@mariposanature
Expert-led butterfly & botany tours Proud to donate funds to help support the work of conservation organisations Butterfly Conservation Europe, Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland, et al. https://linktr.ee/mariposanature
Serapias carica tongue-orchid with a patient Laphria aurea robberfly resting upon it, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn
Inspired by my orchid tour co-leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social's fabulous orchid / insect predator image this morning, here's another for my countdown to #OrchidsOfRhodes - a robberfly waiting for an unwary bee to visit this Serapias carica tongue-orchid. What a beautiful way to go...
😄 a caterpillar with a voracious appetite in equal parts for fabulous, engaging facts about butterflies from all over the world. And coffee. Always the coffee... 😉
Ophrys mammosa with Empusa sp. mantid, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate
Postcard from the field from tour leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social, leading our #OrchidsOfCyprus tour:
#Orchids can be a trap* for the unwary. Pity the busy, busy bee that's attracted to this Ophrys mammosa; danger lurks in the form of an Empusa mantis.
*and seriously addictive for their admirers!
You’re very welcome Jane! My personal favourite is xenicity - the proportion of non-native species in a community of plants. Enjoy!
Orchis troodi © Dr Richard Bate
Ophrys lapethica © Dr Richard Bate
Postcard from the field from tour leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social, leading our Orchids of Cyprus group:
We've still got two full days ahead of us in which to enjoy Cyprus, and we're revelling in the glorious habitats and sheer orchid abundance and diversity to be found here.
#orchids
Those burnt-orange alpujata are exquisite! Love them. 😍
Naked Man Orchid (Orchis italica), Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn Just two places remain available on the 2028 Orchids of Rhodes tour...
Ophrys cretica ssp beloniae, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn
Our 2026 & 2027 #OrchidsOfRhodes tours are both fully booked, and have been for a long time now. The 2028 tour has just two places left available on it - it's the ultimate orchid-hunting holiday, 50+ taxa in a week, donation to
@bsbibotany.bsky.social, top craic.
mariposanature.com/tours/botani...
Orchis provincialis, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn
Ophrys reinholdii, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn
Ophrys korae, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn
Neotinea maculata, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn
There's good reason our orchid tours are over-subscribed and fill years in advance. Our guests value their authenticity, our leaders' knowledge & convivial company, and our commitment to donate promptly to support @bsbibotany.bsky.social. We don't settle for second-best, and nor should you.
Eastern Festoon (Zerynthia cerisy) © Dave Fairhurst
Dark Grass Blue (Zizeeria karsandra) © Dave Fairhurst
Postcard from the field, from tour leader Dave in Cyprus:
Our Orchids of Cyprus tour continues to find endless orchids, but we're finding some super butterflies too - glamorous Eastern Festoon, and easily overlooked Dark Grass Blue. Every day is packed with interest here...
Gorgeous!!!
Ophrys kotschyi, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate
Imagine going to Cyprus and not seeing the jewel in the Ophrys #orchid crown, Ophrys kotschyi...
Fortunately for our guests, that's the stuff of abstract nightmares only, for our brilliant guide @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social knows exactly where the best of them are to be seen.
#OrchidsOfCyprus
Looking forward to you joining us there!
How better* to celebrate #WorldBookDay than an early emergence of one of the very first copies of Mariposa co-founder and tour leader Jon's new book at his local library? We hope it sparks an interest in butterflies for kids all over the world.
*apparently Jon should have dressed as a butterfly...
False Comma (Nymphalis vau-album) © Janos Olah
Puddling group of Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea) & Berger's Clouded Yellow (Colias alfacariensis) © Clive Burrows
Tour update 🚨
As of this morning, our 2027 Summer Butterflies of Serbia tour now has just four places remaining available to book upon it. Naturally, like *all* our butterfly tours, it generates a donation to support the work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social.
mariposanature.com/tours/butter...
Gorgeous! We'll be seeing those in Rhodes too any day now... and meanwhile, the introduced colony in Oxfordshire seems to be thriving too.
Ophrys blitopertha, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn
Returning to my countdown to the keenly anticipated @mariposanature.bsky.social #OrchidsOfRhodes tour, another velvet beauty from the Ophrys bee orchids, Ophrys blitopertha.
