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Mariposa Nature Tours Profile
Mariposa Nature Tours

@Mariposa_Nature

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Expert-led butterfly & botany tours

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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
8 months
Just over a week ago we launched our early bird booking offer for our 2025 tours. That was announced to subscribers to our email newsletter, but now it's time to tell everyone - any week-long tour in 2025, booked before 30 Nov 2024, will automatically get a £125 discount. (1/3)🧵
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 month
Our featured tour this week is Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees and, while butterflies are the main focus, it's impossible to ignore the plethora of other wildlife we encounter - orchids, moths, etc. Here's Small Elephant Hawkmoth on Greater Butterfly Orchid. #Leptember
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
What a week this has been for incredible UK wildlife sightings for our leaders... @thenewgalaxy found a Ghost Orchid, and now, live from the field this morning, David Moore is watching an American Painted Lady on the Pembrokeshire coast!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Just a handful of the over 50 species of #orchid we found with our guests on last week's wonderful #OrchidsOfRhodes tour. Next year's tour is already filling fast. If you'd like to travel with those who know Rhodes' orchids best, full details here:
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Happy Mother's Day! Or should that be Moth-er's Day? Either way, here's to all the butterfly and moth mums who'll be creating the next generation of wonder in the weeks and months to come. 🦋 #MothersDay
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
We just had to share another photo, courtesy of Mariposa tour leader David Moore, of the American Painted Lady that was patrolling a section of the Pembrokeshire coast this weekend. A thrilling, once in a British butterflying lifetime sighting - a picture speaks a thousand words.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
British botany's holy grail... the find of the decade! As of this morning, there's now an official @BSBIbotany press release about @thenewgalaxy 's recent discovery of a Ghost Orchid haunting a secret woodland somewhere in the UK.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Two more species today added to our 50+ orchid total for our Orchids of Rhodes tour, and still more hybrids including this achingly rare Ophrys speculum x rhodia. We've so much more to share from this week! Watch this space. 😉
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 month
A postcard's arrived from the French Alps, featuring butterfly royalty, no less - Lesser Purple Emperor! Our popular tour leader Dave Fairhurst has been away on his family holidays and, of course, he's been looking for wildlife. Turns out none of us have an off switch...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
It's been another memorable day for our Orchids of Rhodes tour, starting with Ophrys lucis a couple of miles from our hotel, ending with two extraordinary hybrids (more on them soon), all via many other orchids, including this lush Ophrys halia found by tour leader @thenewgalaxy .
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Our Orchids of Sicily tour is off to a flying start today, with immaculate Orchis brancifortii & Ophrys grassoana within minutes of our Etna hotel. With Sicilian native naturalist Andrea Corso co-leading with @dunnjons , we're getting an unrivalled Sicilian experience already. 😊
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
4 months
It's the first morning of our Butterflies of the French Alps tour and we're off to a flying start, thanks to a male Southern Swallowtail that's enjoying a bit of a lie in! 😴
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
A small selection of the many Ophrys bee orchid hybrids & varieties we saw during last week's #OrchidsOfRhodes tour. If you'd like to join us for the best #orchid tour to Rhodes next year, with the best chances of seeing such treasures, bookings are open:
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 month
Coppers are pennies from heaven - one of of our favourite butterfly families. North Greece is particularly blessed with them, and we'll hope to see Small, Large, Scarce, Balkan, Purple-shot, Sooty, and Lesser Fiery during our week of butterfly-watching there next June. #Leptember
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
5 months
Just a few of the many species of colourful Ophrys bee orchids our recent Orchids of Sicily tour participants were treated to. The island is a hotbed for their kind, with many species and forms represented across it. We were in a bee orchid wonderland.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Good morning! Can one ever have too many Lady Orchids, we wonder? We think not! It's been a joy for our guests on our recent Spring Butterflies of Central & North Spain tour to regularly encounter these lovely flowers growing on roadside verges, and in field & woodland margins
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
11 months
Day 1 of our #AdventCalendar is the velvet, Guinness-toned loveliness of one of our favourite flowers, Ophrys reinholdii. We can't wait to see this #orchid , and many more besides, when we return to Rhodes next spring.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
