Butterflies of Cuba
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    • Species List >
      • Papilionidae : Papilioninae >
        • Battus devilliers - De Villiers' Swallowtail
        • Battus polydamas - Polydamas Swallowtail
        • Eurytides celadon - Cuban Kite Swallowtail
        • Heraclides andraemon - Bahaman Swallowtail
        • Heraclides androgeus - Androgeus Swallowtail
        • Heraclides aristodemus - Dusky Swallowtail
        • Heraclides caiguanabus - Poey's Swallowtail
        • Heraclides oviedo - Oviedo's Swallowtail
        • Heraclides oxynius - Cuban Black Swallowtail
        • Heraclides pelaus - Pelaus Swallowtail
        • Papilio demoleus - Lime Swallowtail
        • Papilio polyxenes - Black Swallowtail
        • Parides gundlachianus - Gundlach's Swallowtail
        • Pterourus palamedes - Palamedes Swallowtail
        • Pterourus troilus - Spicebush Swallowtail
      • 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 : 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
      • 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
      • Nymphalidae : Apaturinae >
        • Asterocampa idyja - Dusky Emperor
        • Doxocopa laure - Silver Emperor
      • Nymphalidae : Biblidinae >
        • Dynamine serina - Caribbean Sailor
        • Dynamine postverta - Mexican Sailor
        • Eunica heraclitus - Cuban Purplewing
        • Eunica monima - Dingy Purplewing
        • Eunica tatila - Florida Purplewing
        • Hamadryas februa - Gray Cracker
        • Hamadryas amphinome - Red Cracker
        • Hamadryas feronia - Variable Cracker
        • Lucinia sida - Caribbean Banner
        • Marpesia chiron - Many-banded Daggerwing
        • Marpesia eleuchea - Caribbean Daggerwing
      • 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 : 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
      • 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 otho - Southern Broken Dash
      • Hesperiidae : Eudaminae >
        • Aguna asander - Gold-spotted Aguna
        • Aguna claxon - Emerald Aguna
        • Telegonus anaphus - Caribbean Yellow-tipped Flasher
        • Telegonus cassander - Cuban Flasher
        • Telegonus habana - Frosty Flasher
        • Telegonus talus - Green Flasher
        • Telegonus xagua - Antillean Flasher
        • Telegonus cellus - Golden-banded Skipper
        • Autochton potrillo - Potrillo Skipper
        • 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
        • Cecropterus dorantes - Dorantes Longtial
        • Urbanus proteus - Common Long-tailed Skipper
      • 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
    • Download Species List
    • Thumbnails >
      • Papilionidae - Swallowtails
      • Pieridae - Whites & Yellows
      • Riodinidae / Lycaenidae - Metalmarks, Hairstreaks & Blues
      • Nymphalidae - Nymphalids
      • Hesperiidae - Skippers
    • Hostplants >
      • Picramnia pentrandra
      • Stachytarpheta jamaicensis
    • Other Wildlife >
      • Mammals
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      • Odonata
      • Moths >
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        • Alucitoidea
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        • Tortricoidea
        • Zygaenoidea
        • Pyraloidea
        • Lasiocampoidea
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        • Geometroidea
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Odonata Update

26/3/2021

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I have been adding to the Odonata featured here on the website mainly by using iNaturalist. So far I've now got 66 of the 87 species featured which comes to 75%.
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Atlantic Bluet Enallagma doubledayi male 26 Jul 2019 FL, USA © M Giddings (CC BY-NC 4.0)
And there are still more that I can use from that source too so I will keep adding as time permits. The hardest ones to get I think will be the remaining endemics but we'll see. There are six of these, all in the Zygoptera or damselflies and I've so far got pictures of three of them but the remaining three are very rare.
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Garnet Glider Tauriphila australis male 15 Dec 2019 MEX © Terry Carr (CC BY-NC 4.0)
This is one of the endemics - Cuban Hypolestes Hypolestes trinitatis which we have come across a couple of times in the Alejandro de Humboldt NP in the east.
Cuban Hypolestes - Hypolestes trinitatis male (Endemic) 09 Dec 2018 Humboldt NP © Tim Norriss
Cuban Hypolestes - Hypolestes trinitatis fem (Endemic) 16 Jun 2016 Humboldt NP © Tim Norriss
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Red-striped Leafwing - Siderone galanthis

