Parnassius apollo pyrenaicus – Papilionidae – Parnassius The Apollo’s mating plug or Sphragis is visible on the photo below: It is particular to the females of this lepidoptera family.It is deposited by a male into the female genital tract and later hardens into a plug assuring the male that only his sperm cells will fertilize […]
Tag: Spain
Short-toed Eagles
There is a very interesting paper written by members of Fundación Migres here in Andalucía, entitled ‘Autumn Migration of Juvenile Short-Toed Eagles Circaetus gallicus from Southeastern Spain’. Onset, duration and routes of migration differed between the two individuals, but both eventually settled in approximately the same area (c. 170 km apart). The wintering grounds were […]
Do the Bee-eaters decimate bees?
Southern Spain is yet again suffering a general lack of rain. The Mediterranean climate is characterised by periods of rain followed periods of drought with a resultant biodiversity paradise.We now appear to be entering a drought period after three winters with ample rainfall. In the start of what appears to be a new drought period […]