20-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - CATALONIA WALL LIZARD (Podarcis liolepis)

Podarcis liolepis, the Columbretes wall lizard or Catalan wall lizard, is very similar to the other lizards in the genus Podarcis. This species was formerly described as a subspecies of the Iberian wall lizard, but has now been elevated to species status. These are slender lizards with long tails, narrow tapered heads and long thin toes, and stout legs. Colours are variable, although generally grey-brown.

Often very subtle spots and stripes along the back and flanks can be seen and these can be more distinguished in the female. The underside is a much lighter cream or beige with sometimes a reddish tint. Adults grow 15–20 cm in length from the nose to tip of the tail. Body length can be a little as one third of the total body length, the tail making up the other two thirds.

19-9-2019 OLIVA MARJAL, VALENCIA - LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta)

19-9-2019 OLIVA PLAYA, VALENCIA - SNAKE MILLIPEDE (Ommatoiulus rutilans)

19-9-2019 OLIVA PLAYA, VALENCIA - SHORT HORN GRASSHOPPER (Pezotettix giornae)

19-9-2019 OLIVA PLAYA, VALENCIA - GREYLAG GOOSE (Anser anser)

19-9-2019 OLIVA PLAYA, VALENCIA - HOUSE SPARROW (MALE) (Passer domesticus)

The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a member of the sparrow family Passeridae. This small bird typically measures around 16 cm (6.3 in) in length and weighs between 24–39.5 g (0.85–1.39 oz). The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, with females and young birds displaying pale brown and grey plumage, while males are characterized by more vibrant black, white, and brown markings.

Males can be identified by their bright black, white, and brown markings, with a distinctive black bib, white cheeks, and a grey crown. Females lack the striking head patterns of males and are predominantly buffish with softer coloration. Juveniles resemble adult females but are generally paler with less defined markings.

The house sparrow is highly adaptable and can thrive in both urban and rural environments. It is commonly found in close association with human habitation and avoids dense forests, grasslands, polar regions, and deserts far from human development.

18-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MANTIS (MALE) (Mantis religiosa)

Colias croceus is one of the most widespread species in Europe. The common clouded yellow's breeding range is North Africa and southern Europe and eastwards through Turkey into the Middle East, but it occurs throughout much of Europe as a summer migrant, in good years individuals reaching Scandinavia. In Asia, its range extends into central Siberia in the north and barely into India in the south; it is not found in Central Asia.

The European mantis (Mantis religiosa) is a large hemimetabolic insect in the family of the Mantidae ('mantids'), which is the largest family of the order Mantodea (mantises). Their common name praying mantis is derived from the distinctive posture of the first pair of legs that can be observed in animals in repose. It resembles a praying attitude. Both males and females have elongated bodies with two pairs of wings. The most striking features that all Mantodea share are a very mobile, triangular head with large compound eyes and their first pair of legs (the 'raptorial legs'), which is highly modified for the efficient capture and restraint of fast-moving or flying prey.

In Germany, M. religiosa is listed as Gefährdet [endangered] on the German Red List on the basis of an assessment from 1998. It is not supposed to be caught or held as a pet. At a global level, it is assessed by the IUCN as least concern.

18-9-2019 CREU DE LONGA, VALENCIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

18-9-2019 EL SALER, VALENCIA - EURASIAN KESTREL (Falco tinnunculus)

The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel or Old World kestrel, is a species of predatory bird belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. In the United Kingdom, where no other kestrel species commonly occurs, it is generally just called the "kestrel".

This species occurs over a large native range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America. It has colonized a few oceanic islands, but vagrant individuals are generally rare; in the whole of Micronesia for example, the species was only recorded twice each on Guam and Saipan in the Marianas.

The common kestrel measures 32–39 cm (12+1⁄2–15+1⁄2 in) from head to tail, with a wingspan of 65–82 cm (25+1⁄2–32+1⁄2 in). The female is noticeably larger, with the adult male weighing 136–252 g (4+3⁄4–8+7⁄8 oz), around 155 g (5+1⁄2 oz) on average; the adult female weighs 154–314 g (5+3⁄8–11+1⁄8 oz), around 184 g (6+1⁄2 oz) on average. They are thus small compared with other birds of prey, but larger than most songbirds. Like the other Falco species, they have long wings as well as a distinctive long tail.

The plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.

The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.