4/3/2021

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Red-striped Leafwing Siderone galanthis 26 Dec 2020 Sabanilla © Jehovanny Rodriguez
I monitor several wildlife Facebook pages and its wonderful to see the heightened interest in lepidoptera created in large part by the new Field Guide to the Butterflies of Cuba. This lovely picture of a Red-striped Leafwing Siderone galanthis was taken by Jehovanny Rodriguez who lives at Sabanilla a few km to the SE of Baracoa. It is a lovely area and he has been finding and photographing some great anoles near his home too but I'll post about those separately. We have seen this species occasionally on our travels and once at Santa Clara we even found one feeding on a papaya which allowed a close approach to within a couple of inches!
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Siderone galanthis 17 Jun 2018 Santa Clara © Tim Norriss
Larvae feed on the leaves of Casearia aculeata (Salicaceae) leaving distinctive small tell-tale segments of leaf attached to the foodplant (see below). When moving the larvae have a distinctive forward and backward rocking motion. And you can see why in the left-hand photo below where the small larva sits on the midrib of the leaf and the dead segments around it provide a good camouflage.
Siderone galanthis 3rd instar larva on Casearia aculeata 9 Dec 2018 nr Moa Tim Norriss
Siderone galanthis larva on Casearia aculeata 19 June 2016 Yara_Baracoa © Tim Norriss
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Querequete - Antillean Nighthawk

4/3/2021

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Antillean Nighthawk April 2017 Holguin Karlos Ross
Another wonderful photo from Karlos Ross, the bird guide at Holguin, this time of an Antillean Nighthawk - a male I think from the white band on the throat. They are common summer residents in Cuba before departing to S America it is presumed for the winter months.
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New moths for cuba

16/2/2021

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At the time of publication of updated checklist of Cuban Lepidoptera in Zootaxa back in 2012 there were 1378 moth species on the list. It was acknowledged that the micro-lepidoptera families had been poorly studied and that there was much sill to discover.
For the last week or two I have been adding photos of moths to the website and attempting to identify many of the species that Doug and I have photographed in the last few years. It turns out that this one Ornarantia dyari has not previously been recorded on the island. It is known from Florida and the Bahamas and the larvae feed on Ficus. It's in the Family Choreutidae of which there are 11 other species (4 endemic) but not this one.
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Ornarantia dyari 25 Mar 2017 Topes de Collantes © Tim Norriss
And here are two more species that are not on the Cuban list either. The first is one of the plume moths Alucita sp but don't know what species and the second is a Gelechiid and almost certainly Perimede erransella though it would really need dissection I think to confirm it.
Alucita sp 26 Mar 2017 Topes de Collantes © Tim Norriss
Perimede cf erransella 26 Mar 2017 Topes de Collantes © Tim Norriss
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Part 4 - Failed State

15/2/2021

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Part 4 - When politicians lie - Democracy dies.
It should be clear to everyone that the US is a failed state with what has happened there in the last few days, weeks and months. Four plus years of Trump's utter incompetence and never-ending self-serving lies enabled by the billionaire press and social media owners. Let's hope that President Biden manages to reverse the worst of the ills and corruption and brings back proper democratic government. Until we break the billionaire moguls of the press and social media that are spewing out the lies 24/7 on the likes of Fox news it's difficult to see how things can change much. And in a society that is so entrenched and invested on one side or the other that if you see the light and change sides it means you lose all your 'friends'.
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Here in the UK Johnson and the Tory party are busy following the Trump playbook enabled by the same Murdoch press stoking racist division. And soon we will have not one but two new TV news channels pumping out the far-right views of our corrupt government. Even without that it is amazing to me that the Tories are leading in the polls. I can't put it better than the eloquent  George Monbiot and so I suggest you take ten minutes out of your day and watch his excellent video here.
And what is the solution? Simple really - we need a vaccine for the gullible as much as we need a vaccine for Covid.
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Pyraustinae

8/2/2021

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Glyphodes sibillalis 2018 Pinar del Rio © Gustavo Blanco Vale
The Pyraustinae is a large subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae. There are 190 species of Pyraustinae on the Cuban list and many are beautiful and attractively coloured species sometimes with clear panels in the wings. During the last week I have added quite a lot more open source photos of species that occur in Cuba although many of the photos were actually taken in the US or Mexico with some from elsewhere in Central or S America. So currently about 55% of the species can be found here on the website.
Conchylodes hedonialis female 30 Sept 2018 Caimanera © Wayne Fidler (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Conchylodes diphteralis 16 Jun 2015 Vinales © Tim Norriss
Lypotigris reginalis 25 Jun 2016 Gran Piedra © Douglas Fernández
Neoleucinodes elegantalis 18 Jun 2012 Ecuador © Andreas Kay (CC BY-NC-SA)
Ommatospila narcaeusalis 12 Mar 2018 Mexico © Eduardo Axel Recillas Bautista (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Polygrammodes eleuata 25 May 2015 Mexico © Eduardo Axel Recillas Bautista (CC BY-NC 4.0)
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Nectar for butterflies

