Day 8: Meghri -> Jermuk
This day was spent mostly on travelling from Meghri to Jermuk with a shared taxi. The main observation were some fresh males of Melitaea caucasogenita on the place where we had a lunch stop. Unfortunately too active to have pictures of.
In Jermuk my plan was to meet up with Peter Adriaens, who is spending some 4 months in Armenia working on Brown Bear monitoring.
Day 9: Vorotan pass
I went with Peter to the high slopes (2300-2700m) above Vorotan pass on this day. Main objective was to look for some Brown Bear traces and to look for Radde's accentor. This last one gave very nice views with several birds around. I spare you from the brown bear dung pics...
Poor day butterfly wise because of hard winds blowing constantly. Also flight season of most butterflies that fly on this height still had to start. Most important sightings were some whites of the napi-complex with very obvious suffused pattern. Dependent on the source this would be Pieris bryoniae or Pieris bowdeni in this region, a Transcaucasian counterpart of Pieris bryoniae. One Pyrgus melotis also showed that on 2500+m we were still early in the season for butterflies.
Day 10: Arpa valley south of Jermuk
A very nice warm day, still lots of wind but because walking in a deep gorge there was always some corner out of the wind where butterflies gathered. I walked the old road from just south of Kechut reservoir to Gndevaz village. The road is still on the road maps as a normal road but lots of rocks are scattered all over the road, even with 4-wheel drive you wouldn't manage to use this road.
This day was spent mostly on travelling from Meghri to Jermuk with a shared taxi. The main observation were some fresh males of Melitaea caucasogenita on the place where we had a lunch stop. Unfortunately too active to have pictures of.
In Jermuk my plan was to meet up with Peter Adriaens, who is spending some 4 months in Armenia working on Brown Bear monitoring.
Day 9: Vorotan pass
I went with Peter to the high slopes (2300-2700m) above Vorotan pass on this day. Main objective was to look for some Brown Bear traces and to look for Radde's accentor. This last one gave very nice views with several birds around. I spare you from the brown bear dung pics...
Poor day butterfly wise because of hard winds blowing constantly. Also flight season of most butterflies that fly on this height still had to start. Most important sightings were some whites of the napi-complex with very obvious suffused pattern. Dependent on the source this would be Pieris bryoniae or Pieris bowdeni in this region, a Transcaucasian counterpart of Pieris bryoniae. One Pyrgus melotis also showed that on 2500+m we were still early in the season for butterflies.
Day 10: Arpa valley south of Jermuk
A very nice warm day, still lots of wind but because walking in a deep gorge there was always some corner out of the wind where butterflies gathered. I walked the old road from just south of Kechut reservoir to Gndevaz village. The road is still on the road maps as a normal road but lots of rocks are scattered all over the road, even with 4-wheel drive you wouldn't manage to use this road.
Eogens alcides
Pyrgus melotis
Papilio alexanor
Pontia chloridice
Lycaena asabinus
Cupido osiris
Turanana endymion
Euphydryas aurinia
Libythea celtis, green color morph on the foodplant Celtis species
Idem but a younger brown color morph
Habitat in the gorge where P. alexanor and P. chloridice were flying
View on the Gndvanq monastery where I got out of the gorge at the end of the afternoon
Provisional species list
| Erynnis tages |
| Erynnis marloyi |
| Pyrgus melotis |
| Pyrgus sidae |
| Spialia orbifer |
| Ochlodes sylvanus |
| Thymelicus lineola |
| Thymelicus sylvestris |
| Eogenes alcides |
| Parnassius mnemosyne |
| Iphiclides podalirius |
| Papilio alexanor |
| Leptidea duponcheli |
| Anthocharis cardamines |
| Aporia crataegi |
| Pieris brassicae |
| Pieris krueperi |
| Pieris ergane |
| Pontia chloridice |
| Pontia edusa |
| Colias croceus |
| Colias alfacariensis |
| Lycaena phlaeas |
| Lycaena tityrus |
| Lycaena alciphron |
| Lycaena asabinus |
| Satyrium abdominalis |
| Cupido osiris |
| Glaucopsyche alexis |
| Pseudophilotes vicrama |
| Aricia agestis |
| Aricia eumedon |
| Polyommatus amandus |
| Polyommatus icarus |
| Polyommatus bellargus |
| Polyommatus coelestinus |
| Plebejus eurypilus |
| Turanana endymion |
| Argynnis niobe |
| Argynnis pandora |
| Issoria lathonia |
| Euphydryas aurinia |
| Melitaea cinxia |
| Melitaea persea |
| Melitaea phoebe/pseudosibina |
| Melitaea telona |
| Neptis rivularis |
| Vanessa cardui |
| Aglais urticae |
| Polygonia egea |
| Lasiommata megera |
| Lasiommata maera |
| Coenonympha arcania |
| Maniola jurtina |
| Melanargia larissa |
| Melanargia russiae |
| Chazara persephone |
| Libythea celtis |
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