SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY (Pararge aegeria) Akrotiri Peninsula, Crete, Greece

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The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae which is one of three species in the genus Pararge. It is commonly found throughout much of the Palearctic ecozone, but is absent from the colder northern regions.

PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLY (Vanessa cardui) Moni Gouvernetou Monastery, Akrotiri Peninsula, Crete, Greece

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The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is a migratory butterfly in the family Nymphalidae which is in the genus Vanessa. It is one of the most widespread butterflies in the world and occurs on every continent except the Antarctic. 
Having over wintered in North Africa, this species migrates north and arrives back in Southern Europe in early spring. It then gradually progresses further north and recolonizes the rest of Europe over a number of generations, reaching the extreme northern part of the range by July. In the autumn, it migrates south at higher altitudes where higher wind speeds greatly assist this southerly movement to its overwintering areas. 
In the rest of its World range, similar spring and autumn migrations are undertaken but as is the case in Europe there are small sedentary populations in the tropical parts of its range.  
Alternatively known as the Thistle Butterfly and the Cosmopolitan Butterfly in North America. 

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CLEOPATRA BUTTERFLY [Male] (Gonepteryx cleopatra subspecies G. c. insularis) Moni Gouvernetou Monastery, Akrotiri Peninsula, Crete, Greece

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The Cleopatra Butterfly (Gonepteryx cleopatra) or simply called Cleopatra is a medium sized butterfly of the family Pieridae which is in the genus Gonepteryx. It occurs in Southern Europe, Northwest Africa as well as Turkey and parts of the Middle East. In Europe, this long lived species is on the wing from April to August. There are 10 subspecies recognised and the subspecies Gonepteryx cleopatra insularis is endemic to the Greek island of Crete.

Text © Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds.com

The Cleopatra Butterfly is divided into the following subspecies:

•     Gonepteryx cleopatra cleopatra  – North Africa, Portugal, Spain, Sicily
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra balearica  – Balearic Islands
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra petronella  – Ibiza
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra italica  – Italy, France, Corsica,  Sardinia
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra dalmatica  – Dalmatian coast, western Balkans
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra citrina  – southern Greece
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra insularis  – Crete
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra fiorii  – Rhodes
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra taurica  – Anatolia, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus
•     Gonepteryx cleopatra palmata  – Cyrenaica, Libya

 Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonepteryx_cleopatra 

 CLEOPATRA BUTTERFLY [Female] (Gonepteryx cleopatra subspecies G. c. insularis) Moni Gouvernetou Monastery, Akrotiri Peninsula, Crete, Greece

CRETAN FESTOON BUTTERFLY (Zerynthia (Allancastria) cretica) male at Cape Kutri, Phalasarna, Crete, Greece

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The Cretan Festoon Butterfly (Zerynthia (Allancastria) cretica) is an Old World swallowtail butterfly of the family Papilionidae which is in the genus Allancastria. This endemic species is found only on the Greek island of Crete but some authorities consider it to be a subspecies of the Eastern Festoon (Allancastria cerisyi) and give it the scientific name (Allancastria cerisyi cretica).  

Having overwintered as a chrysalis, the butterfly emerges from mid-March. The flight season can extend into early June. Eggs are layed on Birthworts (Aristolochiae).Two species occur on Crete which are also the larval food plants, Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia sempervirens) and Cretan Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia cretica) which is endemic to Crete as well as Karpathos.

 

Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

HOLLY BLUE BUTTERFLY [Female] (Celastrina argiolus) Archea Poli Falassarna, Cape Kutri, Phalasarna, Crete, Greece

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The Holly Blue Butterfly (Celastrina argiolus) is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenids which is in the genus Celastrina. It is a widespread species and occurs in Eurasia as well as North America but is absent from the colder northern parts of this range. There are two generations and it is one of the earliest blue butterflies to be seen, emerging in late spring. Later in the season, it can be confused with similar coloured species but it has very distinctive black speckling on its under wing. It is on the wing up to late July. There are 14 subspecies generally recognised which are sub divided geographically into four groups as follows:                               

• Palaearctic/North African (the argiolus group has four subspecies)
• South/South-East Asian (the kollari group has two subspecies)     
• Far Eastern (the ladonides group has three subspecies)
• North/Central American (the ladon group has five subspecies) 

In North America this species is called The Spring Azure Butterfly (Celastrina argiolus ladon) and the western subspecies (Celastrina argiolus echo) is known as Echo Blue Butterfly.
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HOLLY BLUE BUTTERFLY [Male] (Celastrina argiolus) Broadmeadow Estuary, Swords, Fingal, Co. Dublin, Ireland

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Male Holly Blue Butterfly seen here on Lesser Celandine (Ficaria verna)

HOLLY BLUE BUTTERFLY [Female] (Celastrina argiolus) Broadmeadow Estuary, Swords, Fingal, Co. Dublin, Ireland 

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Female Holly Blue Butterfly seen here on Whitethorn (Crataegus monogyna)

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY [Female] (Polyommatus icarus) Archea Poli Falassarna, Phalasarna, Crete, Greece

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The Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It occurs throughout the temperate regions of Europe (including The Canary Islands) Asia and North Africa. In Europe, it is absent from Iceland, the Atlantic islands of Madeira and the Azores. As its name implies it is one of the most widespread and commonly encountered blue butterflies in the Palaerarctic  region. In 2005, it was discovered breeding in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada and it has since increased its distribution there. In southern Europe, it is on the wing from late March to early November but it has a shorter  flight (May to September) season in the northern parts of its range. 

 Reference: Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

COMMON BLUE BUTTERFLY [Male] (Polyommatus icarus) Barranco de Betancuria, Betancuria, Fuerteventura, The Canary Islands, Spain

The above male Common Blue Butterfly was photographed on Fuerteventura, The Canary Islands, Spain

LARGE WHITE BUTTERFLY or LARGE CABAGE WHITE BUTTERFLY (Pieris brassicae) Katholiko Monastory, Akrotiri, Crete, Greece

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The Large White Butterfly (Pieris brassicae) or Large Cabbage White Butterfly is of the family Pieridae which is in the genus Pieris. It occurs very commonly through out Eurasia and North Africa as well as an introduced species in South Africa. Although larger, it can be confused with the Small White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) which has a much reduced black edge to the upper forewing.

Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds