Emperor moth seen in the Spanish Pyrenees
Saw this beautiful, huge moth on the pavement right outside our front door the other morning. Found out it was an Emperor moth. Really large – about 5cm across and fantastic colour around the eye spots and the bright red flashes near the wingtips. He kindly stayed still for some nice photos!
Egyptian vulture seen near Piedrafita
Saw my first Egyptian vulture of the year while out walking near the village of Piedrafita today. There very distictive with their black and white wings, yellow head a diamond shaped tail. Continue reading
Woodcock Orchid – Ophrys Scolopax
Ophyrs orchids attract male bees by imitating the shape, colour and scent of female bees. Each orchid is specialised to be pollinated by only one type of bee. Read an interesting article on the bbc today about bees cross pollinating different orchids creating hybrids. Continue reading
Early primroses in the Pyrenees
Few signs of spring as I took a walk out from Biescas yesterday. First few primroses are coming out in sunny spots alongside the path and few hepatica have started to join them. The stinking hellebore have been out a few weeks – the flowers of these remain green as there’s nothing else in flower at this time of year to compete for insects attentions. Continue reading
Mating Swallowtails
Anna took this fantastic picture of a pair of Swallowtails butterflies mating last week on one of our Peaks & Passes walking holidays. Continue reading