Mariposa Nature Tours

Edelweißspitze, Butterflies of the Hohe Tauern © Frank Sengpiel

White Speck Ringlet (Erebia claudina), Butterflies of the Hohe Tauern © Frank Sengpiel

Tour update 🚨

The 2027 edition of Butterflies of the Hohe Tauern - Austria's Mountain Heartland went online for guests to book last weekend, and it's already fully-booked.

Watch this space for more 2027 butterfly tours, coming soon. All generate donations to @europebutterfly.bsky.social.

A small selection of the orchids to be seen on our annual Orchids of Rhodes tour

We think a conservation charity shouldn't have to wait for a donation; not for months, and certainly not for years.

We've made our #OrchidsOfCyprus donation to @bsbibotany.bsky.social today, the day after the tour ended. We've donated to them after every orchid tour since Mariposa formed.

#orchids

If you fancy joining Richard and his co-leader Dave Fairhurst for a feast of orchids (and butterflies, wildflowers, herps, birds, et al) next spring, our #OrchidsOfCyprus tour is the one for you. It generates a donation to support @bsbibotany.bsky.social too.

www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

As alarm clocks go, it's a pretty good one! Audible from the lovely hotel we stay at every spring in Cyprus. 🥰

Dense-flowered Orchid (Neotinea maculata), Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn

Dense-flowered Orchid (Neotinea maculata), Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn

Been a busy day writing about #orchids*, and putting finishing touches on a *very* exciting new orchid tour I'll be leading for @mariposanature.bsky.social next year...

*Dense-flowered Orchid, as you ask. I'll be seeing you any day now, a personal, subtle favourite of the #OrchidsOfRhodes.

Large tortoiseshell butterfly confirmed no longer extinct in UK Early spring sightings show colourful insect is a resident species for first time in decades, says conservation charity

Sick of hearing miserable wildlife news? Yes, us too.

What a delight to hear @savebutterflies.bsky.social declare Large Tortoiseshell is, for the first time in decades, a resident British breeding butterfly.

Great piece by @patrickbarkham.bsky.social today:

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Some of the testimonials received for our Orchids of Rhodes tour

A tiny selection of the orchids seen on our Orchids of Rhodes tour

Tour update 🚨

As of this morning, the 2028 edition of our Orchids of Rhodes, the ultimate exploration of the wonderful #orchids found on this delightful island, has just one place left available on it. As our guests will tell you, it's worth the wait...

mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Ophrys kotschyi, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Epipactis veratrifolia, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Orchis punctulata, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Good morning, and welcome to a new week.

Our featured tour is Orchids of Cyprus. The 2026 tour is almost over now, with over 30 species enjoyed by our group, some fine laughs had, and a donation heading to @bsbibotany.bsky.social.

You can join us there in 2027!

mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

So many #SignsofSpring and so many gorgeous photos! Thank you all for sharing them and for making #wildflowerhour wonderful! Remember to keep a look out for the next challenge! Hope you all have a great week and happy flower hunting! ☺️

8/3/26 #OrchidsOfCyprus - One of our invertebrate highlights from the last full day of our tour, an African Green Mantis (Sphrodomantis viridis) found by one of our guests @jelltex.bsky.social here on the Akamas peninsula. An absolutely awesome creature and our second mantis species at this site

Paphos Blue (Glaucopsyche paphos) and Anacamptis syriaca, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

If any image sums up what we love best here at Team Mariposa, it's this one from tour leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social today - a lovely, fresh Paphos Blue on Anacamptis syriaca, the sophisticated cousin of Green-winged Orchid. We can't think of any better thing for a butterfly to sit upon.

You're very welcome, Beata. 🙏

With two such accomplished naturalists as Dave Fairhurst & Richard Bate, our #OrchidsOfCyprus tour features #MuchMoreThanOrchids* - today we've already enjoyed fabulous Black Francolin, and Cyprus Warbler.

*though we're proud to be the first choice for orchid-hunting holidays 😊

Orchis punctulata, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Epipactis veratrifolia, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Postcard from the field from our fabulous orchid tour leader, @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social, on our #OrchidsOfCyprus tour:

Yesterday's highlights included these two Asiatic #orchids, on the very edge of their world range - dramatic Epipactis veratrifolia, and Orchis punctulata. Exciting finds!