30/1/2021

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Purple-washed Skipper Panoquina lucas 17 Jul 2020 Habana Botanic Garden © Karen Aguilar Mugica
A source of nectar is as essential a requirement for many butterflies as having the larval foodplants nearby. It's not true for all as there are some that utilize other sources of sugars such as rotten fruit like the Historis and Eunica species and the beautiful Mosaic Colobura dirce amongst others which we have watched on the ground feeding on the fallen fruits of a Mountain Apple Syzygium malaccense (see below). Of those that use flowers for nectar it is usually the females of the species that do this whilst the males get essential minerals and fluids from damp ground.
Mosaic Colobura dirce 14 Jun 2018 Guanayara © Tim Norriss
Mosaic Colobura dirce 14 Jun 2018 Guanayara © Tim Norriss
We have most often seen Purple-washed Skipper Panoquina lucas nectaring at flowers close to the ground but the truth is that butterflies will take advantage of nectar wherever that might be so long as their their proboscis is long enough to access it. The interesting photograph at the top was taken by Karen Aguilar Mugica and shows swarms of these skippers using a flowering tree in the Botanic Garden at Habana and described them as being just like bees. She is going to try to find out the name of the tree next time she goes back there. Thank you Karen for letting me use for photograph.
Panoquina lucas on Bidens pilosa 28 Jun 2015 Soroa © Tim Norriss
Panoquina lucas on Stachytarpheta 18 Jun 2019 Moron © Tim Norriss
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Purple-washed Skipper Panoquina lucas 30 Nov 2018 Guardalavaca © Tim Norriss
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Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui reverse migration

26/1/2021

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Following my last blog about the epic migration of the Monarch Danaus plexippus in N and Central America which I have never actually witnessed, though I have been told about it by friends, I thought I would talk about another similar butterfly migration that occurs here in Europe though on a smaller scale - that of the Painted Lady Vanessa cardui. This are one of the most widely distributed species of butterfly on the planet and can be found on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. These migrations are now known to start in sub-Saharan Africa and move northwards in spring and summer in generational waves to well within the Arctic Circle. Here in the UK, every ten years or so the migration can be spectacular. The most recent was in 2009. Talk to any butterfly watcher here and they will recount their amazing memories of that year.
Vanessa cardui 5 Aug Basingstoke © Tim Norriss
Argent & Sable moth ovipositing Hampshire UK 31 May 2015 ©
 year it started for us on the morning of 24 May when Lynn and I were visiting a clearing in Bentley Wood in the west of Hampshire looking mainly for Argent and Sable moth. We became aware of things flying past us at great speed. It was only when a third flew past a bit closer and in the same direction, due north, that I realised it was Painted Ladies. We saw about fifteen that day and all were on a mission. But it was the next day when visiting West Down, Chilbolton overlooking the River Test that we realised the scale of what was happening. To be fair it wasn't entirely a surprise as we had heard from friends in Spain a few weeks before saying that there were unprecedented numbers emerging from an earlier wave of immigration heading north out of Africa and that we should be on the look-out. Back on West Down the numbers were impressive so we decided to do timed timed 5 minute counts across a 50m strip of open ground. At 2pm the count was 600 per hour. At 3.50pm count was 840 per hour all flying due north. The only ones we saw were flying at just above ground level though I have to say that we weren't looking for others flying higher up. This was game on - on a scale I had never witnessed before. This wave had all moved through within another two or three days leaving others behind to lay vast quantities of eggs on fields of thistles where these were encountered on their journey north.
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We now know from research papers that had been published in the previous couple of years that Painted Lady can cover vast distances at high level when the winds are in a favorable direction.. It has been proven using vertical-looking radar that the butterflies do this at altitudes up to 1,200m.
You can read more about this in Pete Eeles fabulous book on British and Irish butterflies pictured below. This book took ten years in the making and the standard of photography and the level of detail drawn from personal observation, new science and long-forgotten texts from very talented lepidopterists of past generations make it the best book of its kind anywhere in the world. If you don't have it already you most certainly should. You can read the reviews and purchase it here.
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Later in 2009 Lynn and I took a short break in in Crete arriving on 13 October and noted small numbers of Painted Lady in the first three days of our stay near Chania on the north-west coast. On 16th October we were at the top of the Topolia Gorge, one of several gorges in western Crete that run in a north/south direction, searching for Cyclamen hederifolium and the diminutive Narcissus serotinus when we became aware of a steady stream of Painted Lady, about 60-80 per hour, flying south along the road towards the gorge at 4pm in the afternoon.
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Topolia Gorge © Jimzoun, CC BY-SA 4.0
The next morning at breakfast in the mountains at Milia increasing numbers were seen, again all heading south, in the early morning sunshine until 10am when it became overcast with drizzle and the migration stopped. The maximum count was 100 in 5 minutes across 50m. A few were seen later in the afternoon flying in light rain but no further migration was noted that day.
 
On 18th further southerly migration was noted all morning and a count at the northern end of the Topolia gorge produced a rate of 400 per hour through the gorge at midday.

