Thursday, 23 April 2020
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.
Wednesday, 22 April 2020
17-5-2017 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)
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Raising a nest full of baby herons is hard work! During the breeding season, some Gray Herons spend up to 23 hours per day foraging and some travel up to 38 km (24 miles) from their nest in search of food.
Gray Herons usually feed on smaller fish, 10–25 cm (4–10 inches) long, but some ambitious individuals take fish weighing up to 500 grams (1.1 pounds) and eels that are up to 60 cm (24 inches) long.
Gray Herons live in Eurasia and Africa, but rare individuals stray from their normal range to places like the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Despite the Gray Heron's similarity to Great Blue Heron, some observers have also documented this species from the Atlantic Coast of mainland North America, from Newfoundland to Virginia, and also from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
20-4-2020 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.
Tuesday, 21 April 2020
21-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SPECKLED FOOTMAN MOTH (Coscinia cribraria)
Coscinia cribraria, the speckled footman, is a species of moth belonging to the subfamily Arctiinae within the large family Erebidae. This moth has a widespread distribution in the Palearctic.
Coscinia cribraria has a forewing which has a background colour of dirty white marked with black streaks along the wings and crossbands made up of dark dots, both of which vary in extent. The subspecies arenaria has an almost pure white forewing. The speckled footman has a wingspan of between 30 and 35 mm (1.2 and 1.4 in).
Coscinia cribraria has a wide Palearctic distribution being found from Northwestern Africa Iberia and southern Great Britain east to China and Mongolia. In Europe, north of the Alps, the speckled footman is typically found on sandy heaths and open sandy pine forests. To the south of the Alps, it inhabits on dry mountain meadows with stony or rocky areas and around the Mediterranean this species can be found in habitats like maquis and in open forests.
Monday, 20 April 2020
19-4-2017 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SPECKLED FOOTMAN MOTH (Coscinia cribraria)
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Coscinia cribraria, the speckled footman, is a species of moth belonging to the subfamily Arctiinae within the large family Erebidae. This moth has a widespread distribution in the Palearctic.
Coscinia cribraria has a forewing which has a background colour of dirty white marked with black streaks along the wings and crossbands made up of dark dots, both of which vary in extent. The subspecies arenaria has an almost pure white forewing.The speckled footman has a wingspan of between 30 and 35 mm (1.2 and 1.4 in).
Coscinia cribraria has a wide Palearctic distribution being found from Northwestern Africa Iberia and southern Great Britain east to China and Mongolia.[1] In Europe, north of the Alps, the speckled footman is typically found on sandy heaths and open sandy pine forests. To the south of the Alps, it inhabits on dry mountain meadows with stony or rocky areas and around the Mediterranean this species can be found in habitats like maquis and in open forests.
Sunday, 19 April 2020
17-4-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - COMMON SANDPIPER (Actitis hypoleucos)
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The common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos ) is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper (A. macularia ), make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize. Hybridization has also been reported between the common sandpiper and the green sandpiper, a basal species of the closely related shank genus Tringa.
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The adult is 18–20 cm (7.1–7.9 in) long with a 32–35 cm (13–14 in) wingspan. It has greyish-brown upperparts, white underparts, short dark-yellowish legs and feet, and a bill with a pale base and dark tip. In winter plumage, they are duller and have more conspicuous barring on the wings, though this is still only visible at close range. Juveniles are more heavily barred above and have buff edges to the wing feathers.
This species is very similar to the slightly larger spotted sandpiper (A. macularia ) in non-breeding plumage. But its darker legs and feet and the crisper wing pattern (visible in flight) tend to give it away, and of course they are only rarely found in the same location.
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The common sandpiper breeds across most of temperate and subtropical Europe and Asia, and migrates to Africa, southern Asia and Australia in winter. The eastern edge of its migration route passes by Palau in Micronesia, where hundreds of birds may gather for a stop-over. They depart the Palau region for their breeding quarters around the last week of April to the first week of May.
The common sandpiper forages by sight on the ground or in shallow water, picking up small food items such as insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates; it may even catch insects in flight.
It nests on the ground near freshwater. When threatened, the young may cling to their parent's body to be flown away to safety.
Saturday, 18 April 2020
Friday, 17 April 2020
23-3-2017 PANAMA CITY, PANAMA - BLACK THROATED MANGO (Anthracothorax nigricollis)
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The black-throated mango (Anthracothorax nigricollis) is a species in subfamily Polytminae of the hummingbird family Trochilidae. It is found in Panama, in every mainland South American country except Chile, and on Trinidad and Tobago.
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The nominate subspecies of the black-throated mango is found from western Panama into much of Colombia and Venezuela, the Guianas, eastern Ecuador and Peru, northern and eastern Bolivia, eastern Paraguay, far northern Argentina, most of Brazil, and on both Trinidad and Tobago. It has also occurred as a vagrant in Uruguay. Subspecies A. n. iridescens is found in extreme southwestern Colombia, western Ecuador, and extreme northwestern Peru.
The black-throated mango inhabits a variety of landscapes in the lowland tropics, most of them semi-open to open. These include gallery forest, shade coffee and cacao plantations, the edges of dense forest, and parks and gardens in populated areas. In general it is a bird of the lowlands, but reaches 1,400 m (4,600 ft) in Venezuela, 1,700 m (5,600 ft) in Colombia, and 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in eastern Brazil.
16-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - BLUE ROCK THRUSH (MALE) (Monticola solitarius)
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The blue rock thrush (Monticola solitarius) is a chat species, reminiscent of a thrush, with a starling-like stature, measuring 21–23 cm in length. The male of the nominate subspecies is predominantly blue-grey, save for darker wings, presenting a striking appearance. Females and immature birds are less vivid, with dark brown upperparts and paler, scaly brown underparts. The male of the subspecies M. s. philippensis is distinguished by rufous-chestnut plumage from the mid-breast to the undertail, a feature absent in both sexes of the rock thrush.
To identify the blue rock thrush, look for the male's unmistakable blue-grey plumage and the female's less conspicuous brown tones. The male M. s. philippensis can be recognized by its rufous-chestnut lower half. Both sexes lack the reddish outer tail feathers seen in rock thrushes.
This bird favors open, mountainous regions where it can nest in rock cavities and walls.
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The blue rock thrush breeds across southern Europe, northwest Africa, and from Central Asia to northern China and Malaysia. It is a resident bird in Europe, north Africa, and southeast Asia, with some populations exhibiting altitudinal migration. Other Asian populations are migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, India, and southeast Asia. It is a rare visitor to northern and western Europe.
The blue rock thrush is an omnivore, consuming a varied diet of insects, small reptiles, berries, and seeds. It breeds in its preferred mountainous habitats, laying 3-5 eggs per clutch.
The male's song is a clear and melodious call, louder than that of the rock thrush, which can be heard echoing through its mountainous domain.
As an omnivore, the blue rock thrush has a diverse diet that includes insects, small reptiles, berries, and seeds.
The blue rock thrush is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it is not at immediate risk of population decline.
16-4-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - DOUBLE STRIPED PUG MOTH (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)
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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.
The larva feeds on the flowers of a huge range of plants (see list below) and has also been known to feed on the larvae of other lepidoptera. The species overwinters as a pupa.
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