@rogercharding.bsky.social
Lover of all things natural history, particularly orchids, butterflies, birds. Also, travelling to photograph them. Play harmonica and poker and love whisky
This seems to be a female Ichneumon extensorius wasp that I found in my back garden today in Wadebridge. There's only 1 prior record for it in Cornwall from 1906, so any knowledgable insect person's input would be most welcome.
07.10.2025 15:23 β π 14 π 5 π¬ 1 π 0
Goodyera macrophylla @860m in the Parque Florestal do Fanal, Madeira today, 5/10/2025 π΅πΉ π
05.10.2025 19:46 β π 12 π 2 π¬ 1 π 1
Scarce Fritillary (Euphydryas maturna) Β© Jon Dunn
Chequered Blue (Scolitantides orion) Β© Clive Burrows
Your guides to a feast of fritillaries and a bonanza of blues will be our popular, knowledgeable, and friendly team of Paul Selby & Michele ViganΓ².
Importantly, like ALL of our butterfly tours, this one generates a donation to support the great work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (2/2)
Southern Swallowtail (Papilio alexanor) Β© Clive Burrows
Good morning, and welcome to a new week!
Our featured tour this week is Butterflies of the Italian Alps & French Mercantour, a guaranteed departure tour in June 2026 that offers the best of both butterfly worlds on either flank of the mighty Alps. (1/2)
mariposanature.com/tours/butter...
Super cool guys.
04.10.2025 21:08 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Do tell please Jon??
03.10.2025 06:48 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Every one of our butterfly holidays generates a donation to support the superb butterfly conservation work undertaken by @europebutterfly.bsky.social. That matters to us, and we know it matters to our guests too.
Our full range of 2026 tours is on our website: (2/2)
www.mariposanature.com/calendar
Ophrys lepida Β© Michele ViganΓ²
Ophrys apulica Β© Jon Dunn
Ophrys bertolonii Β© Jon Dunn
Ophrys normanii Β© Michele ViganΓ²
Fancy a relaxing #orchid holiday in 2026, with lots of photographic opportunities, led by friendly & dedicated guides?
Two months remain to take advantage of our early bird booking deal, offering Β£150 off the list price of any week-long tour booked before 1 Dec 2025. (1/2)
Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius) Β© Jon Dunn
Desert Babul Blue (Azanus ubaldus) Β© Jon Dunn
Desert Orange Tip (Colotis evagore) Β© Jon Dunn
Zeller's Skipper (Borbo borbonica) Β© Jon Dunn
That's us heading for home now after a resoundingly successful Autumn Exotica in Andalusia tour, with all the butterfly targets (and a huge bonus!) found, plus some fine dragonflies and birds too. We can't wait to return next year - and hope you might join us.
www.mariposanature.com/tours/butter...
Brilliant find Jon π π
28.09.2025 07:50 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Ophrys lacaitae Β© Michele ViganΓ²
Ophrys lunulata Β© Jon Dunn
Just three places remain available now to join us next year for our Late Spring Orchids of Sicily tour, led by 'Orchid Summer' author Jon Dunn, and local Sicilian naturalist legend Andrea Corso. As the Sicilians say, amuninni!
www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...
I can't wait to return to Sicily next spring with my good friend Andrea Corso - the mythical Ophrys lacaitae awaits!
22.09.2025 06:00 β π 10 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0Congrats Ian
21.09.2025 07:04 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Like ALL our butterfly tours, our current featured tour, Butterflies of North Greece, generates a donation to support @europebutterfly.bsky.social's superb conservation work.
Butterfly Conservation Europe have a new website - have a look, and please follow them on here.
www.bc-europe.eu/index.php
The "Eye" does it again
17.09.2025 17:43 β π 8 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
The beautiful & rare white Penny Bun - Boletus edulis var. alba, in Somerset π€π€© #Fungi #Mushrooms #MushroomMonday @britmycolsoc.org.uk
15.09.2025 17:41 β π 65 π 7 π¬ 3 π 0In 2nd place, for my #FavouritePlant is Lady Orchid, seen for the first time in Kent in May with @mariposanature.bsky.social.
It was such a wonderful day, with fellow guests and leaders proving to be great company. And the orchids were fabulous, but the Lady Orchid stole my heart.
#wildflowerhour
Our orchid-hunting tour leaders Jon Dunn, Richard Bate, David Gibbs, Miki Vigano & Andrea Corso have some of the sharpest eyes in the game, and a track record of finding unusual as well as rare orchids in the areas we visit.
And you could join them in 2026!
www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...
My #favouriteplant for #wildflowerhour is probably this Water Germander on Braunton Burrows.
14.09.2025 20:23 β π 39 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0Now, that is more than a bit good!
14.09.2025 08:06 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Guest testimonials for the Mariposa Nature Tours 'Orchids of Cyprus' tour, in front of a tall yellow orchid, Orchis punctulata
If pressed to choose our favourite non-British or Irish plant of 2025, we'd certainly have the richly yellow and tall orchid Orchis punctulata of Cyprus on our shortlist. A real crowd-pleaser, among many floral highlights, for our Orchids of Cyprus guests.
www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...
Very pretty, very tiny, growing on rotting Beech, and I have no idea what it is π #fungi #NewForest #FungiFriends
12.09.2025 19:24 β π 15 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0
For #AnOrchidADay:
There's always time for some Late Spider #Orchid action
From the 2017 season.
Ophrys flavomarginata Β© Jon Dunn
Ophrys iricolor Β© Jon Dunn
Ophrys lapethica Β© Jon Dunn
Ophrys mammosa Β© Jon Dunn
The many and varied Ophrys bee #orchids to be found on Cyprus make for wonderful photographic subjects - on our relaxing and gentle-paced orchid tour there we make plenty of time for enjoying the plants in their own right, or as subjects for a photo or two!
www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...
I've never been a fan of political censorship.
10.09.2025 07:16 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Orange Porecap - a striking species with a vibrant orange colour & honeycomb-shaped pores, found in South Somerset (Favolaschia claudopus) π§‘π #Fungi #FungiFriends #Mushrooms
09.09.2025 13:37 β π 100 π 16 π¬ 0 π 0
Clustered Bonnet - Mycena inclinata #Fungi #Mushrooms #FungiFriday
09.09.2025 17:56 β π 187 π 20 π¬ 5 π 1
Fresh Beefsteak Fungus π₯© in Dorset today! Fistulina hepatica #Fungi #FungiFriends #Mushrooms
09.09.2025 10:16 β π 59 π 5 π¬ 1 π 0
Eastern Festoon (Zerynthia cerisy) Β© Jon Dunn
Paphos Blue (Glaucopsyche paphos) Β© Jon Dunn
With another booking received yesterday, there are just 4 places still available on Orchids of Cyprus, our featured tour this week. Of course, it's about more than just orchids - Cyprus is home to other wonderful wildlife, including some special butterflies...
www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...