It's a novelty of its kind, pollinated not by bees or wasps, but by a small scarab beetle, Blitopertha lineolata.
#orchids
Orchis troodi, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate
Orchis troodi, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate
Postcard from the field from Orchids of Cyprus tour leader, @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social:
Yesterday was packed with orchids, including the delicate and elegant endemic species Orchis troodi - available in pale violet, but more rarely in snow white.
Blunt-nosed Viper (Macrovipera lebetina lebetina) © Dr Richard Bate
Paphos Blue (Glaucopsyche paphos) © Dave Fairhurst
Postcard from the field from tour leaders @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social and Dave Fairhurst, leading our Orchids of Cyprus tour this week:
While the orchids are tremendous, we keep our eyes peeled for other wildlife too. Yesterday we enjoyed great views of endemic Paphos Blue, and Blunt-nosed Viper.
Orchis punctulata, Orchids of Cyprus © Jon Dunn
Ophrys kotschyi, Orchids of Cyprus © Jon Dunn
Tour update 🚨
The current Orchids of Cyprus tour may be in just its second day, but next year's tour now has its first booking. This wonderful island is a tremendous destination at this time of year for orchids, and other wildlife besides.
www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...
Customer service really matters to us.
It should go without saying that clear and prompt communication is important; as is the simple principle of treating people as we'd like to be treated ourselves. We know it's disappointing when other companies fail to do that - but that's not the Mariposa way.
Postcard live from the field, from Mariposa co-founder David Moore in South Wales:
Recent southerly winds have already ushered the first migrant butterflies our way this spring, with a fine and pioneering Painted Lady found this morning.
@savebutterflies.bsky.social
We're so sorry events overtook your travel to join us in Cyprus, Roger. But that *is* a lovely orchid you've found on the way home, and the Cypriot orchids will wait for you another year...
Serapias aphrodite, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate
Ophrys galilaea, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate
Our Orchids of Cyprus tour is safely under way. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank our guests for their patience and understanding, and our guides Dr Richard Bate & Dave Fairhurst for their calm, organised assistance while events unfolded. Here's to a world with more flower power.
Winter may have felt nine months long this year, but the flowers and @wildflowerhour.bsky.social are telling us spring is winning after all.
We can't wait to see your #SignsOfSpring wildflower find this Sunday 8-9pm for the first #WildflowerHour weekly challenge of the year. Spring it on!
A lovely interruption from writing about orchids - pre-publication copies of my new book for children have arrived.
Writing this meant a lot to me. As a kid I was desperate for books full of interesting facts and cool stuff about butterflies. If this book finds a kid like me, I hope they love it.
The first day of meteorological spring & it seems the flowers have got the memo! It’s looking like spring out there! Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous photos & bringing joy to our Sunday evening. The weekly challenges are back this week - keep a lookout for the first one!!! ☺️
Greenish Black Tip (Euchloe charlonia), Fuerteventura © Chris Lodge
Cream-coloured Courser (Cursorius cursor), Fuerteventura © Chris Lodge
Good morning and welcome to a new week.
Our featured tour is Fabulous Fuerteventura - Birds, Butterflies & Botany. This year's tour concluded last week, a great success with super wildlife encounters throughout.
Next year's tour already taking bookings:
www.mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...
A variety of wildflowers seen in the UK and beyond in recent years © Jon Dunn
Starting shortly, the last of the #Winter10 wildflowerhours - and next week, the focused weekly challenges begin anew from the lovely team at @wildflowerhour.bsky.social...
I can't wait to see what I see this coming year close to and further from home. And what everyone else finds...
Our annual #OrchidsOfCyprus tour begins tomorrow - and what a fabulous array of Ophrys bee orchids alone our superb orchid tour leader, @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social, has lined up for our guests. Knowing Richard's keen eyes, there may be a pleasant surprise or two during the week...
A selection of some Ophrys reinholdii forms found over the years in Rhodes © Jon Dunn
One of my favourite of all European orchids today in my countdown to the incomparable @mariposanature.bsky.social #OrchidsOfRhodes tour - Ophrys reinholdii. I love everything about them - not least their contrasting colours and variability. They work on a visceral level.
#orchids #bloomscrolling
