Another lovely #wildflowerhour tonight, it’s wonderful to see so many of you enjoying #thewinter10, our challenge for the coldest months! It’s surprising what you can find if you go to look! 👀 See you all again next Sunday! ☺️

Ophrys lindia and Ophrys eptapigiensis from this year's @mariposanature.bsky.social Orchids of Rhodes tour that, as usual, I co-led with my good friend @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social. Just two of the many rarities we saw that week - we know the island's secret places and hidden taxa treasures intimately.

Update on our featured tour of the week, Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain - as of this afternoon, it's now got just 4 places left available. Running 16-23 April, generating a donation to @europebutterfly.bsky.social, catch it while you can! mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Still undersided? Our 2026 Spanish butterfly tours are filling fast. All of them benefit from a £150 early bird discount if booked before 1 Dec 2025, and all generate a donation to support @europebutterfly.bsky.social. Tours all to see on the calendar on our website: mariposanature.com/calendar

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk. This week features Small Copper, a feisty little creature that could pick a fight in an empty room. IRL it settles for defending its territory against all airborne insects, chasing all away. #butterflies

When it comes to #orchids, Rhodes really is the island that keeps on giving. There are dozens of Ophrys bee orchid species to be seen there, and the variation within some of those is considerable. Here are a few Ophrys reinholdii from recent years. I find them seriously addictive!

The story of Fen Orchid is a bright spot in the gloomy picture of the new #GBRedList @plantlifeuk.bsky.social show that positive conservation actions can make a difference to the threats plants face, highlighted by @emilybeament.bsky.social in @the-independent.com www.indy100.com/news/beautif...

New #GBRedList for vascular plants is published today by a team led by @bsbibotany.bsky.social with partners @naturalengland.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social @naturescot.bsky.social @natreswales.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social @plantlifeintl.bsky.social @rbgkew.bsky.social @thebotanics.bsky.social

Many of our butterfly tours, like this week's featured tour of the week, Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain, also encounter #orchids. Always a happy find, nobody's day was ever made worse by seeing one of these beauties! mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Until recently I used to do my own thing chasing orchids around Europe. Then I did the Rhodes trip with #Mariposa_Nature The quantity and variety of orchids found by #thenewgalaxy and #dunnjons were amazing. Subsequently I've booked 2 in the past year and 3 for next year. Do it!

An update to the update... Our Orchids of Rhodes tour for 2027, the ultimate exploration of the island's #orchids with two of Europe's keenest orchid-hunters, is now half full! Six places remain to book to join us, but we don't anticipate those remaining available for long...

It's always a joy to read the latest journal from @hardyorchidsociety.bsky.social. The latest issue is packed with interesting articles - and our advert for 2026! Some updates on those tours: 🌼 Orchids of Cyprus is now fully booked. 🌼 Late Spring Orchids of Sicily - 1 place remains. (1/3)

Since we started doing #NoMowMay in 2020, I’ve been hoping for an orchid to pop up in my lawn. But I’ll take two Pink Waxcap (Porpolomopsis calyptriformis)! AKA Ballerina Waxcap… of course they are 🩰 #MushroomMonday #fungi #mushroom

The tour's a guaranteed departure on 16-23 April 2026 and, like ALL of our butterfly tours, it's also guaranteed to generate a donation to support the great conservation work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. That commitment is extremely important to us, and to our guests. Vamos! (3/3)

We have added two new pages to our website: habitat management principles for butterflies (and other pollinators) and causes of decline. Check them out here www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...

Good morning! Our featured Tours of the Week this month will have a Spanish theme, celebrating the arrival of Spanish butterfly legend Miguel López Munguira in Team Mariposa. This week, Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain... (1/3) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

A wonderful #wildflowerhour tonight, huge thanks to everyone that took part & especially lovely to see all those gorgeous winter tens!! A lovely focus for a winter walk, why not see how many wild blooms you can spot for next Sunday! See you then ☺️

Ophrys ortuabis is a lovely endemic #orchid we'll see on our Orchids of Sardinia tour next April. Discovered as recently as 2002 by by Lucia Manca & Nino Mura, a couple from the town of Oristano, their story is told in 'Ortuabis', a short film by Vincenzo Rodi: (1/2) youtube.com/watch?v=oQSo...

Did you know @wildflowerhour.bsky.social's #TheWinter10 is back and starts tonight? If you're heading out for a walk today, cameras at the ready... All you need to do is find 10 wildflowers in bloom, and share them this evening, 8-9pm, for #Wildflowerhour. Good luck!

