Butterflies of the Sierra Nevada in Spain
With over 2,100 plant species (more than 80 of those endemic) the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalucia are also home to an enormous variety of insects, butterflies and birds.
As far as we can find, there is no accurate census of the number of species of butterflies in the Sierra Nevada, and the figure of 120 species is often quoted. However, authoritative Spanish sources quote a likely 116 species of butterflies in the Sierra Nevada mountains, 5 of them endemic [1]. The same sources quote a total of 223 species of "diurnal" butterflies within Spain. This means that more than half of Spain's daytime butterflies can be found in an area that represents less than 1% of Spain's land area.
1] Conservación de Mariposas Diurnas en Los Parques Protegidos de España Peninsular por Doctores Javier Carrión Herrero y Miguel López Munguira, available as a direct download (in Spanish) as a pdf article or from the downloads page of Zerynthia - a Spanish association for the protection of butterflies and their environment.
Some of the butterflies that can be seen in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
| Latin name | Common name | Latin name | Common name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agrodiaetus Amanda | Amanda’s blue | Libythea celtis | Nettle-tree butterfly |
| Anthocharis belia | Moroccan orange tip | Lycaenia alciphron | Purple-shot copper |
| Aporia Crataegi | Black-veined white | Maniola Jurtina | Meadow brown |
| Argynnis niobe | Niobe fritillary | Melanargia ines | Spanish marbelled white |
| Arica agestis | Brown Argus | Melanargia occitanica | Western marbelled white |
| Artogeia rapae | Small white | Melitaea didyma | Spotted fritillary |
| Cacyreus marshalli | Geranium bronze | Melitaea phoebe | Knapweed fritillary |
| Carcharodus alceae | Mallow skipper | Mellicta deione | Provencal fritillary |
| Carcharodus lavatherae | Marbled skipper | Mellicta parthenoides | Meadow fritillary |
| Celastrina argiolus | Holly blue | Muschampia proto | Sage skipper |
| Coenonympha dorus | Dusky heath | Papilio machaon | Swallowtail |
| Colias crocea | Clouded yellow | Pararge aegeria | Speckled wood |
| Colias alfracariensis | Berger’s clouded yellow | Parnassius Apollo Spp nevadensis | Apollo |
| Cyaniris semiargus | Mazarine blue | Pieris Brassicae | Large white |
| Erynnis tages | Dingy skipper | Plebejus argus | Silver-studded blue |
| Euchloe crameri | Western dappled white | Polyommatus icarus | Common blue |
| Eurodryas aurinia | Marsh fritillary | Pontia daplidice | Bath white |
| Gonepteryx rhamni | Brimstone | Pseudophilotes panoptes | Panoptes blue |
| Gonepteryx Cleopatra | Cleopatra | Pyrgus carthami | Safflower skipper |
| Hipparchia alcyone | Rock grayling | Pyrgus malvae | Grizzled skipper |
| Iphiclides podalirius | Scarce Swallowtail | Pyronia bathseba | Spanish gatekeeper |
| Issoria lanthonia | Queen of Spain fritillary | Satyrium spini | Blue-spot hairstreak |
| Kanetisa circe | Great banded grayling | Satyrus actae | Black satyr |
| Lampides boeticus | Long-tailed blue | Thymelicus sylvestris | Small skipper |
| Lasiommta megera | Wall brown | Vanessa atalanta | Red admiral |
| Leptidia sinapsis | Wood white | Zerynthia rumina | Spanish festoon |
| Leptotes pirithous | Lang’s short-tailed blue |
