29-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - WAVE MOTH (Idaea eugeniata)

Idaea eugeniata is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is found in Italy, France, Andorra, Spain, Portugal and North Africa.

The wingspan is 21–22 mm for males and 24–25 mm for females.

The larvae are polyphagous and have been recorded feeding on various herbaceous plants.

Subspecies

Idaea eugeniata eugeniata

Idaea eugeniata algeriaca (Culot, 1917)

29-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - DOUBLE STRIPED PUG MOTH (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/311619-Gymnoscelis-rufifasciata

13-7-2017 MONTE ORONA, VALENCIA - CONTINENTAL STRIPED SHIELD BUG (Graphosoma italicum ssp italicum)

The so-called "striped bug" in Spanish, Graphosoma lineatum subsp. italicum (Müller, 1766) , is a subspecies of the so-called "shield bugs", due to the shape of its scutellum, and belongs to the Pentatomidae family . Pentatomidae comes from the Greek and means "in five parts", referring to its antennae composed of 5 segments, compared to the 4 of other bugs. According to some authors, the species Graphosoma lineatum (Linnaeus, 1758) is divided into two subspecies. The typical one, Graphosoma lineatum subsp. lineatum (Linnaeus, 1758) , seems to be distributed in northern Africa and possibly the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. The other, Graphosoma lineatum subsp. italicum (Müller, 1766) is more widely distributed, in the Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian areas, reaching as far north as Denmark. Other authors give the latter the status of species, and it is now called Graphosoma italicum (Müller, 1766) .

This is a showy bug, 8-12 mm long in both males and females, with a flattened, almost round body, similar in appearance to a shield, and with a face that clearly protrudes from the head. This shield ( escutellum ) covers almost the entire abdomen, is triangular in shape and is usually as long as the corium of the elytra.It is easily identifiable by its reddish aposematic colour, which warns potential predators of its unpleasant taste. In fact, like many other bugs, it has glands on the sides of its thorax that exude a repulsive-smelling liquid when held. On the red background, 6 longitudinal black bands run across the head, thorax and abdomen. The sides of the abdomen ( connexivum ) are red with many small black spots, with a checkered pattern. The ventral part of the abdomen is dotted. The tarsi have 3 segments and the legs are generally black (red in the typical subspecies lineatum ), except for the third tibia, which can be reddish. They have a pair of black antennae composed of 5 antennae or segments and prominent eyes. Sexual dimorphism consists of females showing a median suture on the eighth abdominal segment, not present in males.

12-10-2017 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SATIN WAVE MOTH (Idaea subsericeata)

Idaea subsericeata, the satin wave, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1809. It is found from central and southern Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor to Transcaspia.

The ground colour is white with strong silky gloss, the lines grey, seldom strongly expressed, on the other hand usually all present, thus numbering five on the forewing and four on the hindwing; the outermost line (distal shading of subterminal) the oftenest absent; all except the median are parallel with the distal margin, but slightly wavy; the median on the forewing is usually somewhat oblique, but occasionally almost parallel with the others; that of the hindwing runs straighter across the wing, instead of following the curve of the strongly convex distal margin. Cellspots and terminal line wanting or rarely the former present, minute; fringe usually with a series of minute black dots at the base, which are sometimes in part, more rarely entirely obsolete. Forewing beneath often with a smoky suffusion, either basally or all over; median and postmedian lines present, often well developed; a small discal dot present. Hindwing beneath white, with discal dot and postmedian line. Male antennal ciliation little longer than diameter of shaft; hindtarsus short. 

28-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BLUE ROCK THRUSH (MALE) (Monticola solitarius)

28-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BLUE ROCK THRUSH (FEMALE) (Monticola solitarius)

The blue rock thrush (merill) is Malta's national bird. It is 20-23cm long and has a long slim bill. It nests in rock cavities and buildings near the sea, and usually lays 3-5 eggs. It eats a wide variety of insects in addition to berries.

An omnivore, the Blue Rock Thrush eats a wide variety of insects and small reptiles in addition to berries and seeds. This is a starling-sized bird, 21–23 cm in length with a long slim bill. The summer male is unmistakable, with all blue-grey plumage apart from its darker wings.

The Blue Rock-thrush is very territorial and guards its territory also outside of the breeding season. It chases away birds that invade the territory, even birds from other species. The Blue Rock-thrush is an "old world" bird from Morocco in the west to Japan in the east. 

28-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - GREAT TIT (Parus major)

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

28-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY (Lasiommata maera)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/147298-Lasiommata-megera

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - HAIRY ROSE BEETLE (Tropinota squalida)

Tropinota squalida is a species of beetle belonging to the family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Cetoniinae.