In addition to a myriad of species, we've been treated to some outstanding hybrids, colour variations, and downright oddities - always great fun to find for ourselves, and we've benefitted from our network of friends also orchid-hunting on Rhodes. Many thanks go to Team Mariposa!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
News from the field from France where, on our A Spring in Provence tour, leader Dave Fairhurst reports "Yesterday was about the birds,  today it was butterflies that stole the show.  We popped into the department of Var and in glorious sunshine saw over 30 species of butterfly...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Good evening from Rhodes! 🇬🇷 Today marks the end of our first orchid tour of 2024 - delighted to have been asked to run this tour by the Orchid Conservation Alliance. We've repaid that trust with a truly stellar haul of 51 species/taxa.* *depending whether you Delforge or Kew😉
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
A marvellous start to our Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain tour this afternoon, with good numbers of fresh Spring Ringlet and Berger's Clouded Yellow flying together over flowery hillsides. Happy guests, and happy tour leaders!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
The beautiful child of Ophrys ferrum-equinum and Ophrys reinholdii, known as Ophrys x kalteiseniana. Our first hybrid bee orchid of the week, seen yesterday, but certainly not our last. We've some treats in store for our guests on our Orchids of Rhodes tour.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
5 months
Nor was our Orchids of Sicily tour all about the Ophrys bee orchids. How could it be, with such a variety of other orchids, their hybrids*, and compelling colour forms to enjoy?! *special one here for @LeifBersweden 😉
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
And it's a good morning to you from Tenerife, where we're seeing some fabulous butterflies and birds! Plain Tigers are on the wing, while Blue Chaffinches and Atlantic Canary are confiding. Images kindly shared by one of our guests - thanks Gillian!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Two extreme Ophrys rhodia aberrations from yesterday's orchid-hunting here in Rhodes - the light and the dark side of this lovely #orchid . Yesterday it was the orchid that just kept on giving, with another fascinating hybrid still to come...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Today had already been a brilliant day for our Orchids of Rhodes tour with a great many lovely orchids of many species seen... and then this happened. A flavescent form of Ophrys calypsus found by tour leaders @dunnjons & @thenewgalaxy . 💛 More treasures to follow tomorrow...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Another spectacular day for our Orchids of Rhodes tour, with surprises in addition to the 23 species of orchid logged. Superb views of Karpathos Frog, Rhodes Freshwater Crab, Eastern Festoon, and ace Anacamptis x gennarii, hybrid between Pink Butterfly & Green-winged Orchid.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Our Orchids of Sicily tour finished yesterday, with over 40 species seen during the course of an enjoyable and laughter-filled week that featured, as well as orchids, delicious food, cultural history, birds and reptiles, and even song from our amazing tour leader Andrea Corso. 🇮🇹
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
Ghost Orchids may be shy and retiring, but other #orchids have more obvious chutzpah. If you'd like to join @thenewgalaxy & 'Orchid Summer' author @dunnjons for a day of Late Spiders, Lizards and more besides in Kent in 2025, we've two days available. 🧵
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
The stellar orchid hybrid, the lovechild of Ophrys regis-ferdinandii & ferrum-equinum, was still hanging on for our guests yesterday (pic by tour leader @dunnjons from last week), while we enjoyed many fresh Ophrys candica erupting into flower in the countryside near our hotel.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Our guests enjoyed a wonderful wander on the Suffolk Coast yesterday with Dave Fairhurst, enjoying Woodlarks, Nightingale, Dartford Warbler, breeding Lapwings and Stonechats, and some great flowers as well.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Outstanding Ophrys rhodia variations found by guests @juliet_turner6 and Steph today - a chlorotic plant, and an aberration where normal lip markings have been subsumed by a pale panel. Brilliant work from Team Mariposa! We're all finding things for one another already this week.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Another @juliet_turner6 special for us - an arresting hyperchromic example of Ophrys cretica ssp beloniae. We've been exploring a wonderland for Ophrys orchids today, bursting with species, variations, and that's before we touch upon the hybrids! Safe to say it's a LOT of fun.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
5 months
Good morning from Romania, where the first 2 days have supplied some stunning butterflies, including Violet Copper, Scarce Fritillary, Spinose Skipper, Lesser Purple Emperor, Hungarian Glider, Large Copper, Poplar Admiral & Danube Clouded Yellow. What surprises will today bring?