Good morning, and hello November! There's just one month left on our early bird deal for 2026 holidays, offering £150 off the list price of any week-long tour if booked before 1 Dec 2025. Bee orchids, birds, butterflies (or bears!), we've lots of choice! mariposanature.com/calendar #nature

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)

🎃 Trick or treat?! It's Halloween, and we have a HUGE announcement to make later on today! 🎃 There's a clue in the images here... #butterflies @europebutterfly.bsky.social

Today seems like a good day for a ghost story... 🧵 The first Ghost Orchid to be recorded in Britain was found in July 1854 by Mrs Anderton Smith in Herefordshire. Not recognising it, she picked it, and it was sent away to be identified. (1/12) (This image, from 1978, c/o A.Wake)

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk. Today features White-letter and Black Hairstreak - the former remains fairly widespread in England & Wales, the latter has declined in the past century and is a significant British rarity. #butterflies

Fritillaries of many kinds abound on our featured tour this week, Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees. Here are a couple (Spotted & False Heath) kindly shared by one of our guests this year. Our guests have plenty of time and space with which to pursue the perfect portrait! #naturephotography

I’ve seen some beautiful grassland fungi for #WildFungiHour in the last few days. 🔁 from top left Mealy Pinkgill, Dark Fieldcap, Parrot Waxcaps, Persistent Waxcaps looking like flowers, Blackening Waxcaps, Poppies for #WildflowerHour & lastly gorgeous Crimson & Scarlet Waxcaps🥰

Violet Copper is just one of the highlights guests on our Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees can look forward to seeing. These glorious images were kindly shared with us by one of our regular guests, Clive B. We love seeing our guests' photos, and hope you do too. #eastcoastkin #butterflies

Magical Mariposa Monday! It’s never too early to plan a holiday and, with the chance to see some real beauties, it would be crazy not to give this tour serious consideration🦋🤩

Good morning and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees - this one's an outstanding opportunity for the butterfly photographer, so fresh and numerous and varied are the species to be found. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

On the subject of endemic island butterflies, guests on our Fabulous Fuerteventura tour next February can expect to enjoy close views of the island's very own charming endemic, Fuerteventura Green-striped White. mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day on which we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk. Today features Purple Hairstreak, a glorious species that spends much of its life around the canopy of its larval foodplant, oak, looking in flight like silver coins spinning high overhead.

Fascinating Swedish study proving that threatened butterflies can still disperse surprisingly long distances eg Marsh Fritillary >8km and more than 10% of Large Blues travelled at least 1km resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🌍

A small selection of the beautiful butterflies and orchids we see on our Italian mainland and island tours, to brighten a grey and stormy day here in the UK. We love Italy and, with our superb network of local naturalists there, are expanding our range of tours across the country. Watch this space!

Aren't robberflies amazing? Large, fast, predatory flies that inject their prey with a paralysing and digestive neurotoxin, then suck out the liquified contents. Yum. We saw this fine example on an #orchid in Rhodes this year. Looking forward to what we find there next spring...

Our current tour of the week, Fabulous Fuerteventura - Birds, Butterflies & Botany, has now moved to become a guaranteed departure. Also guaranteed is our early bird booking deal - an automatic £150 off the tour's list price if booked before 1 Dec 2025. mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...

Good morning and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Fabulous Fuerteventura - Birds, Butterflies & Botany. Set to run on 22-28 February 2026, it offers a welcome break from the cold, wet monotony of a northern European winter... (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...

Here's a #bloomscrolling start to the weekend - a couple of fine #orchid hybrids from Rhodes to brighten the day! Our Orchids of Rhodes tour for 2027 is now almost half full - we can't wait to see what rare treasures we find there. #BSBIcorporatesupporter

Snap these last places up quick! I did this trip a couple of years back and it is (so far) the best Orchid trip i have done ( and I have done a few) Best guides. Best Orchids. Best food and drink, and best guests. Very fond memories.

Our Late Spring Orchids of Sicily tour now has just 1 place remaining available. Running 1-8 May 2026, with leaders 'Orchid Summer' author Jon Dunn & Sicilian naturalist legend Andrea Corso, it generates a donation to @bsbibotany.bsky.social #BSBIcorporatesponsor mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk. Today features Brown & Green Hairstreak. Green Hairstreak is fairly widespread in Britain, but the decline of Brown Hairstreak is a sorry tale, related to unsympathetic, mechanised flailing of farm hedges.

Want to up your #WildFlowerID game this winter? We just launched our Winter Webinar programme! 7-8pm, every Tuesday from 4 Nov - 10 Feb. Thanks to funding from @daera-ni.gov.uk, these 10 great plant ID webinars are FREE for all of you to attend! Programme & booking links: bsbi.org/botanical-sk...

Some lovely feedback for this week's featured Tour of the Week - Butterflies of North Greece. This tour is perennially popular, and for good reason - it's all about superb #butterflies, birds, evening meals, and friendly, knowledgeable leaders. mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

With another place secured by a guest yesterday, our Orchids of Rhodes tour now moves to being a guaranteed departure in 2027. The ultimate #orchid tour of Rhodes, with leaders @dunnjons.bsky.social & @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social, may be 18 months away, but it's starting to fill up already!

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...

My advice? Book quickly!

Yep, Rhodes in April is rather brilliant 👍🏻 - so so much to see.

Prepare to discover absolute treasures on this flagship trip! 😍

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)

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?...

Good morning, and welcome to the weekend! A little #bloomscrolling joy from Cyprus to start the day - island endemic orchids Ophrys kotschyi and Orchis troodi. We see both on our annual Orchids of Cyprus tour - filling up fast now, just 2 places remain to join us there in March 2026. (1/2)