These delicate insects can be seen in a multitude of colours, patterns and sizes, ranging from 3 to 10 cm and from plain white to jazzy orange mosaics. There are 80+ species of butterflies on the wing in June in the Sierra de Grazalema. Some are rare and localised, others are common throughout Europe.
Read more about butterflies in Spain over at Wildside Holidays: https://wildsideholidays.co.uk/butterflies-found-in-andalusia/
A hot sunny day in June, proved to be a good time to see a variety of butterflies whilst walking on the Sierra de Endrinal footpath above the village of Grazalema. Some species were numerous, others in singles and not all of them posed to be photographed, but this will give you an idea of what butterflies you might be able to see in Grazalema. Heres the list of the butterflies seen on the day and a gallery of images of some of them. 🙂
Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)
Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra)
Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus)
Large White (Pieris brassicae)
Small White (Pieris rapae)
Black-veined White (Aporia crataegi)
Moroccan Orange-tip (Anthocharis belia)
Blue-spot Hairstreak (Satyrium spini)
False-ilex Hairstreak (Satyrium esculi)
Long-tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus)
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychloros)
Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia)
Knapweed fritillary (Melitaea phoebe)
Spanish Marbled White (Melanargia ines)
Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis)
Southern Gatekeeper (Pyronia cecilia)
Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathsheba)
Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria)
Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
Rock Grayling (Hipparchia alcyone)
Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus action)
Sage skipper (Muschampia proto)
Butterfly spotting and photography tips
The flowers which attracted many butterflies were the scabious, thyme and putoria. These type of plants also make it easier for a closer look, or for photography as with many tiny blooms clustered together to feed from, the butterfly remains in one place for a while. If you find a very flowery patch you may want to sit and wait to see which ones come to you.
It is a good idea to use binoculars for a more detailed view of particularly fidgety or nervous species, and a zoom lens on your camera means they do not feel too encroached. I like to take a distant shot, just for the record, then sneak in closer bit by bit, improving the images as I go. A shadow crossing over a butterfly is often enough to spook it, so stay low! And a tip to get as much of the butterfly in focus as possible – keep the camera at the same tilt/angle as its wings.
Happy butterfly spotting! 🙂
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