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"Leaf Butterfly"
Flowery meadow... a butterfly paradise
Hungary is full with Orchids and Euphorbiaes
Oxytripia orbiculosa (Noctuidae), dissappeared for already 60 years in Hungary.
Esper's Marbled White (Melanargia russiae), the most legendary Hungarian butterfly. Extinct.
Pyrrhia purpurites (Noctuidae) on Dictamnus albus (Rutaceae), one of the best Hungarian rarity
Freshly breeded European Common Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)
Zygaena and Hypogymna morio








 

In Quest of the „Flying Flowers”.

Summary and recommendation: 9-12 days long Hungarian circle, twitching and photographing butterflies.
Moth-trapping will be arranged every night. Twitching, photography and exploration are in focus.

"...You enquire, what is the use of butterflies? I reply to adorn the world and delight the eyes of men: to brighten the countryside like so many golden jewels. To contemplate their exquisite beauty and variety is to experience the truest pleasure. To gaze enquiringly at such elegance of colour and form designed by the ingenuity of nature and painted by the artist’s pencil, is to acknowledge and adore the imprint of the art of God..." (by John Ray)


 
 

Destination country: Hungary. Arrive and depart in Budapest.

Note: Due to illegal butterfly-collecting activities, I am not giving out more specific itinerary for this tour.

Next schedule:
- 17-25 June, 2011


Duration: 9 days + extensions.

Price: 1290 GBP + 160 GBP single supplement (excl. airfare) for base-tour.

Accommodation: Three-star hotels with all rooms en suite.

Numbers: Max. 6 tour participants.


Transport: 4WDs.

Description: "...Hungary has about 183 butterflies with many superb species, incl. Hungarian Glider, Southern Festoon, Lesser Clouded Yellow, Large Blue, Iolas Blue, Zephyr Blue, Large Copper, Freyer's Purple Emperor, Poplar Admiral, Scarce Fritillary and many more. On this trip we visit the finest butterfly habitats of the country and in case of relevant weather our target list may cover more than 120 species. Dragonflies, birds, other animals, culture and history will be always in focus too..."

Top species: European Common Swallowtail, Scarce Swallowtail, Mountain Small White, Lesser Clouded Yellow, Danube Clouded Yellow, Berger's Clouded Yellow, Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow, Hairstreaks, Small Copper, Large Copper, Purple-shot Copper, Scarce Copper, Sooty Copper, Lesser Fiery Copper, Purple-edged Copper, Short-tailed Blues, Alcon Blue, Large Blue, Iolas Blue, Chequered Blue, Zephyr Blue, Geranium Argus, Mountain Argus, Chapman's Blue, Amanda's Blue, Turquoise Blue, Adonis Blue, Nettle-tree Butterfly, Purple Emperor, Freyer's Purple Emperor, Lesser Purple Emperor, White Admiral, Common Glider, Hungarian Glider, Poplar Admiral, Southern White Admiral, Camberwell Beauty, Large Tortoiseshell, Cardinal, Pallas's Fritillary, Dark Green Fritillary, High Brown Fritillary, Niobe Fritillary, Marbled Fritillary, Lesser Marbled Fritillary, Twin-spot Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Glanville Fritillary, Knapweed Fritillary, Spotted- and Lesser Spotted Fritillary, false Heath Fritillary, Scarce Fritillary, Nickerl's Fritillary, Assmann's Fritillary, Marbled White, Woodland Grayling, The Hermit, Dryad, Great Banded Grayling, Woodland Ringlet, Oriental Meadow Brown, Dusky Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Pearly Heath, False Ringlet, Woodland Brown, Skippers.

Habitats: Buda Hills, Pilis Hills, Vértes Hills, Bakony Mts., Zala county, Őrség NP, Danube-Drava NP, Mecsek Hills, Mt. Szarsomlyo, Kiskunsag NP. Extension: Bükk NP., Aggtelek, NP, Nógrád Hills, Mecsek Mts., Szársomlyó Hills, Danube-Drava NP.


Trip outline 1.
The short Hungarian butterfly-circle.

Day "0": Pre-extension.

Day 01: Arrival. Search for butterflies around Budapest, upon time.

Day 02: Visit to the world famous Butterfly-mecca of the late XIX. century: Peszérpuszta in Kiskunsag NP. Sandy oak forests and other sandy habitats.

Day 03: Bakony Mts. Explorations at the dry limestone and dolomite plateaus of Várpalota, Öskü and Veszprém.

Day 04: Bakony Mts. Visit to Kab-Hill wet and dry meadows and the vicinity of Herend. Porcelain museum of Herend.

Day 05: Visit to the Bakony lowland forests and marshy meadows of Zala county. To Őrség NP.

Day 06-07: Őrség NP. The area is one of the premier Hungarian butterfly habitat (the others are Bakony Mts. and Aggtelek NP). Here we will have two days for extensive exploration.

Day 08: To Budapest, en route stops in Balaton-Upland NP and Vértes Hills.

Day 09: Depart or post-extensions.

Extensions:
-Pre-extension: Budapest sightseeing possible with Danube Bend and Szentendre. 1-3 days upon request.
Extension:
-Post-extension 1.: Northern Hungarian butterfly-circle to Nógrád Hills, Bükk- and Aggtelek NP. 3-5 days upon request.
-Post-extension 2.: Southern Hungarian butterfly-circle to Mecsek Mts., Szársomlyó Hill and Danube-Drava NP. 3 days.




Black square=Budapest
Yellow dots=Base-trip stations
Wine-red dots=Post-extension 1.
Red dots=Post-extension 2.



 
   



Upcoming trips & expeditions:

Crane weekend of Hungary (birding; 11-17, Oct., 18 -24, Oct.) >>>

Gebel Elba expedition (Egypt, 03-12, Nov.) >>>

Ethiopian Butterfly Adventure with Torben Larsen (05-19, Nov.). >>>

Ghana butterfly adventure with Szabolcs Safian and BC Ghana (26, Nov. - 10, Dec.). >>>

In search of the Red-breasted Geese (10-16, Dec.; Romania-Bulgaria) >>>

2011 tour dates are released!!!

Tour calendar >>>


Woodland Brown (Lopinga achine)
Woodland Ringlet (Erebia medusa)
Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa)
Damon Blue (Agrodiaetus damon)
Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia)
The Hermit (Chazara briseis)
Lesser Purple Emperor (Apatura ilia f. clythiae)
Zephyr Blue (Plebejus sephirus)
Scarce Fritillary (Euphydryas maturna)
Freyer's or Hungarian Purple Emperor (Apatura metis)
Danube Clouded Yellow (Colias myrmidone)
The Cardinal (Argynnis pandora)
Poplar Admiral (Limenitis populi)
Southern White Admiral (Limenitis reducta)
Lesser Fiery Copper (LYcaena thersamon)
Southern Festoons (Zerynthia polyxena) and Tipulidaes
Saturnia pyri, the largest European moth (Saturnidae)
Ascalaphus macaronius (Libelluloidae)
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