Thelephassa Grayling Butterfly (Pseudochazara thelephassa) (Geyer 1827) Suphan Dagi, Turkey
I nearly didn't include this pic on my posts as out of focus, but I think I have to for the camoflage. It flew almost striaght after my eyes located it, so didn't have a second chance
In the family Nymphalidae
Found in Turkey to Asia Minor across Iran, Iraq, Transcaucasia. Afghanistan and Pakistan
They inhabit semi desert and stony slopes 500-2500m
On the wing from April to July
Larvae feed on grasses
#ThelephassaGraylingButterfly #Pseudochazarathelephassa #ThelephassaGrayling #Pseudochazara #GraylingButterfly #Turkey #SuphanDagi #Butterfly #Butterflies #Lepidoptera #Lepidopterist #Insects
Kurdistan Copper Butterfly (Lycaena kurdistanica) (Esper 1784 – Lesser Fiery Copper) Suphan Dagi, Turkey
Orginally idnetified in the field as Lesser Fiery Copper another expert belived it to be Kurdistan Copper
Wingspan of 26-30 mm, often considered a subspecies of the Lesser Fiery Copper, but is smaller and of a yellowish-gold colour with longer tails
Found in many different types of habitats, such as coastal farmland, waste ground, grassy places, and dry slopes
Host plants include bird knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare), docks (Rumex spp.), knapweeds (Centaurea spp.), and brooms (Cytisus spp.)
It flies March through December
#KurdistanCopperButterfly #Lycaenakurdistanica #KurdistanCopper #Lycaena #CopperButterfly #Turkey #SuphanDagi #Butterfly #Butterflies #Lepidoptera #Lepidopterist #Insects
Todays day out totals:
Brown Argus x 26
Dingy skipper x 17
Adonis Blue x 7
Small Heath x 8
Common Blue x 1
Green Hairstreak x 1
Duke of Burgundy x 8
Speckled Wood x 1
A Moth (Crambus lathoniellus) x 1
A Moth (Scoparia pyralella) x 1
Mother Shipton Moth x 1
Forester Moth x 6
Small Purple Barred x 3
Burnet Companion x 1
A Fly (Tachina fera) x 1
Large Red Damselfly X 1
A Ichneumon Wasp (Amblyteles armatorius) x 1
Great Spotted Woodpecker x 1
Stonechat x 1
Great Green Bush-cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) x 1 Nymph
#butterflies #butterfly #lepidoptera @savebutterflies@ntcotswolds
Yellow Alkanet (Alkanna orientalis) (L. Boiss 1844) Nemrut Crater Lake, Turkey
In the borage family Boraginaceae
A sun-loving perennial that brings a bright, Mediterranean glow to dry, rocky landscapes it calls home. It is covered in both patent and glandular hairs on the leaves and in the throat of the yellow flower
Found in Turkey, Iran, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Extinct in Algeria & Tunisia
Used in traditional herbalism and natural dyeing throughout the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean
#YellowAlkanet #Alkannaorientalis #Boraginaceae #Alkanet #OrientalAlkanet #Botany #Botanist #Plants #Wildflowers #Turkey #NemrutCraterLake #Borage
What a day for butterflies. Before my back injury I was on just 9 butterfly species for the year, now back on target this week with 23 species!
Site one: 10:05
Holly blue x 3
Speckled wood x 3
Pearl bordered x 31
Brimstone Female x 1
A Moth (Olethreutes arcuella) x 1
Red headed cardinal Beetle x 1
Buzzard x 1
Site two: 11:27
Brown Argus x 21
Green Hairstreak x 3
Small Heath x 13
Dingy Skipper x 16
Common Blue x 10 Male Female x 1
Small Copper x 5
Grizzled Skipper x 3
Painted Lady x 1
Holly Blue x 1
Speckled Wood x 1
Large White x 1
Mother Shipton Moth x 2
Common Heath Moth x 3
Common Carpet Moth x 1
Purple Barred Moth x 1
A Moth (Pyrausta purpuralis) x 2
A Moth (Pyrausta nigrata) x 1
Green Longhorn Moth (Adela reaumurella) x 2
A Moth (Notocelia cynosbatella) x 1
Roe Deer x 3
Red kite x 1
Dark edged Bee-Fly x 2
Common Lizard x 1
Site three: 14:24
Peacock x2
Orange-tip x 1 Male
Small Heath x 3
Brown Argus x 1
Common Blue x 2
Dingy Skipper x 4
Marsh Fritillary x 1
Small Copper x 1
Purple Barred Moth x 1
A Moth (Pyrausta nigrata) x 1
Burnet Companion Moth x 1
Common Heath x 2
Site four: 15:45
Small Heath x 7
Common Blue x 1
Brown Argus x 5
Holly Blue x 1
Speckled Wood x 2
Duke of Burgundy x 2
Dingy Skipper x1
Orange-tip x 1 Female
Burnet Companion Moth x 1
A Moth (Psyche Casta) x 1
#butterflies #butterfly #moths #mothsmatter
Today’s lunchtime stroll finds:
Holly blue x 5
Small copper x2
Common blue x 1
Small yellow underwing x 1
Common lizard x 1
#butterflies #moths #commonblue #butterfly
Mole Cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) (Linnaeus 1758) Nemrut Crater Lake, Turkey
A cryptic species / species group that are only separated in the field by their song pattern
Widespread in Europe and has been introduced to the Eastern United States. In the UK classed as endangered with only 4 records from 1970 to 2001. In 2014 a new surviving colony was discovered in the New Forest. There is a captive breeding programme in the UK to bolster surviving colonies
Its scientific name is derived from the Latin 'gryllus' (Cricket) and 'talpa' (Mole), because of the fine dense fur which covers it and its subterranean habits
Body length is about 50 millimetres (2.0 in) in males and 70 millimetres (2.8 in) in females. In general, it takes 2 years for mole crickets to complete their life cycle from eggs to adults
Habitats include damp rich soils, flood plains, reservoir edges, irrigated and well-fertilized fields and vegetable gardens
#Turkey #TurkishWildlife #NemrutCraterLake #MoleCricket #Gryllotalpagryllotalpa #Crickets #Gryllotalpa #Orthoptera
A few from 15/20 mins in the local cemetery at lunch
Holly blue x 2
Large Red damselfly x1
Cocksfoot moth x 2
Glyphipterix fuscoviridella moth x 3
Small copper x 1
A Fly (Phania funesta) x 3
#butterflies #butterfly #moths #mothmatters #fly
Southern Emerald Damselfly (Lestes barbarus) (Linnaeus 1758) Nemrut Crater Lake, Turkey
A damselfly in the family Lestidae or Spreadwings
Found in Europe & Central Asian species with isolated populations in North Africa. Although found in the UK (since 2002), I have never seen one here
They have a metallic green body and wings held away from the body at rest. It differs from the other European Lestes in having bicoloured pterostigmata (wing spots), which are diagnostic
The flight period is from March to October in the south of its range but in north it flies mainly from June to August
A damselfly of still water and can be found in stagnant and slightly brackish water
#Turkey #TurkishWildlife #NemrutCraterLake #Damselfly #Odonata