18-9-2019 EL SALER, VALENCIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

17-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - RED EARED SLIDER TERRAPIN (Trachemys scripta ssp. elegans)

The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (Trachemys scripta elegans) is a subspecies of the pond slider (Trachemys scripta), a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. Native to the southern United States and extreme northern Mexico, it is popular as a pet across the world, and is the most invasive turtle. It is the most commonly traded turtle in the world.

The red-eared slider is native to the central and southern United States and northern Mexico, but has become established in other places because of pet releases, and has become invasive in many areas where it outcompetes native species. The red-eared slider is included in the list of the world's 100 most invasive species.

Red-eared sliders are popular pets around the world.

The red-eared slider gets its name from the small, red stripe around its ears, or where its ears would be, and from its ability to slide quickly off rocks and logs into the water. This species was previously known as Troost's turtle in honor of an American herpetologist Gerard Troost. Trachemys scripta troostii is now the scientific name for another subspecies, the Cumberland slider.

The red-eared slider belongs to the order Testudines, which contains about 250 turtle species. It is a subspecies of Trachemys scripta. It was previously classified under the name Chrysemys scripta elegans. Trachemys scripta contains three subspecies: T. s. elegans (red-eared slider), T. s. scripta (yellow-bellied slider), and T. s. troostii (Cumberland slider).

17-9-2019 OLIVA, VALENCIA - PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLY (Vanessa cardui)

17-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - WOOD COCKROACH (Loboptera canariensis)

Loboptera canariensis is a species of cockroach native to the Canary Islands, known for inhabiting above-ground (epigean) environments, often in areas influenced by human activity. 

Unlike many other Loboptera species found in the Canary Islands, which are endemic and adapted to subterranean (cave) environments, L. canariensis lives above ground.

It is often found in epigean environments that have been influenced by human activities.

The genus Loboptera includes generalist species that visit a wide variety of flowers and plant families, suggesting a role as a pollinator or flower visitor, although specific behavior for L. canariensis requires further study.

They are ground-dwelling insects found in various microhabitats such as leaf litter and near plant roots.

The species is native to the Canary Islands and is also considered an alien species in some parts of Europe, according to the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN).

17-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - ROSY TABBY MOTH (Endotricha flammealis)

16-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - RING LEGGED EARWIG (Euborellia annulipes)

16-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - ASIAN TIGER MOSQUITO (Aedes albopictus)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aedes_albopictus

15-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BOX TREE MOTH (Cydalima perspectalis)

Cydalima perspectalis or the box tree moth is a species of moth of the family Crambidae, first described by Francis Walker, the English entomologist, in 1859. Native to Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, far-east Russia and India, it has invaded Europe; first recorded in Germany in 2006, then Switzerland and the Netherlands in 2007, Great Britain in 2008, France and Austria in 2009, Hungary in 2011, then Romania, and Spain. It has been seen in Slovakia, Belgium and Croatia.

It was during preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2012, that it was introduced from Italy to Sochi, European Russia, with the planting stock of Buxus sempervirens. The following year it defoliated Buxus colchica in large quantities.

It was recorded in Ontario, Canada in August 2018 and in the eastern United States in May 2021.

Eggs are 1 mm in diameter, pale yellow, and placed under green leaves without herbivory present. First larvae just coming out from the egg are about 1–2 mm long. Larvae development brings them in four weeks to about 35–40 mm at maximum. There is some shrinkage at the beginning of the nymphosis, pupae are 25–30 mm long, first green with browning longitudinal lines, then more and more brownish. The wingspan of the adult form is 40–45 mm. Two variants are observed, the most common one is mostly white while the other is most entirely light brown. With one of the variants, the light brown with the white streaked wings has not been reported in North America as of yet. 

13-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - MEDITERRANEAN MANTIS (FEMALE) (Iris oratoria)

Iris oratoria, known by the common name Mediterranean mantis (or less frequently iris mantis), due to humans first studying it in lands around the Mediterranean Sea, is a species of praying mantis. Its range is expanding in the Middle East, Western Asia and the United States.

Albania, Bulgaria, Brač Island, Korčula Island, France (Including Corsica), Greece (Including Ionian Islands, Crete, Cyclades Islands), Italy (Including Sardinia, Sicily), North Macedonia, Portugal, Spain (Including Balearic Islands), Yugoslavia (Including Serbia, Kosovo, Voivodina, Montenegro), North Africa (Morocco, Algeria,[9] Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, North Chad), Cyprus, West, Central and South Asia (Asian Turkey, India, Israel, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Syria, Turkestan Non-native to the Southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas.