These beetles are mainly found in France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, former Yugoslavia, Spain, in the Near East and in North Africa. They are not present in North or South America.

Larvae feed on roots, while the adults can be encountered from May through July feeding on flowers. They are 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in) long. The adults are considered an agricultural pest in many zones. They eat the flowers of a variety domestic plants, notably fruit trees, apple, pear, cherries, quince but also strawberries and flowers such as roses and irises. They will eat the pistil, stamens and petals leaving no possibility for fruit production. After feeding they will return to the soil in the area and come out again within a few days if the temperature is warm enough and continue feeding. Head, scutellum and elytra are dark-brown, with a thick and long tawny hair on elytra and abdomen. Elytra show two series of white spots on the sides of the central hull. Scutellun is rounded and hairy, but glabrous in the posterior. The fifth humeral slot is bifurcated.

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - MEDITERRANEAN SPOTTED CHAFER (Oxythyrea funesta)

27-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - EMERALD MOTH (Phaiogramma etruscaria)

27-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - OLD WORLD SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY (Papilio machaon)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/56529-Papilio-machaon

27-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - LYDD BEAUTY MOTH (Peribatodes ilicaria)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/470691-Peribatodes-ilicaria

 

26-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - HORSE CHESTNUT MOTH (Pachycnemia hippocastanaria)

Pachycnemia hippocastanaria (Horse Chestnut Moth) is a small geometrid moth with a 28–32 mm wingspan, appearing in grey, brown, and red tones. Native to European heathlands, it has two broods (April-May, August) and feeds on Heather (Calluna vulgaris), not Horse Chestnut trees. It is distinct from the invasive Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner (Cameraria ohridella). 

Key Facts about Pachycnemia hippocastanaria

Appearance: A relatively small, slender-bodied moth with a wingspan of 28–32 mm. The forewings are typically a mixture of grey, brown, and reddish tones with darker markings.

Habitat: Primarily found in warm, dry, open habitats such as heathlands.

Distribution: A southern species in Britain, restricted to heathlands in the southernmost counties. It is also found in various parts of Europe.

Life Cycle: It is double-brooded, with adults appearing in April and May, and a second, sometimes smaller brood appearing in August.

Larval Foodplant: Contrary to its name, the larvae feed on heathland plants, specifically Heather (Calluna vulgaris) and Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix).

Behaviour: Both males and females are attracted to light. 

26-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - DANCE FLIES (Family Empididae)

26-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SMALL WHITE BUTTERFLY (Pieris rapae)

Pieris rapae is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is known in Europe as the small white, in North America as the cabbage white or cabbage butterfly, on several continents as the small cabbage white, and in New Zealand as the white butterfly. The butterfly is recognizable by its white color with small black dots on its wings, and it can be distinguished from P. brassicae by the latter's larger size and black band at the tip of the forewings.

The caterpillar of this species, often referred to as the "imported cabbageworm", is a pest to crucifer crops such as cabbage, kale, bok choy and broccoli. Pieris rapae is widespread in Europe and Asia; it is believed to have originated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Europe, and to have spread across Eurasia thanks to the diversification of brassicaceous crops and the development of human trade routes. Over the past two centuries, it spread to North Africa (about 1800), North America (1860s), Hawaii (1897), New Zealand (1930), and Australia (1937), as a result of accidental introductions.

26-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN GREENFINCH (Chloris chloris)

15-3-2017 GANDIA RIO SERPIS, VALENCIA - WHITE WAGTAIL (Motacilla alba)

The White wagtail is a slender bird with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. There are a number of other subspecies, some of which may have arisen because of partial geographical isolation, such as the resident British and Irish form, the pied wagtail M. a. yarrellii, which now also breeds in adjacent areas of the neighbouring European mainland. The Pied wagtail exchanges the grey colour of the nominate form with black (or very dark grey in females), but is otherwise identical in its behaviour. Other subspecies, the validity of some of which is questionable, differ in the colour of the wings, back, and head, or other features. Some rraces show sexual dimorphism during the breeding season. As many as six subspecies may be present in the wintering ground in India or Southeast Asia and here they can be difficult to distinguish.

White wagtails breed throughout Eurasia, only being absent in the Arctic. They also breed in the mountains of Morocco and western Alaska. These birds are residents in the milder parts of their range such as western Europe and the Mediterranean, but migratory in much of the rest of their range. Northern European breeders winter around the Mediterranean and in tropical and subtropical Africa, and Asiatic birds move to the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. Birds from the North American population also winter in tropical Asia. White wagtails occupy a wide range of habitats but are absent from deserts. They inhabit grasslands, seashores, rocky shorelines, sand beaches, tidepools, rivers, lakeshores, farmland, gardens, and parks. They are also often found in towns and villages. 

