The following is an account by Paul Browning of his trip to Spain in search of Chapman’s Green Hairstreak (Callophrys avis) butterfly.
After my stay in Caspe I spent a few nights in Stiges, using the town as a base for exploring inland. One of the butterflies I was hoping to see was Chapman’s Green Hairstreak (Callophrys avis).
Other Spanish butterflies can be seen in the Spanish Butterfly gallery.
It was cloudy over the hills north of Gava where I once saw this species but I did come across one in the district of Anoia purely by chance, after chasing the sun northwards for a good half an hour.
The butterfly spent over an hour nectaring on Rosemary and I was able to get a really close look at it. Unlike its close relative the Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi) it lacks the clear white rim around the eye and has instead a reddish colouration there, and this was clearly visible.
I could see no Strawberry Trees (Arbutus unedo) in the habitat, but there was plenty of Coriaria myrtifolia growing in nearby hedgerows and I suspect this was probably being used as the caterpillar foodplant there.
