It's December 1st, day 1 of our annual Mariposa #AdventCalendar - daily wildlife wonders shared until Christmas! Today we've Ophrys x fajarama, a spectacular hybrid orchid from our brand new Orchids of Basilicata, Campania & Puglia tour. No wonder that one's already fully booked... 😍 #orchids

We are so excited to announce that Spain's preeminent butterfly authority, Miguel López Munguira, is now part of Team Mariposa! Miguel's vast knowledge and experience will enhance our existing Spanish tours; and he's also designing some new tours. We're over the moon! (1/2)

Our Orchids of Rhodes tour is the ultimate exploration of the orchid flora of that wonderful Greek island. The 2026 tour has been fully booked since April 2025, and now the first bookings are coming in for the 2027 tour... this one always fills fast! (And donates to support @bsbibotany.bsky.social)

Good morning and welcome to a new week! This week's featured tour is Butterflies of North Greece, our immersion next June into the intoxicating richness of butterfly life in the region. With David Moore & Martin Davies as their leaders, guests are sure...(1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

The new European Butterfly Red List is published today, with worrying findings. Over 1/4 (28%) of Europe’s 442 species are threatened with extinction or are close to being so. The situation is far worse for our 148 endemic species, 40% are now threatened or nearly so www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk. Today features Large Heath, inhabitant of acidic, wet peatlands mostly in the north. Since Frohawk's time it's declined badly in England and Wales; Scotland remains a stronghold to this day.

Good morning, and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Butterflies of Tenerife, a guaranteed departure on 24-30 March 2026. Like ALL of our butterfly tours, it generates a donation to support the great work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

An unforgettable day with my @mariposanature.bsky.social group. I found Desert Babul Blue on the European mainland! There are a mere handful of past claims of it - this is an African species that's an ultra-rarity in Europe. I'm in a state of some shock. #butterflies @europebutterfly.bsky.social

Dunn's Patent Pasha Paste. Take one ripe banana. Slow cook on a car dashboard for a day in full sunlight until liquified. Add rum and sugar for added vim. Enter suitable hilltop habitat full of Strawberry Tree... (1/2)

Just three places remain available now to join us next year for our Late Spring Orchids of Sicily tour, led by 'Orchid Summer' author Jon Dunn, and local Sicilian naturalist legend Andrea Corso. As the Sicilians say, amuninni! www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies and artwork of FW Frohawk. Today features Ringlet, a widespread species across most of Britain, whose range has expanded north a little since Frohawk's time. Bejewelled with eyespots, its name is self-explanatory.

Well and truly home now after 8 days on the @mariposanature.bsky.social holiday to Madeira. Such a wonderful island. Yes I focused on the endemic Madeiran butterflies. But the scenery is stunning. I'll certainly be visiting again. 😍

Fascinating Day 7 of the @mariposanature.bsky.social Madeira holiday. Hundreds of this Madeiran subspecies of Small Copper, having seen 0 previously. They're beautiful & locally common . Much underresearched in terms of their LHP & phenology. I suspect they'll become a distinct species soon

Madeiran Speckled Wood on the left. (European) Speckled Wood (introduced invasive) on the right. Superficially similar but very different when seen in field. Fascinating to observe their different habitat likes & their interactions. Loving the @mariposanature.bsky.social holiday to Madeira

This is one of the two last Gatekeeper butterflies in my garden for this year. Still hanging on, but tatty round the edges. They don't normally last until mid-August, so it's been a long flight season given their early emergence this year.

My main target in Moscardón was the Zapata's Ringlet, an endemic in the area. The first day I drew a blank but a couple had been seen. The second day I saw a couple in the afternoon, on the third day more but none behaved apart from one on a guy called Roberts wrist taking salt. Blog on lojawildlife

Some utterly gorgeous Iberian Sooty Copper basking in the morning sunlight heralded the start of our final full day in the Montes Universales yesterday.

Postcard from the field, from tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social on our final full day of the Butterflies of the Montes Universales tour: This was a day that included more wonderful views of endemic Zapater's Ringlet, but we were spoilt for choice as other beauties vied for our attention.

More bad news for butterflies. Our new paper led by Wendy Leuenberger shows common species are declining even more rapidly than rare ones. @ZipkinLab Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2501340122

It's a guaranteed departure on 2-9 March 2026, and it's also guaranteed to generate a donation to our good friends at @bsbibotany.bsky.social, to help support their vital botanical conservation work. Great orchids, great birds, great reptiles, great butterflies - this tour has it all. (2/2)

Good morning, and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Orchids of Cyprus, a marvellous way to start the spring, looking for orchids (and other wildlife) on this warm and friendly island with @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social & Dave Fairhurst. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Mother of Pearl Blue - I will never get bored of these little gems, least of all when they're as fresh as this beauty was early this morning here in the Montes Universales.

It goes without saying that we love butterflies of all kinds, regardless of rarity, and take time on our tours to enjoy seeing the various aspects of their life cycles. Yesterday, here in the Montes Universales, a new generation of Silver-spotted Skipper was beginning.

Chuffed to find a small colony of Chalkhill Blue on the Purbeck Ridge. First I have seen here in 5 years of looking. They have vanished from most of Dorset for unknown reasons. Either they are having a good year or I have been very unlucky in previous years! @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

You couldn't possibly micro-target this tour to me more effectively than showing that much thistle at once! 👀

Postcard from the field, from our sun-drenched Pallas's Fritillary and Summer Butterflies of Hungary tour this week: A roadside stop demonstrates how butterfly-rich this wonderful country is. Dozens of fritillaries in constant motion. Joy! youtu.be/b13-wDvE3Go

Quick BOC shot before I fall asleep here - a smart, fresh Eastern Baton Blue this afternoon near our hotel here in Hungary. It’s so good to be back in this friendly country - I first came here 30 years ago and, while much has changed in the interim, the butterflies and the warm welcome remain.

