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

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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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