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Kermes Oaks on Mt Ida, Crete © Tim Norriss
We met up with friends Henry and Felicity Edmunds on 19th October, our last full day on the island, and they kindly took us out to the slopes of Mount Ida (Psiloritis) in the centre of the island. Whilst enjoying a wonderful picnic amongst the Kermes Oaks, a five minute count across 50m at 2.15pm produced 26 cardui (312 per hour) all heading determinedly due south. By 4.30pm we were down on the south coast at Agios Galini and hundreds of cardui were found nectaring on flowering Tamarisk trees on the beach. Despite the numbers present no visible migration was seen and we speculated that this was due to an unwillingness to set off over the sea that late in the day. By 5pm they had gone to roost among the Tamarisk. We like to think that they made the flight safely across the southern Mediterranean to Africa over the following days, perhaps even the following morning.
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Agios Galini - Tim Norriss
Painted Lady 19 Oct 2009 Agios Galini - Tim Norriss
Painted Lady 19 Oct 2009 Agios Galini - Tim Norriss
But the odd thing about all this is that it was not until about this time that people realised that there even was a reverse migration of Painted Lady and most books stated that it didn't happen and wondered why the species hadn't died out. So much great science has been done in recent years. We now know that migrant moths will fly up to several hundred feet at night to test if the winds at altitude are going in the right direction and if they are not they will come back down to ground level and try again the next night. There is no reason to suppose that exactly the same thing happens with butterflies.
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Monarch - Danaus plexippus migration through Cuba

24/1/2021

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Danaus plexippus 27 Oct 2017 Guanahacabibes © Gustavo Blanco Vale
The Monarch Danaus plexippus is a fairly scarce resident in Cuba but between October and mid-December the population is boosted by migrants from North America making their southward journey to avoid the harsh winter extremes further north. The beautiful photo above was taken by Gustave Blanco Vale in October 2017 while he was on a bird-banding trip to the extreme western point of the island. he tells me there were about fifteen in the group and they came in to roost in a coconut palm altogether just as it was getting dark. I would love to know whether they then continued on their journey together the next morning and in what direction. Did they go west to Yucatan or somewhere else, or did they stay and feed and roost in the same place the next night? There is so much to be learnt from good fieldwork and observation.
Thank you Gustave for letting me use your photo.
Lynn and I had a similar experience in October 2009 but this time it was Painted Lady Vanessa cardui rather than Monarch and I will talk about this in a following blog.
In 2002 Cristina Dockx published her PhD dissertation on the migration of Monarch's through Cuba and you can find a link to this on the species page.
The Monarch has suffered huge declines across America in recent years due to multiple factors. The numbers at their over-wintering sites in Mexico have dropped from a high of 682 million in 1997 to just 42 million in 2015. So what are the reasons?
1) The greatly increased use of the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup) by farmers in N America has reduced the available foodplant Milkweed on which the caterpillars breed.
2) The use of neonicotinide insecticides (which are designed designed to indiscriminately kill all insects) on farm crops has been shown to be a cause in the decline of bees and other insects. Even ingestion of tiny amounts of contaminated nectar or pollen that are insufficient to directly kill a bee can cause it to sufficiently lose its capacity to navigate such that it cannot find its way back to the hive. And bees are much bulkier that Monarchs which also need their full faculties to be able to navigate their way to their over-wintering sites in the autumn. Research has shown that neonics also play a large part in the catastrophic decline of the Monarch.
3) Climate change/breakdown which raises the winter temperature in the mountains of Mexico where the Monarch's have traditionally overwintered in colossal numbers means that they use more of their fat reserves which are needed to fuel the first stage of their northward migration in the spring. And last but not least-
4) The large-scale and small-scale logging of the forests in Central Mexico were monitored during the period 2001-2012 and the results were absolutely shocking. The murder of two prominent Monarch conservation activists within three days in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in early 2020 is a stark reminder of the extent to which big business will go to line their pockets and trash the planet in the process robbing us one of the greatest spectacles on earth.
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Mimic (Danaid Eggfly) - Hypolimnas misippus

23/1/2021

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Hypolimnas misippus male Punta de Maisi Dec 2020 © Jose Alberto Perez Hechavarria
The Mimic, also known as Danaid Eggfly in some parts of the world, has a widespread distribution across the globe. It originated in Asia but is now found across much of Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. In Cuba it has been known since about 1880 but is quite rare and I haven't heard of anyone seeing one in the last few years until a friend sent me a photo two days ago that he had just taken on his mobile phone near Gibara in the east of the island. When I put the photo on one of the local forums. I was immediately sent a picture of another taken in December at the lighthouse at Punta de Maisi which is the easternmost point of Cuba. It's rather odd that it is seen so rarely when the foodplants that it uses are not uncommon on the island. Larvae have been found in the past so it obviously has bred though the reasons for its current rarity need more study.
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