PURPLE GOATSBEARD (Tragopogon sinuatus) Cape Kutri, Kisamos district, Crete, Greece

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PYRAMIDAL ORCHID (Anacamptis pyramidalis) Cape Kutri, Kisamos district, Crete, Greece

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The Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the of the family Orchidaceae which is in the genus Anacamptis. The scientific name Anacamptis derives from Greek ανακάμτειν 'anakamptein' meaning 'bend forward', while the Latin name pyramidalis refers to the pyramidal form of the inflorescence. The triangular arrangement of the flower spike gives this orchid its English name. Colour variations range from pure white to dark magenta. It is commonly found in Europe on roadside verges, in meadows and parks. On the Greek island of Crete this conspecious orchid is in flower from late March to early May.

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

PERSIAN BUTTERCUP (Ranunculus asiaticus) Cape Kutri, Kisamos district, Crete, Greece

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The Persian Buttercup or Turban Buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus) is in the family Ranunculaceae which is in the genus Ranunculus. This perennial plant is native to the eastern Mediterranean region, including the Greek island of Crete. It is in bloom from March to May, height from 25 to 70mm and flower colour can be white, yellow, pink, purple or scarlet. It is widely grown as a garden cultivar.

Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

(EASTERN) BLACK EARED WHEATEAR [Male] (Oenanthe hispanica subspecies O. h. melanoleuca) Cape Kutri, Kisamos district, Crete, Greece

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The Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica) is a migratory passerine in the family Muscicapidae which is in the genus Oenanthe. Two subspecies are recognised, the Western Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica hispanica) breeds in Northwest Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Southeast France, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. and the Eastern Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica melanoleuca) occurs in the rest of the Balkans eastwards to the Caspian Sea and south as far as Iran. Some males of both subspecies are of the pale throat-ed form. It winters in sub Saharan Africa.

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.

 

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WHITE SPOTTED ROSE BEETLE (Oxythyrea funesta) Cape Kutri, Phalasarna, Crete, Greece

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The White Spotted Rose Beetle (Oxythyrea funesta) is plant eating (phytophagous) beetle in the family Cetonidae which is in the genus Oxythyrea. It is also known as The Mediterranean Spotted Chafer. Over wintering larvae, which feed on plant roots, emerge as beetles in late Spring. They feed on the flowers of a wide variety of plants up until early Autumn. 
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Distribution
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Balearic Is., Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Channel Is., Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, European Turkey, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, North Aegean Is., Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia Central, Russia East, Russia South, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine, Yugoslavia, Near East, North Africa (Fauna Europaea 2013). 
Source: Stefanelli S, Della Rocca F, Bogliani G (2014) Saproxylic beetles of the Po plain woodlands, Italy. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e1106. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e1106Saproxylic beetles of the Po plain woodlands, Italy

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)

JERUSALEM SAGE (Phlomis fruticosa) Archea Poli Falassarna, Cape Kutri, Phalasarna, Crete, Greece

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Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruticose) is a flowering shrub in the family Lamiaceae that is in the genus Phlomis which includes shrubs and herbs with flowers in dense or lax whorls. It is native to the European countries that border the Adriatic Sea in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as Turkey and the islands of Sardinia, Cyprus and Crete. This yellow flowered shrub is in bloom from April to June and has evergreen leaves. It can grow up to 1m tall with a spread of 1.5m. It is widely cultivated as a garden plant. Phlomis cretica and Phlomis lanata are two similar and closely related species that also occur on Crete.
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