Marsh Helleborine (Epipactis palustris) (Crantz 1753) Turkey This species is found in Europe (Inc UK) and Mediterranean countries, Turkey, Iraq, the Caucasus, Iran W & E Siberia and Central Asia Found in humid woodland and grassland, as well as in marshes, dune slacks and bogs #Turkey #orchids

Fragrant Bug Orchid (Anacamptis coriophora subsp. fragrans) (M.W.Chase 1997) Turkey Found in Europe, the Med, & the Near East to Iran Fragrant Bug is similar to Bug & is regarded by some as an eastern-flowering subspecies Inhabits alkaline soils in open sunny positions #Turkey #FragrantBugOrchid

Thank you to all who volunteered on Rough Bank Nature Reserve, Glos We raked up the risings from the robomower in the first half of the day. Our volunteer Ron used a brush cutter to deal with some large patches of bramble whilst the rest hand cut #workparty @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Valley Zap Blue (Polyommatus zapvadi) (Carbonell, 1993) part of the Elbursian Blue (Polyommatus elbursicus) complex (Forster 1956) Turkey Part of a complex of species & sub species still being thrashed out. Turkey population known as Valley Zap Blue Flight July-Aug #Turkey

Write to the President of the European Parliament action.wemove.eu/letter/2025-...

Iranian BluePlebejus morgianus) (Kirby, 1871) Turkey Known from Turkey and Iran and the Caucasus Males are bright navy blue with wide black borders and darkened veins Females light brown June- mid July Dry grassy or bushy slopes Thought they feed on leguminous plants #Turkey

Yellow-winged Darter (Sympetrum flaveolum) (Linnaeus, 1758) Turkey Found in W Europe to Japan An almost unmistakable darter, red-bodied in the male, with both sexes having large amounts of saffron-yellow colouration to the basal area of each wing #YellowwingedDarter #Turkey

Anatolian Fiery Copper Butterfly (Lycaena asabinus) (Herrich-Schaffer 1851) Turkey Found in Lebanon, Turkey, Transcaucasia, Armenia, Iran, & Azerbaijan Prefer hot, dry flowering slopes; & moist places such as melted snow/canals The larval host plant is Acantholimon sp. #turkey #anatolianfierycopper

Campaigners call for end to guga hunt tradition... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

“The biodiversity target, which means stopping the decline of British species such as the hedgehog and red squirrel, will almost certainly not be met.” Huge fail by Labour. Where’s the Land Use Framework? Where’s the promised nature purpose for national parks? www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Ground Lackey (Malacosoma castrensis) (Linnaeus 1758) Turkey This is a tentative ID - Ground Lackey. A species that occurs in the UK. They are not very common across their range Lliving in saltmarsh and estuaries and feed on a range of saltmarsh plants esp sea wormwood & lavender #Turkey

A Clearwing (Negotinthia hoplisiformis) (Mann 1864) Turkey A moth in the family Sesiidae An example of Batesian Mimicry, in which their colours and often behaviours mimic wasp species Found in Greece, Turkey and Iran Larvae feed on Sanguisobra minor #Turkey #ClearwingMoth #Negotinthiahoplisiformis

The Hermit (Chazara briseis) (Linnaeus 1764) Turkey White bands on the upper side create a distinctive V shape, they are experts of blending in Found in N Africa, S Europe, Asia Minor, Caucasus, C Asia,Afghanistan & China Found on steppe & in other dry grassy places #Turkey #HermitButterfly

Syrian Marbled White (Melanargia syriaca) (Oberthür 1894) Turkey MW in Turkey were confusing, the genus split into 20 sp. and relevant subsp. Larvae feed on Brachypodium sp. on the edge of woodland I had 6 picture of Syrian MW and only 3 have been confirmed as possible #Turkey #SyrianMarbledWhite

The Government is planning to send King Charles to the US to celebrate with Trump. Giving him a royal visit right now sends a terrible message that his behaviour is acceptable. We can stop this if enough of us speak up. Will you add your name to the petition? you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ca...