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - RUNNING CRAB SPIDER (Celerrimus duffeyi)

Celerrimus is a monotypic genus of European running crab spiders containing the single species, Celerrimus duffeyi. It was first described by S. Lecigne, J.-F. Cornic and P. Oger in 2019.

Celerrimus duffeyi is a species of running crab spider found in Europe, and it is the sole species within the monotypic genus Celerrimus. 

Key facts about Celerrimus duffeyi:

Taxonomy: It belongs to the family Philodromidae, commonly known as running crab spiders.

Discovery: The species was first described and named in 2019 by Lecigne, Cornic, and Oger.

Nomenclature: The genus name Celerrimus likely refers to its agility as a running spider, while the species name duffeyi honors Dr. Eric Duffey, a noted British arachnologist and pioneering spider ecologist.

Habitat: While specific details for this exact species are limited in the search results, other spiders in the Philodromidae family are free-living, agile spiders commonly found on plants or on the soil surface.

Distribution: The species is recorded as present in Western Europe.

Physical Description: No specific physical description of Celerrimus duffeyi was available in the provided snippets; however, other members of its family typically have a white to red-brown carapace and white to dark brown legs with annulations (ring-like markings). 

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BOAR THISTLE (Galactites tomentosa)

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - TUBEROUS MEADOW RUE (Thalictrum tuberosum)

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - LONG TAILED TIT (Aegithalos caudatus)

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY (Pararge aegeria)

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - FIELD GLADIOLUS (Gladiolus italicus)

24-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - LARGE WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY (Lasiommata maera)

14-4-2018 CHOBE RIVER, NAMIBIA - HIPPOPOTAMUS (Hippopotamus amphibius)

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) (/ˌhɪpəˈpɒtəməs/; pl.: hippopotamuses; often shortened to hippo (pl.: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis). Its name comes from the ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).

After elephants and rhinoceroses, the hippopotamus is the next largest land mammal. It is also the largest extant land artiodactyl. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, the closest living relatives of the hippopotamids are cetaceans (whales, dolphins, porpoises, etc.), from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. Hippos are recognisable for their barrel-shaped torsos, wide-opening mouths with large canine tusks, nearly hairless bodies, pillar-like legs, and large size: adults average 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) for bulls (males) and 1,300 kg (2,900 lb) for cows (females).

Hippos inhabit rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps. Territorial bulls each preside over a stretch of water and a group of five to thirty cows and calves. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grasses. While hippos rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth).

23-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - DOUBLE STRIPED PUG MOTH (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

The double-striped pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is a widespread and common species, being found throughout the Palearctic region, including the Near East and North Africa.

This is a variable species but always easy to recognize due to the two prominent dark fascia across each forewing which give the species its common name. The forewing ground colour ranges from light to dark reddish brown. The crosslines are distinct. The inner margin of the pale white sub-marginal line bears black marks. The hindwings are pale grey with darker fringes, darker lines and a small black discal spot. There is a dark band across the basal segments of the abdomen. The wingspan is 15–19 mm.

The caterpillars reach a length of up to 17 millimeters and have a very variable basic colouration. It ranges from whitish to yellowish green, brown, red to purple. On the back there is a pale band marked with a series of dark diamonds or triangles. The drawing resembles a rear-facing trident, is sometimes crow-foot-like and can occasionally be only weakly formed. The head is yellowish brown.

Two, sometimes three, broods are produced each year and the adults are on the wing in April and May (sometimes earlier), July and August, and sometimes later in the autumn. Later broods are more heavily marked. It flies at night and is attracted to light and flowers, both of its food plants and others.

23-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY (Pararge aegeria)

23-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - GENUS IDAEA MOTH (Subfamily Sterrhinae)

23-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - CATALONIA WALL LIZARD (Podarcis liolepis)

2-6-2017 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLY (Vanessa cardui)

Vanessa cardui is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan.

V. cardui is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. In Australia, V. cardui has a limited range around Bunbury, Fremantle, and Rottnest Island. However, its close relative, the Australian painted lady (V. kershawi, sometimes considered a subspecies) ranges over half the continent. Other closely related species are the American painted lady (V. virginiensis) and the West Coast lady (V. annabella).

Larvae feed on Asteraceae species, including Cirsium, Carduus, Centaurea, Arctium, Onopordum, Helianthus, and Artemisia.

The painted lady uses over 300 recorded host plants according to the HOSTS database.

Adult butterflies feed on flower nectar and aphid honeydew.