Postcard from the field from tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social, co-leading our Hungarian summer butterflies tour: We arrived in Hungary this afternoon, so will be getting properly underway tomorrow, with a great weather forecast ahead of us, and hopefully some outbreaks of great #butterflies!

Ended my time in south Spain today with this Plain Tiger. This following my 5th new species in 3 days with Andalucian Anomalous Blue. Back to work tomorrow! Thanks to @lojawildlife.bsky.social for the help in site identification

We're VERY excited to announce a new tour! Butterflies of the Hautes Pyrenees with Kate Humble will run 9-16 July 2026, with Kate and Mariposa founders David Moore & Jon Dunn as your hosts to explore one of Europe's most spectacular landscapes. (1/3) #butterflies mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Short video of Andalusian anomalous blue Polyommatus violetae in the Sierra Nevada

Truly overjoyed with finding Nevada Grayling! Almost certainly on its way to extinction in Europe due to climate change. But found 3, clinging on in the high Sierra Nevada in Spain. Never thought I'd see this species! 😍🦋😀. Huge thanks to @lojawildlife.bsky.social for guiding me over the 3 day trip.

After three weeks of tour leading for Team Mariposa, leader @selbypaul.bsky.social has earned a break. Naturally, he's spending that time looking for butterflies! 🦋 #legend

After 3 weeks out of the last 4 guiding @mariposanature.bsky.social holidays, time for my own holiday. In the Sierra Nevada in Spain. Three endemics (Spanish Brassy Ringlet, Nevada Blue & Spanish Red Underwing Skipper) plus the endemic subspecies of Apollo. A great day!

Day 7 of the @mariposanature.bsky.social holiday to the French Alps gave us spectacular views. But also two more butterfly species too. Osiris Blue & Riparts Anomalous Blue takes us to 135 species. Smashing the previous record of 132 for these 8 day trips.

While we saw many other wonderful high altitude species, Day 5 of the @mariposanature.bsky.social French Alps holiday was dominated by Cynthia's Fritillary. Guests were delighted to see so many and so settled. Including male and female together.

Postcard from the field from tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social: Our Butterflies of the Hautes Pyrenees tour found some fine Gavarnie Blue today, appropriately, a little way outside Gavarnie itself. More blues, and more fine views, tomorrow!

Led by top Italian biologist Michele Viganò, Orchids of Sardinia is already a guaranteed departure on 11-18 April 2026. And of course, like all our orchid tours since our very first, it will generate a donation to support the vital conservation work of our friends @bsbibotany.bsky.social. (2/2)

🚨New tour alert!🚨 We're delighted to add a special new tour to our growing portfolio of #orchid tours. Orchids of Sardinia will take guests to the beautiful 'mini-continent' of Sardinia next April - a justly renowned orchid-hunting destination. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Postcard from the field from tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social, currently in the Hautes Pyrenees: Yesterday was the last full day of our Butterflies of the Hautes Pyrenees tour - we finished with a fine flourish at the Lac de Gloriettes. And it truly was glorious... youtu.be/KdbnstYmEFY

Postcard from the field today from tour leader David Moore: A pair of Cynthia's Fritillary, a butterfly of high alpine slopes. A highly sought-after prize for the European butterfly-watcher, and seen well today on our Butterflies of the French Alps tour. youtu.be/kNEvGonOAZY

It's been an open secret now for a while among our regulars, but today's the day we announce our Early Bird booking discount for 2026. Any week-long 2026 holiday booked before 1 December 2025 will benefit from a £150 discount off the list price! Enjoy your holiday planning! 😃

Of course, prior Mariposa guests also benefit from an additional £50 loyalty discount off their holiday... And every single butterfly tour generates a donation to @europebutterfly.bsky.social, while every botany holiday generates a donation to @bsbibotany.bsky.social. Win, win!

Postcard from the field part #2 from tour leader @selbypaul.bsky.social today on our Butterflies of the French Alps tour: A lovely encounter with Grison's Fritillary! youtu.be/0zbLqjdtMx4

An excellent high altitude Day 3 of the @mariposanature.bsky.social holiday to the French Alps. These Silvery Argus, Balkan Fritillary,Grison's Fritillary & Niobe Fritillary were amongst the many stars of the show.

Day 2 of the @mariposanature.bsky.social French Alps holiday. We're now up to 86 species. Ranging from early Spring species like Orange Tip to high summer species like Chalkhill Blue. But I was very taken with this lovely Cleopatra. Often seen, but rarely so confiding

Day 1 of the @mariposanature.bsky.social holiday to the French Alps. Great Sooty Satyr stole the show in good numbers and very confiding too. But it's hard to resist a fresh Spotted Fritillary.

What a testimonial!! I can feel the delight and excitement in Paul’s writing. Those two places won’t be around for long… 🦋🦋

Our popular tour leader @selbypaul.bsky.social has written a personal perspective of our inaugural False Comma & Summer Butterflies of Serbia tour. It sets the scene beautifully for our return there in June 2026! Just 2 places left available to join us... mariposanature.com/about/news/a...

Postcard from the field from tour leader @selbypaul.bsky.social on our False Comma & Summer Butterflies of Serbia tour this week: Our final full day, and still the new species keep on coming! Today, among other highlights, Spinose Skipper... youtu.be/ZlJm0P-y8go