Pogge’s Skipper (Muschampia poggei) (Lederer, 1858)Turkey Also known as Pogge Hop & Pogge’nin Zipzipi Found in in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Middle East, and Transcaucasia. There preferred habitat is arid mountain slopes dominated by desert plants Larvae feed on Phlomis sp. #Turkey #PoggesSkipper

Anatolian lizard (Apathya cappadocica) (Werner 1902) Turkey This lizard is endemic to Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey and has 4 subspecies There age range is 10-15 years The species has remarkable tolerance to harsh, arid climates and are threatened by climate change #Anatolianlizard #Turkey

Cardinal Butterfly (Argynnis pandora) (Denis & Schiffermuller 1775) Turkey A large species with a distinctive and dramatic underside forewing intense pink patch (water-melon red). It is similar in appearance to Silver-washed Fritillary The larvae feed on Viola #Turkey #CardinalButterfly

Krueper's Small White (Piers krueperi) (Staudinger 1860)Turkey Most distinctive of S Whites with unmistakable green underside markings Found on the Balkan Peninsula, Iran, Oman, Turkey, Asia Minor & Central Asia Larvae eat Golden Alyssum (A. saxatile) & (A. montanum) #Turkey #KruepersSmallWhite

Clouded Apollo (Parnassius mnemosyne) (Linnaeus 1758) Turkey In the family of Papilionidae. In Italy it is known as Mnemosyne and in Turkey as Dumanli Apollo Inhabit meadows and deciduous woodland clearings with plenty of flowering plants, but cannot survive in denser forest #turkey #CloudedApollo

A Mirid Bug (Grypocoris fieberi) (Douglas & Scott 1868) Catak,Turkey Recorded feeding on Astragalus, Matricaria, Medicago sativa, Onobrychis oxyodonta and Vicia cracca Found in Palestine, Jordan, Turkey & Syria #Turkey #Catak #Miridbug

A Longhorn (Cerambyx miles) (Bonelli, 1812)Turkey Rare in Central Europe but relatively common in entire Med region, Caucasus and Transcaucasia Found in grazed forests, forest-steppes, old gardens & orchards Larvae develop under the bark and in the wood of living trees #Turkey #LonghornBeetle

Spotted Caddisfly (Semblis phalaenoides) (Linnaeus 1758) Turkey Spotted Caddisfly in the Phryganeidae family Found in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, the Baltic region, Belarus, Russia and Turkey Larvae have been found predominantly in slow flowing water #SpottedCaddisfly #Turkey

A Beetle (Eulasia vittata) (Fabricius 1775) Catak, Turkey Also known as the Bumblebee Scarab Beetle in the family Scarabaeoidea. The bumblebee colouration is a form of mimicry to protect it from predators Found in Armenia, Palestine, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Egypt and Iraq etc #Turkey

Mullein Wave (Scopula marginepunctata) (Goeze 1781) Catak, Turkey This moth is in the family Geometridae. It is found in Europe inc England on the South coast, N Africa, Asia Minor, Mongolia, Iran and Turkey Larvae feed on plants inc Yarrow and Mugwort #MulleinWave #Turkey

Sinuated Spoonwing (Nemoptera sinuata) (Olivier 1811) Catak, Turkey Found throughout the Balkan peninsula - Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Turkey Inhabit forests and open grasslands/river gorges Adults feed on the pollen of Alyssum murale, Cota austraica & Achillea coarctata #Turkey

Merry Christmas all!

A Sun Jumping Spider (Heliophanus melinus) (L. Koch, 1867) Turkey Without a doubt the cutest spiders you’ll meet…and if you didn’t know better you would think they have personalities They are found in Europe (not Uk or Scandinavia), Georgia, Russia and Turkey #Heliophanusmelinus #Turkey

Zephyr Blue (Plebeius pylaon) (Fischer von Waldheim 1832) Catak, Turkey Was considered to encompass a lot of subsp, but now seperated The habitat consists of dry habitats where the larvae feed on several species of Astragalus and are attended to by ants #ZephyrBlueButterfly #Turkey

Yellow Banded Skipper (Pyrgus sidae) (Esper, 1784) Turkey The only example of a brightly coloured species amongst the Grizzled Skippers which immediately draws your attention to it Larval foodplant is Sulphur Cinquefoil (Potentilla recta) &&” Abutilon theophrasti #YellowBandedSkipper #Turkey

Riley's Hairstreak (Satyrium marcidum) (Riley 1921) Turkey Riley’s Hairstreak is thinly distributed from SE Turkey across W Iran to the Arabian Gulf (Nazari 2003). It is seen between Van and Mardin along the Iranian border Larvae eat Dwarf Russian Almond (Prunus tenella) #Turkey #Butterfly

