3-9-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - MEDITERRANEAN MANTIS (ADULT) (Iris oratoria)

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.

2-9-2023 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.

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.

When the mantis is under attack, it sets in motion a complex series of actions which combine to form a startling deimatic display. The mantis turns to face the aggressor, rears up by arching its back, curls its abdomen upwards (dorsiflexion), raises and waves its forelimbs, raises its wings to displays the large brightly coloured eyespots on the hindwings, and stridulates by scraping the edge of its hindwings against its tegmina, the leathery front wings.

2-9-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - LARGE PSAMMODROMUS LIZARD (JUVENILE) (Psammodromus algirus)

Psammodromus algirus, known commonly as the Algerian psammodromus or the large psammodromus, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is found in southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa.

Psammodromus algirus is found in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) and in Southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula: Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar; southernmost France, and Italy near Lampedusa).

The IUCN assessment from 2009 treats Psammodromus algirus nollii and Psammodromus algirus ketamensis as full species and restricts Psammodromus algirus to North Africa.

P. algirus typically occurs in dense bushy vegetation, but it can also venture to more open areas. It can be found at at elevations up to 2,600 m (8,500 ft) above sea level, but it is more common at lower elevations.

Psammodromus algirus mainly feeds on terrestrial arthropods, specifically Orthoptera, Formicidae, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Araneae.

1-9-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SOUTHERN GREEN STINK BUG (Nezara viridula)

Nezara viridula, commonly known as the southern green stink bug (USA), southern green shield bug (UK) or green vegetable bug (Australia and New Zealand), is a plant-feeding stink bug. Believed to have originated in Ethiopia, it can now be found around the world.[1] Because of its preference for certain species of legumes, such as beans and soybeans, it is an economically important pest on such crops.

The adult males can reach a body length (from front to elytral apex) of about 12.1 millimetres (0.48 in), while females are bigger, reaching a size of about 13.1 millimetres (0.52 in). The body is usually bright green and shield-shaped and the eyes are usually reddish, but they may also be black. There is a row of three white spots on the scutellum. They differ from the similar green stink bug (Chinavia hilare) by the shape of their scent gland openings, which are short and wide in N. viridula, and narrow and long in the green stink bug.

Nezara viridula reproduces throughout the year in tropics. In temperate zones this species presents a reproductive winter diapause, associated with a reversible change of body colouration from green to brown or russet.

When ready to mate N.viridula sound 100 Hz vibration with a "tymbal" composed of a fused first and second terga (not to be confused with tymbal of cicadas) that allow bi-directional communication to any Nezara standing on the same plant so they could find each other. The female lays 30 to 130 eggs at a time, in the form of an egg mass glued firmly to the bottom of a leaf. The eggs are barrel-shaped, with an opening on the top. The eggs take between 5 and 21 days to develop, depending on the temperature. The newborn larvae gather near the empty eggs and do not feed until three days later, after the first moult. They moult five times before reaching maturity, increasing in size each time. Each instar stage lasts about a week, except for the last one before the metamorphosis, which is a day longer. Up to four generations can develop in one year, with eggs developing into adults in as few as 35 days in mid-summer. Up until their third moult the larvae aggregate together on the host plant, the purpose of this aggregation is probably pooling of chemical defenses against predators, for example ants.

 

1-9-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - SCHILLING'S ROPALID

In contrast to other rhopalids, Chorosoma schillingi and Myrmus miriformis are rather hairless as adults and elongate in shape. This species in particular is very long and narrow, leading to possible confusion with some mirid grass bugs. Note however the membranous wings and ocelli.

A straw-coloured species with very long legs and antennae, C. schillingi is superbly camouflaged as it walks slowly amongst grasses. It is usually brachypterous, the wings reaching half the length of the adomen.

This species has a southerly and mainly coastal distribution, and is found locally in dunes and tall grasslands between Norfolk and Anglesey, feeding on various grasses including marram.

Adult August-September

Length 14-16 mm

 

1-5-2021 ADOR CAMPO, VALENCIA - COMMON NIGHTINGALE (Luscinia megarhynchos)

The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It belongs to a group of more terrestrial species, often called chats.

"Nightingale" is derived from "night" and the Old English galan, "to sing". The genus name Luscinia is Latin for "nightingale" and megarhynchos is from Ancient Greek megas, "great" and rhunkhos "bill".

29-8-2023 ULLAL DE BALDOVI, ALBUFERA - EURASIAN REED WARBLER (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)

The common reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into the temperate western Palaearctic where it is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. It is also a resident species over large parts of Africa.

29-8-2023 ULLAL DE BALDOVI, ALBUFERA - 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 its larger size and the black band at the tip of its 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, North America, New Zealand, and Australia, as a result of accidental introductions.

29-8-2023 ULLAL DE BALDOVI, ALBUFERA - EUROPEAN PIED FLYCATCHER (Ficedula hypoleuca)

The European pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. One of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers, it hybridizes to a limited extent with the collared flycatcher. It breeds in most of Europe and across the Western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering mainly in tropical Africa. It usually builds its nests in holes on oak trees. This species practices polygyny, usually bigamy, with the male travelling large distances to acquire a second mate. The male will mate with the secondary female and then return to the primary female in order to help with aspects of child rearing, such as feeding.

