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 Violet Dropwing male Trithemis annulata© John Muddeman
Madrid, Extremadura and Gredos Dragonfly and Butterfly trips
Excellent opportunities exist for observing a superb range of dragonflies and butterflies in these three fantastic regions.
Around 58 species of dragon and damselflies have been recorded in Madrid and 56 in Extremadura (of the 80 in the whole of Spain and Portugal). These lists are very similar, though not surprisingly, a few more 'northern' species have been recorded in Madrid, while the emphasis is very slightly skewed towards more 'southern' species in Extremadura, where these are also on average much commoner. Species common to both areas include many either range-restricted species endemic to SW Europe and NW Africa, or those actively colonising from the S. These include such beautiful and exciting species as Western & Copper Demoiselles, Migrant & Small Spreadwings,  Piedmont Ringlet Erebia meolans© John MuddemanCommon Winter Damselfly, Iberian Bluetail, Mercury, Dainty & Mediterranean Bluets, Blue-eye, Orange & White Featherlegs, Blue & Lesser Emperors, Western Spectre, Pronged, Yellow & Western Clubtails, Small, Large and (the recently rediscovered in Madrid) Faded Pincertails, Green Hooktail (very rare in Madrid), Southern & Long Skimmers, Yellow-winged, Red-veined and Southern Darters, Broad Scarlet, Violet Dropwing and even Northern Banded Groundling. In addition, most are well established here, particularly in the west of the region. Splendid Cruiser and Orange-spotted Emerald are both very locally frequent in Extremadura, though both need confirming in Madrid (though there is apparently a record of the latter), Orange-winged Dropwing is starting to colonise Extremadura, while Moustached and Yellow-winged and Desert Darters are amongst those only found -albeit rarely- in Madrid.
The butterflies are also remarkably well represented in Madrid, including such gems and sought-after species as Silver-spotted, Mediterranean, Southern Marbled, Red-underwing, Sage, Southern Grizzled & Rosy Grizzled Skippers, Spanish Scarce Swallowtail, Apollo, Spanish Festoon, Cleopatra, Western Dappled and rare Green-striped, Portuguese Dappled & Southern Small Whites, Provence & Sooty Orange-tips, Spanish Purple, Sloe,  Southern Skimmer Orthetrum brunneum© John MuddemanFalse Ilex, Ilex & Provence Hairstreaks, Scarce, Spanish and Purple-shot Coppers, a host of blues including African Grass, Iolas, Panoptes, rare False Baton and Spanish Zephyr Blues, Spanish & Spanish Brown Arguses, Spanish Chalk-hill, Chapman's, Mother-of-Pearl and rare Meleager's Blues, rare Two-tailed Pasha, Southern White Admiral, a variety of Fritillaries including Cardinal, Niobe, Queen-of-Spain, Spotted, Knapweed and rare Spanish Fritillaries, Iberian, Esper's, Western and Spanish Marbled Whites, Rock, Striped, Tree & Great-banded Graylings, Hermit, Black Satyr, de Prunner's & Piedmont Ringlets, Dusky & Oriental Meadow Browns, Southern & Spanish Gatekeepers, Dusky, Pearly & Chestnut Heaths and Large Wall Brown! A very similar list of species is present in Extremadura, despite slight variations in the relative abundance of several of these, while other notable species present in the Cáceres province include Yellow-banded Skipper and Chapman's Green Hairstreak.
 Purple-edged Copper Lycaena hippothoe© John MuddemanOf course, many of these species are very restricted in both distribution and their flight times, and so please enquire as to the possibilities of trying to see some of these during a particular visit. In very broad terms, the dragon- and damselflies start in earnest from late May in Extremadura and mid-June in Madrid, and continue through the summer, with a reduced variety persisting into early September in Madrid, but often into October in Extremadura. The earliest butterflies are on the wing during warm spells from February in Extremadura or around mid-March onwards in Madrid (though even February in the far S of the region), with a spring peak from the end of April (Extremadura) or end of May to mid June, another in the mountains from early July for a few weeks, but with many of the browns and commoner species continuing until about mid-September (or sometimes later, especially in Extremadura). Very hot temperatures particularly from mid-July to late August mean it can be very difficult to look for certain species, and many lowland areas will be completely dry, and butterflies in particular, basically absent.
 Iberian Bluetail pair Ischnura graellsii© John MuddemanPlease enquire as to possibilities for the observation and photography of dragonflies and butterflies, either on day trips around Madrid, or also to Extremadura for longer stays.
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| Office phone: | (+34) 918 989195 |
| Mobile phone: | (+34) 649 608747 |
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| Address: |
C/ Alcocer 1, 1-C
28214 Fresnedillas de la Oliva,
Madrid
Spain
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Related information:
Complete list of dragonflies & damselflies for Extremadura
Complete list of butterflies for Extremadura
Complete list of dragonflies & damselflies for Iberia (including Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores)
Complete list of dragonflies & damselflies for Madrid
 Accredited Birdwatching and Wildlife Guide in Extremadura
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