Storczyki w Polsce. Pierwszy taki kieszonkowy przewodnik na temat rodzimych storczyków. Wkrótce dostępny w sprzedaży.

drukarze.com.pl/przewodnik-o...

Orchids in Poland. The first pocket guide on native orchids. Available soon. Stay tuned.

Ophrys iricolor, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Ophrys alasiatica, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Postcard just received from tour leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social in Cyprus:

Our #OrchidsOfCyprus group have seen two spectacular Asian species on the edge of their world range today. These two (Ophrys iricolor & endemic Ophrys alasiatica) aren't them - but what utter beauties they are!

Serapias carica tongue-orchid with a patient Laphria aurea robberfly resting upon it, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn

Inspired by my orchid tour co-leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social's fabulous orchid / insect predator image this morning, here's another for my countdown to #OrchidsOfRhodes - a robberfly waiting for an unwary bee to visit this Serapias carica tongue-orchid. What a beautiful way to go...

😄 a caterpillar with a voracious appetite in equal parts for fabulous, engaging facts about butterflies from all over the world. And coffee. Always the coffee... 😉

Ophrys mammosa with Empusa sp. mantid, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Postcard from the field from tour leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social, leading our #OrchidsOfCyprus tour:

#Orchids can be a trap* for the unwary. Pity the busy, busy bee that's attracted to this Ophrys mammosa; danger lurks in the form of an Empusa mantis.

*and seriously addictive for their admirers!

You’re very welcome Jane! My personal favourite is xenicity - the proportion of non-native species in a community of plants. Enjoy!

Orchis troodi © Dr Richard Bate

Ophrys lapethica © Dr Richard Bate

Postcard from the field from tour leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social, leading our Orchids of Cyprus group:

We've still got two full days ahead of us in which to enjoy Cyprus, and we're revelling in the glorious habitats and sheer orchid abundance and diversity to be found here.

#orchids

Those burnt-orange alpujata are exquisite! Love them. 😍

Naked Man Orchid (Orchis italica), Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn Just two places remain available on the 2028 Orchids of Rhodes tour...

Ophrys cretica ssp beloniae, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn

Our 2026 & 2027 #OrchidsOfRhodes tours are both fully booked, and have been for a long time now. The 2028 tour has just two places left available on it - it's the ultimate orchid-hunting holiday, 50+ taxa in a week, donation to
@bsbibotany.bsky.social, top craic.
mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

Orchis provincialis, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn

Ophrys reinholdii, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn

Ophrys korae, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn

Neotinea maculata, Orchids of Rhodes © Jon Dunn

There's good reason our orchid tours are over-subscribed and fill years in advance. Our guests value their authenticity, our leaders' knowledge & convivial company, and our commitment to donate promptly to support @bsbibotany.bsky.social. We don't settle for second-best, and nor should you.

Eastern Festoon (Zerynthia cerisy) © Dave Fairhurst

Dark Grass Blue (Zizeeria karsandra) © Dave Fairhurst

Postcard from the field, from tour leader Dave in Cyprus:

Our Orchids of Cyprus tour continues to find endless orchids, but we're finding some super butterflies too - glamorous Eastern Festoon, and easily overlooked Dark Grass Blue. Every day is packed with interest here...

Gorgeous!!!

Ophrys kotschyi, Orchids of Cyprus © Dr Richard Bate

Imagine going to Cyprus and not seeing the jewel in the Ophrys #orchid crown, Ophrys kotschyi...

Fortunately for our guests, that's the stuff of abstract nightmares only, for our brilliant guide @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social knows exactly where the best of them are to be seen.

#OrchidsOfCyprus

Looking forward to you joining us there!

How better* to celebrate #WorldBookDay than an early emergence of one of the very first copies of Mariposa co-founder and tour leader Jon's new book at his local library? We hope it sparks an interest in butterflies for kids all over the world.

*apparently Jon should have dressed as a butterfly...

False Comma (Nymphalis vau-album) © Janos Olah

Puddling group of Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea) & Berger's Clouded Yellow (Colias alfacariensis) © Clive Burrows

Tour update 🚨

As of this morning, our 2027 Summer Butterflies of Serbia tour now has just four places remaining available to book upon it. Naturally, like *all* our butterfly tours, it generates a donation to support the work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social.

mariposanature.com/tours/butter...