29-8-2023 EL SALER, ALBUFERA - CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (Colias croceus)

Colias croceus, clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, the yellows and whites.

Colias croceus f. helice (Hübner)

29-8-2023 EL SALER, ALBUFERA - SQUACCO HERON (Ardeola ralloides)

The squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides ) is a small heron, 44–47 cm (17+1⁄2–18+1⁄2 in) long, of which the body is 20–23 cm (8–9 in), with 80–92 cm (31+1⁄2–36 in) wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East.

The squacco heron is a migrant, wintering in Africa. It is rare north of its breeding range. The species has been recorded in Fernando de Noronha islands, and more rarely in mainland South America, as a vagrant. This is a stocky species with a short neck, short thick bill and buff-brown back. In summer, adults have long neck feathers. Its appearance is transformed in flight, when it looks very white due to the colour of the wings.

29-8-2023 RACO DE OLLA, ALBUFERA - GREATER FLAMINGO (JUVENILE) (Phoenicopterus roseus)

The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Himalayas), the Middle East, the Levant, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean countries of Southern Europe.

The greater flamingo was described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. It was previously thought to be the same species as the American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), but because of coloring differences of its head, neck, body, and bill, the two flamingos are now most commonly considered separate species. The greater flamingo has no subspecies and is therefore monotypic.

29-8-2023 CREU DI LONGA, ALBUFERA - BLACK WINGED STILT (JUVENILE) (Himantopus himantopus)

The black-winged stilt is a black and white wading bird with incredibly long legs. They live in a variety of wetlands, from marshes to coastal lagoons. They wade through the water, plucking insects from the surface. Their incredibly long legs (around 60% of their height) allow them to walk through deeper water than other wading birds.

Black-winged stilts are found in a wide range across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The European population is mostly migratory, flying to Africa for the winter. Although the UK is too far north to be part of their usual range, birds from southern Europe do sometimes turn up here. Occasionally, pairs arrive and nest in the UK. Nesting attempts have become more common in recent decades, which has been linked to climate change. Warmer weather in southern Europe dries out the wetlands where they would usually nest, pushing them north to find more suitable sites.

Black-winged stilts are very protective of their nests and young. They will mob and chase away much larger birds.

29-8-2023 CREU DI LONGA, ALBUFERA - LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta)

Egrets have a sharp beak for hunting their prey. In the breeding period they are adorned with long white feathers that can measure up to 15cm.

In the breeding period, characteristic crests appear (two very long plumes) which disappear after breeding. 

29-8-2023 ULLAL DE BALDOVI, ALBUFERA - BROAD SCARLET DRAGONFLY (MALE) (Crocothemis erythraea)

Small to medium sized

Length up to 44mm; Wingspan attains 71mm.

These dragonflies are easily regognised due to their flattened and very broad abdomens. The adult male is bright red with small amber patches at the bases of the hindwings. The veins on the leading edges of the wings are red.

Females and immatures are yellow-brown and have a conspicuous pale stripe along the top of the thorax.

29-8-2023 ULLAL DE BALDOVI, ALBUFERA - BROAD SCARLET DRAGONFLY (FEMALE) (Crocothemis erythraea)

The scarlet dragonfly (Crocothemis erythraea) is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. Its common names include broad scarlet, common scarlet-darter, and scarlet darter.

A wide range of both running and standing waters, except those that are shaded. Adults may be found some distance from water in habitats ranging from desert to open woodland; absent from dense forest.

 Crocothemis erythraea can reach a length of 33–44 millimetres (1.3–1.7 in). These dragonflies haves a flattened and rather broad abdomen. The adult male scarlet dragonfly has a bright scarlet red, widened abdomen, with small amber patches at the bases of the hindwings. Also the veins on the leading edges of the wings are red. Females and immatures are yellow-brown and have a conspicuous pale stripe along the top of the thorax.

28-8-2023 POTRIES, VALENCIA - EPAULET SKIMMER (MALE) (Orthetrum chrysostigma)

Orthetrum chrysostigma, the epaulet skimmer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi as well as Canary Islands, Israel, and Portugal. It was recorded in the Maltese Islands in 2010. One was also spotted in Tel Aviv, Israel in August 2022.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and freshwater springs. The adults prey on various flying insects. The bodies of adult males are blue, and those of young and females are yellow and brown.

28-8-2023 POTRIES, VALENCIA - EPAULET SKIMMER (MALE AND FEMALE) (Orthetrum chrysostigma)

Orthetrum chrysostigma, the epaulet skimmer, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Burundi as well as Canary Islands, Israel, and Portugal. It was recorded in the Maltese Islands in 2010. One was also spotted in Tel Aviv, Israel in August 2022.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and freshwater springs. The adults prey on various flying insects. The bodies of adult males are blue, and those of young and females are yellow and brown. 

