Giving something back... Teresa's donation to Butterfly Conservation in 2015

Teresa Farino
26/11/2015 16:52:03

Eleven tours in 2015 saw Teresa and her clients recording an incredible 165 species of butterflies, resulting in a substantial donation to Butterfly Conservation earlier this month

Posted in: Butterflies and Moths, Endangered Wildlife and Habitats | Andalusia, Aragon, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile-Leon, Catalonia, Extremadura | Mainland Spain, Northern Spain, Southern Spain, Eastern Spain, Western Spain, Central Spain, Spanish Islands

Clouded Apollo
Papilio mnemosyne© Teresa FarinoMy final trip of the season to Cádiz in October marked the end of my 2015 campaign to donate money to Butterfly Conservation, full details of which can be seen here. Over the course of the year, participants on my tours saw 165 species of butterflies (164 as imagos plus 1 species as an egg), bringing the total sent to Butterfly Conservation to £494.

Butterfly Conservation Chief Executive Martin Warren has written to me saying:

"Butterfly Conservation is thrilled to receive this donation from Teresa and her Iberian Wildlife Tours. It is very impressive to have seen two-thirds of Spanish species in just one year. The funds will go towards our work saving threatened butterflies in Europe. We have several exciting projects planned for next year and are working with many countries to develop a comprehensive pan-European monitoring network. Donations like this help make this a reality and we are truly grateful.”

Full details of what we saw when and where during the 2015 campaign can be seen here.

It is interesting to note in passing that the 162 species we recorded in 2014 are NOT the same as those seen in 2015. Camberwell Beauty
Nymphalis antiopa© Teresa FarinoThe combined total number of butterflies seen over the past two years is an astounding 185 species, equivalent to 75% of the total Spanish fauna. The 23 additional species we recorded over the most recent tour season include such delights as Clouded Apollo, Rosy Grizzled, Olive and Mediterranean Skippers, Gomera Brimstone, Eros, Damon, Meleager’s and Provence Chalk-hill Blues, Mountain, Autumn, Pyrenees Brassy and False Dewy Ringlets, Western Marbled White, Striped Grayling, The Hermit, Great Sooty Satyr, False Grayling, Purple Emperor, American Painted Lady, Camberwell Beauty and Lesser Spotted and Shepherd’s Fritillaries.

I will be continuing with this worthy project in 2016, so please contact me if you’d like to be a part of it. More information about the tours I will be running next year – many of which have a distinct lepidopteran focus – is available by clicking here.

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