purchase of a second and more detailed book, the Field Guide of Cuban - West Indies Butterflies (pub 2004) by Luis Roberto Hernandez, and with significant help from a friend with excellent knowledge of Cuba and its butterflies (thank you, Peter) that it was possible to identify a number of species seen from photos taken during the holiday meaning we saw 49 of the 180 resident species. Internet searches helped a bit but that alerted us to the fact that there was no dedicated website on Cuban butterflies.

We had two more holidays to Cuba in December 2014 and March 2015, both with Thomas Cook to the Sol Rio Luna y Mares hotel near Guardalavaca on the north coast at the eastern end of the island. We do recommend this as a good hotel for those who want both excellent amenities and yet surrounded by wonderful habitats for wildlife. Our trip in December yielded sightings of 52 species, 23 of these being ones we had not seen before. During the visit in March 2015 we saw 52 species near the hotel at Guardalavaca and a further 24 species on a four-day trip to the Sierra Maestra (Turquino National Park) in the south-east – more on the detail of what we saw on these trips on later blogs!. We have now seen 96 of the 180 resident species. The aim has been to take good quality photographs for the website, observe butterfly behaviour, find and photograph eggs and caterpillars and study the habitat. As our identification skills improve we find we can identify more and more species at a glance. It will be useful to show photographs of species for which there are currently no pictures of live specimens on the internet and some of the pictures on this site already do just that. There are also many species for which even the basic ecology like larval foodplants are as yet unknown so it will be good to see if we can add to the knowledge in some small way.

Our research on the Internet has enabled us to establish a link with leading Cuban lepidopterist Rayner Núñez Águila and we are very grateful to him for his assistance in answering our queries. Some of his research work is detailed on the links page on this web site.

We hope that these pages will help keen lepidopterists like us to see and record Cuban butterflies at a time when the country is potentially facing a time of great change. We have also forged links with guides working in National Parks and in local tour companies, all with the objective of helping people, both holiday-makers and those living in Cuba, to enjoy and cherish Cuban butterflies.


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Cymatogramma echemus Chestnut Leafwing Mar 2015 © Tim Norriss
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