Sooty Orange-tip (Zegris eupheme) (Esper 1804) Turkey In the family Pieridae that has a range that extends through S/ SW Europe, N Africa, E Kazakhstan and Asia Minor The larvae feed on Sinapis incana, Raphanus, Sisymbrium polymorphum & Camelina laxa #SootyOrangetipButterfly #Turkey

Rebel’s Hairstreak (Satyrium myrtale armena) (Rebel 1901) Turkey A lovely Hairstreak in the family Lycaenidae, previously known as Satyrium myrtale, Turkish populations are now known as Satyrium myrtale armena Larvae are thought to feed on Berberis libanotica #Satyriummyrtalearmena #Turkey

Today’s news with Oxfams CEO draws parallels with issues at The Macular Society… With one difference, Oxfam’s CEO didn’t have a Whistle Blowing Victimisation Claim against him Have a listen to today’s podcast, the similarities are uncanny @oxfamgb.bsky.social @macularsociety.org

Thank you to all those who attended to help rake up the arisings from a visit from the Robo mower This amazing machine has cleared the grassland reserve from invading bramble and blackthorn @savebutterflies.bsky.social #stroud #gloucestershire

Osiris Blue (Cupido osiris) (Meigen1829) Turkey Osiris Blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae A localised species. It very closely resembles the Small Blue but the male has bright blue upper sides Larvae feed on Sainfoin (Onobrychis spp) #Turkey #Butterfly

Pontic Blue (Polyommatus coelestinus) (Eversmann, 1843) Turkey One of the blue butterflies in the family Lycaenidae Known N Peloponnese (esp Mnt Chelmos & Mnt Erimanthos), C Greece,SE-Ukraine,Asia Minor & the Caucasus Inhabit mountain grasslands Larvae live on Vicia species #Turkey #Butterfly

Stroud looks like a scene from Ghostbusters

Niobe Fritillary (Argynnis niobe) (Linnaeus 1758) Turkey Another new species for me Europe (Ex. UK and N Scandinavia), Russia, Iran, Turkey, China, Mongolia, Korea Open grassy places, stoney, clearings in bushes and light woodland Foodplants Viola sp & R Plantain #Turkey #Butterfly

Klug’s Tawny Rockbrown (Pseudochazara pelopea) (Klug, 1832) Turkey Distributed in the area from Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia to the Caucasus and Kopet-Mountain The larvae feed on Poa annual #Turkey #butterfly

Greek Clouded Yellow (Colias aurorina) (Herrich-Schaffer 1850) Turkey It is one of the largest species in it’s genus with a wingspan of 35–70 mm Found in Greece, Near East, Caucasus, Iran and Turkmenistan Larvae feed on Astracantha & Astragalus species #GreekCloudedYellow #Coliasaurorina #Turkey

Zygaena haberhaueri (Lederer 1870) Turkey Zygaena haberhaueri is found in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey Populations have suffered in the past from collectors though now seem stable Foodplants are thought to be Astragalus sp and Astracantha sp #Turkey #Moth #Zygaenahaberhaueri

Save the Great Crested Newts and all protected species at Glebelands Nature Reserve... www.change.org/p/save-the-g...

One of my favourite European butterflies is the Large Chequered Skipper (Heteropterous morpheus). It has a curious undulating flight - the butterfly equivalent of a woodpecker @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social

I've just emailed my MP to tell them what nature means to me and that I want it to stay protected. Will you take action too? action.rspb.org.uk/page/180990/...

Police are now investigating the deliberate poisoning of trees on a Dartmoor common owned by Prince William’s Duchy estate, according to the Western Morning News The Duchy has condemned the culprit All Dartmoor farming, heritage & conservation groups must condemn this act of ecological sabotage

Gerhard’s Black Hairstreak Butterfly (Satyrium abdominalis) (Gerhard, 1850) Catak, Turkey In the family Lycaenidae and is distributed locally in Transcaucasia, Eastern Turkey, Iran, and Lebanon Throughout the range, the only known host plant is Cerasus macrocarpa #Turkey #Butterfly

Freyer’s Fritillary (Meliteae arduinna) (Esper 1783) Catak, Turkey Found from s-e Europe across Asis Minor to central Asia and the Altai The habitat consists of steppe clad slopes The larvae feed on Centaurea species, including C behen. The larvae overwinter in a web nest #Turkey #Butterfly