Butterflies of different sizes, shapes and colours are welcome company on walks for much of the year. Spring, summer and autumn are excellent times for fully appreciating the charms of the island’s butterflies. Butterflies are one of the most loved and admired of all groups of insects, as much for their attractive patterning as for the amazing transformations that take … [Read more...]

Swallowtail This is one of most spectacular butterflies on Menorca, easy to identify by it size, way of flying and patterns on its wings. It is common in open wasteland, where it flies from February-March until well into the autumn. It hibernates as a chrysalis. The females are often seen laying their eggs on fennel and rue. Males take up territories on hilltops to await the … [Read more...]

Large white This is the infamous ‘cabbage white’ butterfly that can be seen almost anywhere from February-March to the end of October. Its larger size separates it from the small white. It is very common and can be seen along tracks, in cultivated fields and in any type of humanized area. It lays its eggs on cabbages and similar plants and can be a pest in some places where … [Read more...]

Green-veined white An uncommon species on Menorca, where it is most typically found in areas in or near wetlands. It is one of the year’s first butterflies as it first flies in February and can be seen until October. Its food plants consist of various type of crucifer but it generally never uses cultivated crucifers such as turnips or cabbages like the large white. It differs … [Read more...]

Small white Despite being very similar to the green-veined white, the small white is easily identified in spring by its yellowish underwings without green-marked veins. It is one of the first butterflies to fly in spring and is still on the wing well into autumn. It is commoner than the green-veined white and is more often found in fields and agricultural areas than the … [Read more...]

Bath white This is a typical species of arid waste ground that appears from March onwards. It is a migratory species and the numbers of individuals on the wing can increase suddenly in a single day. The biggest migratory influx usually occurs in May or June, when individuals arrive from North Africa; these are often the first examples of the species seen during the year. It is … [Read more...]

Clouded yellow A common species in all types of open habitat. The first individuals appear in February and the last are seen well into the autumn. Its tendency to migrate means that it is most common in May-June due to the arrival of individuals from North Africa and in September-October due to insects heading south from northern Europe. It spends the winter as a caterpillar … [Read more...]

Cleopatra This is one of the most abundant butterflies on Menorca, very attractive and easy to identify (above all the males) due to its lemon-yellow colour and orange patches on the wings. It begins to fly during the first warm days in February. Mating takes place at the beginning of spring and the eggs are always laid on Mediterranean buckthorn in March-April. It is common … [Read more...]

Wood white A very fragile-looking butterfly that flies from the spring until the end of summer. Although it is most often seen in woodland, some populations have adapted to drier areas of scrub. In Menorca it is scarce but regular where it is found. It is impossible to confuse with any other species given the shape of its wings and body that make it look a bit like a … [Read more...]

Small copper A relatively common and abundant species that flies from February–March until well into October. Although it is commonest in fields and waste ground where its larvae’s food plants grow, you’ll also find it in more humanized environments such as parks and gardens. It is not difficult to identify, even though it flies fast and irregularly and if it does not land it … [Read more...]

Green hairstreak One of the island’s most typical spring butterflies, the green hairstreak appears in March and then disappears at the end of April or in May. It is impossible to confuse it with any other species thanks to the green colour of the underside of its wings. It flies rapidly around genistas, rock-roses and other shrubs, which can make it surprisingly hard to … [Read more...]

Lang’s short-tailed blue Lang’s short-tailed blue is a typical species of the edges of paths and tracks and waste land. It resembles the long-tailed blue but is smaller and does not have the obvious white band on the underside of the hindwing. Although it is most often seen between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn (August-September-October), there are also a few … [Read more...]

Long-tailed blue The Long-tailed blue is a migratory butterfly with a fast irregular flight that is similar to Lang’s short-tailed blue. A few examples may survive the winter and be seen at the beginning of spring. Nevertheless, the main part of the island’s population of this species arrives from North Africa in May and June and at the end of summer it is at its commonest. … [Read more...]

Geranium bronze This is the infamous ‘butterfly of the geraniums’ that was accidentally introduced into Mallorca in 1989 from South Africa, and which has spread extraordinarily in recent years throughout much of Europe. Its caterpillars are a plague on the leaves of cultivated geraniums and so this species is most commonly seen in built-up areas. It resembles a little the … [Read more...]

Holly blue A very common ‘blue’ that flies from February-March to October. In spring it normally lays its eggs on the buds of bramble flowers but at the end of the summer it has a certain preference for egg-laying on the buds of ivy flowers. During the hottest days of summer, adults gather in shady humid places such as gullies and streams wherever there is a lot of ivy. … [Read more...]

Southern brown argus A small dark-brown butterfly with oranges lunules on the wing margins. Males and females are very similar and resemble greatly the female southern common blue (the main difference is that the brown argus has an extra spot under the hindwing). It flies from March to October and hibernates as a larva. It is a typical species of open areas and the edges of … [Read more...]

Southern common blue This is one of the commonest ‘blues’ and also one of the most abundant butterflies on Menorca. It normally first flies at the end of March or beginning of April. You’ll find it in fields and on the edges of paths and tracks, wherever the various food plants – e.g. clovers and alfalfa – of its caterpillars grow. Males are the typical electric blue of this … [Read more...]

Plain tiger You need a bit of luck to see this insect in Menorca since it is only ever observed occasionally. However, its size and wing pattern make it unmistakeable. It is African in origin but in recent years regular migrations into the Iberian Peninsula have taken place and it occasionally establishes colonies in wetland areas. In Catalonia, the first migrants appear in … [Read more...]

Two-tailed pasha A spectacular, large butterfly with a powerful flight. Its life cycle depends strictly on the strawberry-tree and is always to found in woodland where this shrub grows. Males often gather on elevated points and take up territories as they wait for females to arrive and choose a mate. This means that they can sometimes be seen some distance from their normal … [Read more...]

Red admiral A common species that hibernates as an adult and so can be seen on sunny days in winter. Its larvae feed essentially on nettles, where they make a nest from the plant’s leaves. It is a migratory and very mobile species and as such can appear almost anywhere in any type of habitat. As a migrant it is commonest at two times of the year, May-June (corresponding to … [Read more...]

Painted lady This species is a notable migrant, Although some individuals may overwinter and be seen on the wing in February-March, the bulk of the painted ladies seen on the island appear between April and June, when many thousands arrive from Africa. It is typically found in open areas and patches of wasteland. In fact, it will appear anywhere that thistles, its larvae’s … [Read more...]

Meadow brown The meadow brown is found in open woodland and scrub in spring and at the beginning of summer; however, from July onwards it is more often found in shady places. Males are darker than the pale brown females. They first appear at the end of May and are on the wing until the end of September. In May-June many more males than females are seen because the latter are … [Read more...]

Southern gatekeeper This butterfly is fairly common in dry places with low vegetation. It flies low to the ground and will quickly hide in the shade or under a bush. The first of its kind normally appears in June, although it is commonest in July. The males are smaller than the females and have a well-marked spot on the upper forewing. They appear around two weeks before the … [Read more...]

Small heath The small heath is typically found in meadows and pastures. Although it prefers abandoned fields with short grass, it can also be common in fields of alfalfa. It flight is weak, close to the ground, where it sits on the stems of grasses. It is small and cryptically coloured but is unlikely to be confused with any other species. It begins to fly in March-April and … [Read more...]

Speckled wood Very common and abundant, appearing in all sorts of shady habitats. It is one of the most woodland of all our butterflies and is present along the paths and tracks that run through our woods and around patches of scrub growing up the old dry-stone walls. It is less common in dry open areas. The males are territorial and often perch on branches and patches of … [Read more...]