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 month
Our featured tour this week is the Butterflies of North Greece tour, a guaranteed departure next June with just two places now remaining available. Brilliant butterflies are also guaranteed - but so are some wonderful wildflowers, like Woolly Foxglove, and Balkan Lizard Orchid.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
A plethora of fabulous butterflies awaits guests joining us in the French Pyrenees for our spring butterfly tour there on 29 May - 5 June, ranging from the large and dramatic... (1/3)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
Our Butterflies of the Montes Universales tour participants are waking up to another fine, sunny day in Spain this morning, with the prospect of many more sightings of arguably one of Europe's prettiest Erebia ringlets, Zapater's. We found our first of the week yesterday.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
Despite some challenging weather earlier today in the Spanish Pyrenees, we persevered on our Spring Butterflies of Central & N Spain tour, and finally got our just rewards - sunshine, orchids and butterflies! Highlights this afternoon many Lady Orchids, and smart Panoptes Blues.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
In Provence, meanwhile, it wasn't completely about the butterflies yesterday... our group were treated to some magnificent Lady Orchids.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Good morning from Rhodes where, today, our Orchids of Rhodes tour commences. This gorgeous, velvety Ophrys tenthredinifera was the first orchid our Orchid Conservation Alliance guests saw here the week before last. What will our first orchid be today?
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Good morning - a bright and shiny new week is here and, with it, a fresh featured tour! This week, Butterflies of the Picos de Europa. A holiday in the butterfly-rich north of Spain, exploring spectacular scenery, 12-19 July 2024, in the best of company.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
4 months
From lusty Lizard Orchids to miniature Musk Orchids, yesterday's Kent orchid daytrip was great fun from start to finish. We had a wonderful time, and finished in the late afternoon with 16 species seen well in the course of the day, old friendships renewed, and new ones forged.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
Good morning, and welcome to the new week! Our featured tour this week is Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain. This is a fabulous time of year to visit this region, with cooler temperatures and red-hot butterflies the order of the day. (1/3)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 year
We've two super field-guides to give away! Just like this tweet, follow us, and retweet it by 10am on 10th November, let us know in the retweet whether you're #teambutterfly or #teamorchid , and we'll draw two lucky winners, one for each book, next Friday. Good luck!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
A joy of the behind-the-scenes work at Mariposa is seeing the brilliant images our guests share with us after their tours. This one, kindly shared by @LeoHillier , stands out... A mosaic gynandromorph Chalkhill Blue, showing both female and male wing markings. A unique insect!😳
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
What did we find lurking beneath the trees today on our Orchids of Rhodes tour? Several Ophrys sancti-isidorii, and the first open Violet Limodore (Limodorum abortivum) of the week. And more besides...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
9 months
As #StormJocelyn makes landfall in the UK, we're reminded of the great #orchid hunter, Jocelyn Brooke, author of the original orchid quest book, 'The Military Orchid'. The eponymous plant hero of his quest is a favourite of ours in Britain & France alike.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
3 months
On the subject of butterfly indicators of grassland quality, and marbled whites in particular, we'll shortly be setting off for the simply incredible Montes Universales in Spain, home to Esper's Marbled White amongst others. For sheer abundance, it's like stepping back in time.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
Good morning, and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Spring Butterflies of Andalusia - an opportunity to see Andalusia from east to west with its spectacular scenery & wildlife, including a very special selection of butterflies... (1/3)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
14 days
The early bird gets the worm, they say. In the case of Mariposa guests, the early bird gets the discount off their 2025 butterfly holiday! Just two months left on our early bird booking offer - £125 off the list price of all week-long 2025 tours if booked before 30 November 2024.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 month
Good morning, and happy Monday! Our featured tour this week, Butterflies of North Greece, is a journey into a butterfly wonderland. The countryside around Lake Kerkini is home to myriad beautiful species, like this Lesser Fiery Copper. (1/4) #Leptember
