Romancing Romanian Butterflies

In total, we managed to observe an astonishing 82 species of butterfly, a good total as conditions were less than favourable on some days. Romania's heat-wave had been a few weeks earlier and the region was now experiencing thunderstorms. However, temperatures were still high and, when it wasn't raining, the sun burnt through. The weather may have helped, making the butterflies settle for slightly longer than normal.

DAY ONE

Vălișoarei Gorge

This was thankfully a light day, as we were still recovering from an eight-hour flight delay, but with lots of delights to see. A short trip from our accommodation took us to a spectacular gorge just off the road. One of the first butterflies we encountered was on my target list: the amazing Chequered Blue (Scolitantides orion), slate-grey-blue with, as its name suggests, chequered fringes. A species of hot sunny rocky escarpments and calcareous soils rich in its food plants Sedum, it was delightful to see and was not only the first but also the last as we found a mating pair when leaving this site.

Chequered Blue
(Scolitantides orion)

 A black-and-white Hungarian Glider (Neptis rivularis) drifted up and down the hedgerow, leading our eyes to yet another new butterfly for me: a Pearly Heath (Coenonympha arcania) perched on a leaf. Further along the track at an abandoned fire site, a real treat awaited us: a settled Lesser Purple Emperor (Apatura ilia). On the edge of the escarpment, we also managed to find what we believed to be Eastern Rock Grayling (Hipparchia syriaca) but butterflies in this group are hard to identify without dissection.

This site yielded 28 species in all, not a bad start to the trip. They included Weaver’s or Violet Fritillary (Boloria dia), Meleager's Blue (Meleageria daphnis), Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus armoricanus) and Eastern Short-tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas).

The Noble Fortress of Colţeşti (Cetatea nobiliară Colțești)

It was particularly good for Blues and gave us our first large blue species, Alcon Blue (Phengaris alcon), which feeds on Gentians (many of which were only just coming into flower) plus Chapman’s Blue (Polyommatus thersites), Eastern Baton Blue (Pseudophilotes vicrama) and the much smaller Osiris Blue (Cupido osiris). We also recorded a Nickerl's Fritillary (Melitaea aurelia).

A non-butterfly sighting was a Wart Biter Cricket (Decticus verrucivorus), something of a rarity in the UK.

DAY TWO

Inze Riverbank, Livezile

Next morning, we were up early and headed towards the mountains. We stopped at the roadside, next to a very promising wet area by the River Inze, where we saw an Olive Skipper (Pyrgus serratulae). Sadly, although a Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antiopa) flew past us on the drive up, it was not seen again.

The river brought some great finds, the best for me being a species I've always wanted to see: Large Chequered Skipper (Heteropterus morpheus) – a beautiful brown skipper with large white spots. Dragonflies were plentiful in this area, as you can imagine, including Small Pincertail (Onychogomphus forcipatus) and Southern Skimmer (Orthetrum brunneum).

TransApuseana, near Peisajul Boierului

The alpine meadows were very rich and we saw species such as Chestnut Heath (Coenonympha glycerion), Scarce Copper (Lycaena virgaureae) and Purple-shot Copper (Lycaena alciphron). We also got our first hairstreak of the trip – Sloe Hairstreak (Satyrium acacia).

DAY FOUR

Liteni Fortress (Cetatea Liteni)

DAY FIVE

Sandulesti/ Turda – Airport run

Always sad, the last day of a trip, but we decided to try a site for Lesser Clouded Yellow. Sadly, none were seen, though Berger's Clouded Yellow (Colias alfacariensis) was. The top of the hillside proved a good spot for Wall (Lasiommata megera) and, more surprisingly, hill-topping Scarce Swallowtails (Iphiclides podalirius): they were more interested in each other than me, allowing me to get good a good video and photos. This site also yielded nearly 30 Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus).

Moths Matter

No lepidoptera trip would be complete without moths and each night a sheet and a moth trap were put out separately. Highlights were my first-ever Spurge Hawk-moth (Hyles euphorbiae) and a fantastic micro-moth, Scarce Crimson & Gold (Pyrausta sanguinalis), with its bright purple and yellow markings – this species is thought to be extinct in mainland England.

In the field, we also had some great moths, including an abundance of Nine-spotted (Syntomis phegea), as well as Sussex Emerald (Thalera fimbrialis), Grey Mountain Carpet (Entephria caesiata) and Dusky Peacock (Macaria signaria).

All in all, it was a great trip in very good company with a diverse range of subject expertise, meaning there was always something to see. Someone described Romania to me as the Scottish Highlands on steroids without the midges: this proved to be very true and it’s a country I would like to visit again.