Two novel I. oratoria survival strategies may have contributed to the expansion of this species beyond its original range, and its success in areas formerly occupied by other mantids such as Stagmomantis carolina. Firstly, this species is capable of parthenogenic reproduction when males are scarce. Secondly, additional I. oratoria nymphs may emerge from their oothecae in the second season after the egg case is produced, i.e., when their siblings are already grown and are producing their own offspring.

The Mediterranean mantis is known for two distinctive behaviours, apart from the ambush hunting common to other mantids: cannibalism and deimatic or threat displays. The sexual cannibalism of mantids known in popular culture occurs in roughly one quarter of all intersexual encounters of I. oratoria.

13-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - STRIPED GREENHOUSE SLUG (Ambigolimax valentianus)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/448331-Ambigolimax-valentianus

13-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - PYRALID SNOUT MOTH (Lamoria anella)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/324518-Lamoria-anella

14-9-2019 GANDIA, VALENCIA - EURASIAN WRYNECK (Jynx torquilla)

14-9-2019 GANDIA, VALENCIA - SPINY TOAD (Bufo spinosus)

The spiny toad, spiny common toad, or giant toad (Bufo spinosus) is a species of toad native to the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, extreme northwestern Italy, and North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia). There is an isolated population in Jersey in the Channel Islands which may be a distinct species, the Jersey Toad. For much of the 20th century, it was considered either a synonym or a subspecies of common toad Bufo bufo, but it is now classified as a separate species.

These toads feed on a number of invertebrates from earthworms to insects and woodlice.

Adult males measure 58.6–112 mm (2.3–4.4 in) and adult females 65–180 mm (2.6–7.1 in) in snout–vent length.

Bufo spinosus is a large and robust toad with a snout-vent length of 58.6 - 112 mm in males and 65 - 180 mm in females. Its head is relatively broad, and the region between the eyes is either flat or slightly concave. The snout is short and rounded. The tympanum is subtly visible and rounded, and its diameter does not exceed half the eye. The parotoid glands are large, elongated, and divergent at the posterior end. The eyes are prominent with a horizontally oval pupil. The skin is warty on the back and granular on the underside. Its warts usually end in a keratinized tip, resulting in a spiny appearance, though not all individuals express this. These keratinized warts are especially prominent between the corner of the mouth and the parotoid. The fingers, of which the third is the longest, are short.

Bufo spinosus is a primarily nocturnal species, though it may also be active in the daytime during the reproductive season. It generally prefers standing bodies of water, though it is also found near areas of flowing water. It is very drought-tolerant, due in part to its ability to absorb 21% of its body weight in water per minute. It is assumed to be able to tolerate huge losses of water as B. bufo, a congeneric species, can lose up to 20% of its weight in water without any deleterious effects (Ortiz-Santaliestra 2014).

Males have a weak and short mating call, and call throughout the day and night. Breeding usually takes place in spring, though this varies geographically, with populations in warmer areas generally breeding earlier in the year and populations in colder areas generally breeding later in the year. Amplexus is axillary. Females lay anywhere from 2000 – 11000 eggs at a time, which are around 3 mm in diameter and connected in strings and attached onto aquatic vegetation. It has a geographically variable larval period, with the period lasting 65 - 108 days in the southern Iberian Peninsula, and 55.5 days in Doñana National Park in Andalusia, Spain (Ortiz-Santaliestra 2014).

14-9-2019 GANDIA, VALENCIA - SPOTTED FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa striata)

The spotted flycatcher is a grey-brown songbird known for its distinctive hunting style of perching and making short flights to catch flying insects, returning to the same spot after each catch. They are summer visitors in places like the UK, spending winters in tropical Africa, and are often found in parks, gardens, and woodland edges. The bird's diet consists primarily of flying insects like moths and bees, but they also eat berries in the autumn, and will rub stinging insects against their perch to remove the stinger. 

Commonly found in woodland edges, parks, gardens, and other human-influenced environments.

A strict insectivore that primarily eats flying insects, such as moths, butterflies, and wasps.

If a spotted flycatcher catches a stinging insect, it will rub the insect against its perch to remove the stinger before eating it.

In the autumn, their diet expands to include berries. 

14-9-2019 GANDIA, VALENCIA - HOUSE SPARROW (FEMALE) (Passer domesticus)

11-9-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SCLEROSOMATID HARVESTSMAN (Family Sclerosomatidae)