Butterflies in Hungary
By Gerard Gorman gerard@probirder.com
Hungary is an excellent holiday destination for butterfly enthusiasts (lepidopterists) with around 180 day-flying species recorded. This figure, for example, is about three-times the number found in the British Isles! And this impressive total includes some real "eastern" specialties, too, butterflies that are very rare further west in Europe. Hungary is also home to over 3600 moths and many of these are also decidedly "eastern".
Butterflies can be seen in Hungary from April through to September, though the period from June to August is usually best. In summer photographic opportunities are often excellent, too. Most of the best areas lie in Hungary's hill ranges including the Aggtelek Karst, Bukk, Matra and Zemplen in the north-east, the Orseg region in the west and Mecsek in the south. Areas of the Great Plain with traditionally farmed meadows and pasture also host some typically lowland species, as do wet flood-plain woods.
Exciting species include Southern Festoon, Clouded Apollo, Common & Scarce Swallowtails, Poplar & White Admirals, Small & Large Tortoiseshells, Common Glider, Camberwell Beauty, Painted Lady, Queen of Spain, Silver-washed & Scarce Fritillaries, Purple & Lesser Purple Emperors, Large, Checkered, Turquoise and Alcon Blues, Geranium Argus, Purple-shot Copper, Dryad, Woodland & Great Banded Graylings and Hungarian & Chequered Skippers. Eastern” species include Red Underwing Skipper, Pallas's & Twinspot Fritillaries, Osiris & Anomalous Blues, Lesser Fiery Copper and, naturally, Hungarian Glider.
In summer many butterflies can be seen on a general exploration of the Hungarian countryside however, much depends upon the weather and to find the best spots and real specialties, it is probably best to join an organised tour with like-minded people or to hire an expert local guide for a few days.
More on butterflies and butterfly tours in Hungary can be found on these websites:
http://www.probirder.com/
http://www.walkinghungary.com/
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