@greenwingstours.bsky.social
Expertly-led butterfly & botany tours worldwide. Established 2010. We are conservationists & proudly support Butterfly Conservation Europe & the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland. https://linktr.ee/greenwingstours
Very warm spring day. Enjoyed Eastern Festoons and many Green Hairstreaks. Also a few Swallowtails about, including 1 impaled on a woody plant stem. Did my good deed of the day to free it.
Canary Island Large White now in crisis following likely extinction on Tenerife
Do you prefer the mountain 🏔️ or the beach 🏖️? The Mazarine blue chose both. Genomics uncover hidden diversity and lead to the description of two new subspecies from isolated montane and coastal populations in Iberia. New #butterfly #openaccess paper in #SystematicEntomology at doi.org/10.1111/syen...
Always a popular #orchid on our tour…
And this week's challenge is to identify the species whose larvae are represented here - one from each of the 6 butterfly families ... the final two in a reply to this post!
We believe our guests deserve knowledgeable & organised leaders. Site visits by local guide team Sotiris & Rachael for our botanical tour in Greece starting later this week are all part of delivering a good service.
📷Ophrys aesculapii, Fritillaria graeca, Ophrys mycenensis, Fritillaria obliqua.
Good morning from Greece in spring mode…
#RhodesOrchidOdyssey #MuchMoreThanOrchids
Excited to see one of my PhD chapters now published! We found a trade-off between the quality of host plants and how warm they were for a declining grassland butterfly (Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas) and looked at how this shaped their egg-laying choices: doi.org/10.1111/een....
Grassland butterflies are declining across Europe, but how do we reverse that trend? We have just produced a report with some simple guidance to land managers and policy makers on how to 'Bend the curve' and help increase butterflies and other pollinators. www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...
Huge congratulations to our fabulous friend @commonbynature.bsky.social!
His #UrbanFlora of Newcastle and North Tyneside will be out on Monday.
Essential reading for everyone interested in #UrbanBotany.
It'll be interesting to read it alongside @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social's #UrbanPlants book!
Picture postcards from our ongoing 'Cyprus in Spring' tour..
Endemic Crocus cyprius, carpets of Anemone coronaria, Oleander Hawkmoth, Holly Blue on endemic Arabis purpurea.
'Cyprus in Spring'
Global issues aside, the #orchids have been lovely on our tour, as has all the other diverse & beautiful flora & fauna.
Our groups very happy with all they’ve seen & done & just as importantly, with each other’s company as kindred spirits, enjoying a wildlife holiday together 🙏
Ophrys lucis / Ophrys argolica subsp. lucis
Rhodian Horseshoe #Orchid
Kalo mina / Καλό μήνα / Good month
#RhodesOrchidOdyssey
Another Ophrys tenthredinifera
#RhodesOrchidOdyssey #orchids
Ophrys tenthredinifera in 'Cherry Coke' colours...
2 places available to join me here too, on the one & only...
#RhodesOrchidOdyssey
greenwings.co/our-holidays...
A donation goes to @bsbibotany.bsky.social from this & all the @greenwingstours.bsky.social botany tours.
Still time to grab a spot on this superb trip. It makes for a lovely way to begin your spring butterfly watching campaign...
greenwings.co/our-holidays...
A donation from this and *all* our butterfly tours also goes to support the conservation work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social too.
It’s official!
The 'Urban Flora of Newcastle and North Tyneside' will be published on Monday 9 March 🌿 📖
I’m hugely proud of this, and ever so grateful to @nenature.bsky.social and @bsbibotany.bsky.social for their support in making it happen. #botany #urbanflora
997 followers.
Who will be number 1,000?
@savebutterflies.bsky.social
It has been a very successful day, so here is one more #orchid pic - another Ophrys tenthredinifera. They're simply irresistible!
If you agree, you might like to join me on my island home, for the tour I set up & launched nearly 15 years ago..
greenwings.co/our-holidays...
#RhodesOrchidOdyssey
Always a popular #orchid on our exclusive Rhodes tour. As is Ophrys speculum subsp. regis-ferdinandii (& the hybrid between the two).
There is still time to join us this spring..
greenwings.co/our-holidays...
A donation goes to @bsbibotany.bsky.social from this tour too!
#BSBICorporateSupporter
Brazil butterfly phone pic today. The scenery isn't bad either!
New & very exciting new tour on the way...
#BrazilButterflyTour2027
Our aim is simple: deepen knowledge, protect habitats, and share an extraordinary landscape — orchids, irises, peonies, anemones and much more — with time to wander, photograph and truly experience the place.
greenwings.co/our-holidays...
#Gargano #Orchids #Wildflowers #BSBICorporateSponsor
Recent years have brought real pressures — hybrid wild boar damaging orchid sites, fencing, habitat disturbance, even collectors digging up plants. Careful, low-impact visits matter.
📢 2 places have become available on our Gargano orchid tour. Our guide first visited in 1980 in search of orchids and has returned almost 60 times since.
What we offer:
• Small group (6–7 people)
• Sites checked in advance
• Decades of local knowledge
• Close collaboration with Italian friends
Best wishes for #ValentinesDay
Sharing butterflies & botany with our guests is what we love 💚
Due to a late cancellation a place has become available to join our unique Uganda butterfly tour in May. Beautiful butterflies & a fascinating adventure guaranteed - you may even get to see the prehistoric looking Shoebill (yes we like birds too!).
greenwings.co/our-holidays...
We've all made it to another weekend, that's worth celebrating! Here's Caria mantinea, photographed in Bolivia by Adrian Hoskins.
Book your next butterfly tour from our extensive worldwide range of destinations...
greenwings.co/our-holidays...
A few shots of Giant Orchid (Himantoglossum robertianum), taken by @matthewberry.bsky.social on his regular site checks & exploration trips, carried out as part of the thorough preparation we always do ahead of our #RhodesOrchidOdyssey tour.
Milky Orchid (Neotinea lactea) & Fan-lipped Orchid (Anacamptis collina).
Two #orchids that can be seen now & on our #RhodesOrchidOdyssey tour. 2 places are available if you fancy joining us...
greenwings.co/our-holidays...
A donation from every botanical tour goes to @bsbibotany.bsky.social too!
'Morpho Monday'
Our time in Colombia has come to an end, but what a beautiful pair of butterflies to finish with on our final day in the field!