28-8-2023 POTRIES, VALENCIA - BLUE WINGED GRASSHOPPER (Oedipoda caerulescens)

This species occurs in Europe, North Africa and Asia. It was recently rediscovered in the Maltese islands.

Oedipoda caerulescens is a medium-sized grasshopper, between 15 and 21 mm for males and between 22 and 28 mm for females. The body coloration varies greatly depending on the substrate on which the animals have developed: reddish brown, gray, yellowish, or even completely dark or bright. The forewings are crossed most often by two or three pale bands, but the most striking characteristic, very visible when the insect flies away, is the bright coloration of the hind wings, a beautiful turquoise highlighted with a black marginal stripe. Furthermore, the posterior femora have a notch on their upper surface. At rest, confusion is possible with other Oedipoda species such as O. germanica.

28-8-2023 POTRIES, VALENCIA - CICADA BARBARA (family Cicadidae)

Cicada barbara is a species of cicada belonging to the family Cicadidae, subfamily Cicadinae and the genus Cicada.

27-8-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - HISTRIONIC CLOAK AND DAGGER BEE (Thyreus histrionicus)

 

25-8-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - PEARL MOTH (Dolicharthria bruguieralis)

Dolicharthria bruguieralis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. It is found from France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Greece and Turkey, east to Japan and Taiwan. It is also found in Africa, including Morocco, Algeria and South Africa.

The wingspan is about 17 millimetres (0.67 in).

24-8-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - HALF EDGED WALL JUMPING SPIDER (Menemerus semilimbatus)

Menemerus semilimbatus are about 6.5–8.4 millimetres (0.26–0.33 in) long, the male being slightly smaller than the female. These fairly big jumping spiders are dorso-ventrally flattened and are covered with short dense, grayish-white hairs, with hairy whitish palps and a white band on the side margins of the carapace, showing also a small white, triangular marking in the middle. The eyes are large and forward-facing. The legs are light brown with darker rings and patches, while the abdomen is dorsally yellowish or grayish, with a characteristic pattern of several bright V-shaped markings. The females show a notch at the posterior edge of the epigyne and two oval depressions in the anterior half.

 

24-8-2023 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - ROOT MAGGOT FLY (Anthomyia illocata)

First reported from North America in 2007 as an unidentified species of Anthomyia. At that time it was widespread in Florida and was probably introduced there within the past decade or two.
 

23-8-2023 ULLAL DE BALDOVI, ALBUFERA - LITTLE GREBE (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

 The little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek takhus "fast" and bapto "to sink under". The specific ruficollis is from Latin rufus "red" and Modern Latin -collis, "-necked", itself derived from Latin collum "neck".

At 23 to 29 centimetres (9 to 11+1⁄2 inches) in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.

23-8-2023 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - SQUACCO HERON (Ardeola ralloides)

Northern populations in Europe and west Asia are migratory. Southward migration is August–November, and appears to occur at a rather leisurely pace. Birds move in a broad front across Europe, the Middle East and the Sahara. Return migration is in February and March to as late as May. Migration appears to be along a broad front in that migrating birds are seen widely throughout the Mediterranean and its islands. Migration in both seasons crosses the Sahara.

Widespread post-breeding dispersal of juveniles begins in July continuing until migration. Spring migration leads to frequent overshoots. So, outlying dispersal records are common. Dispersal records include Iceland, Britain (Moon 1997, Greason 1998), Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Poland, west central Asia, Azores, Madeira, the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, and Brazil (Fernando de Noronha island) (Nacinovic and Teixeira 1989). In the Indian Ocean, there are dispersal records from the Comores and Mauritus, undoubtedly from Madagascar.

23-8-2023 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta)

The little egret (Egretta garzetta ) is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. It breeds colonially, often with other species of water birds, making a platform nest of sticks in a tree, bush or reed bed. A clutch of three to five bluish-green eggs is laid and incubated by both parents for about three weeks. The young fledge at about six weeks of age.

Its breeding distribution is in wetlands in warm temperate to tropical parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. A successful colonist, its range has gradually expanded north, with stable and self-sustaining populations now present in the United Kingdom.

In warmer locations, most birds are permanent residents; northern populations, including many European birds, migrate to Africa and southern Asia to over-winter there. The birds may also wander north in late summer after the breeding season, and their tendency to disperse may have assisted in the recent expansion of the bird's range. At one time common in Western Europe, it was hunted extensively in the 19th century to provide plumes for the decoration of hats and became locally extinct in northwestern Europe and scarce in the south. Around 1950, conservation laws were introduced in southern Europe to protect the species and their numbers began to increase. By the beginning of the 21st century the bird was breeding again in France, the Netherlands, Ireland and Britain. Its range is continuing to expand westward, and the species has begun to colonise the New World; it was first seen in Barbados in 1954 and first bred there in 1994. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the bird's global conservation status as being of "least concern".

23-8-2023 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - COMMON SANDPIPER (Actitis hypoleucos)

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.

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.

It nests on the ground near freshwater. When threatened, the young may cling to their parent's body to be flown away to safety.

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.