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
One of several confiding Iberian Sooty Coppers enjoyed today by our guests on our Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain tour. We're now in the Spanish Pyrenees for the next couple of days - looking forward to seeing what we find.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
(Almost!) live from the field, Canary Skipper from earlier today on our Butterflies of Tenerife tour, courtesy of tour leader Dave Fairhurst. Who doesn't love a skipper... little butterflies with immense character.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
11 months
Let's banish the winter blues by looking forward to the blues (and all the other butterflies) in store next summer! 🦋 We're offering £50 off all of our week-long tours if booked before the butterfly season starts in earnest on 1 April 2024.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
29 days
Good morning, and welcome to the new week! Our featured tour this week is A Spring in Provence, a lovely general wildlife tour in a beautiful region of France, at a time of year it's bubbling with colourful life. (1/4)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
8 months
We're absolutely delighted to welcome a new face to our team - award-winning macro photographer, Buglife ambassador, and qualified ecologist Paul Fraser. Paul's images are exquisite, and we'll shortly announce a series of macro photography workshop dates where you can join him...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Not long now until we arrive in Rhodes for the first of the season's orchid tours... and we can't wait to get started. So many treasures lie in the weeks ahead.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 year
Coppers may be pennies from butterfly heaven, but we're offering pounds off your 2024 butterfly holidays - £100 off all our listed overseas tour prices if booked by 1st December 2023. 🪙
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
And THIS is why @thenewgalaxy is one of our core tour leaders here at Mariposa - there's nobody in the orchid-hunting business with sharper eyes than Richard. Congratulations! What an immense find. All your hard work pays off, Richard.
@thenewgalaxy
Dr Richard Bate
2 months
2024 UK - Get in there! The Ghost #Orchid (Epipogium aphyllum) is one of our rarest species, and one that doesn’t need an introduction. After 30 years of searching I’m beyond delighted to have chanced upon one @EuropeanOrchids @Mariposa_Nature @BSBIbotany #wildflowerhour
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
3 months
Our first full day of our Butterflies of the Hautes-Pyrénées tour notched up 63 species of butterfly seen, a flying start... And crucially, given this tour focuses on montane species, nine (!) species of Erebia ringlet.🤯 Here False Dewy, and Lefebvre's, two local superstars.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
News from the field on our Orchids of Sicily tour - today was a day for magnificent Ophrys oxyrrhynchos, and an array of different Serapias tongue orchids, including one very special plant indeed...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
10 months
Today's post for our wildlife #AdventCalendar is surely one of the most eagerly anticipated European butterflies, one that rarely disappoints - a magnificent Poplar Admiral. We can't wait to see them again next year.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
News from the field: the #orchid season is rattling along here in southern Italy in the wake of a hot, dry spring. Ophrys calliantha is well under way, while Ophrys biancae has almost finished flowering. The timing of our Orchids of Sicily tour has been spot on to catch them all.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
9 months
Allegedly today is the most depressing day of the year, but we think #BlueMonday is the perfect excuse to celebrate blue in #nature - in particular butterflies. So today we'll be sharing some of our favourites... starting with the absolute glory that's Adonis Blue. 🦋🧵
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
3 months
After just three days in the Hautes-Pyrénées, exploring both eastern and western sides of the mountain range, we're knocking on the doors of 100 butterfly species seen, including ten species of Erebia ringlet, and showstoppers like Iberian Scarce Swallowtail, and Apollo. 😍
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
21 days
Our Autumn in Andalusia tour got off to a flying (well, fluttering) start today with a thriving colony of Desert Orange Tip putting on a fine display for us in the dry vegetation of a slope dropping down to the Mediterranean. Their tenacity is remarkable in this tough habitat.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
5 months
With our minds very much in the mountains of Europe this week, there are still some spaces left on our Butterflies of the Picos de Europa tour on 12-19th July. A week that promises a wealth of butterflies - blues and coppers prominent in their number.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Oh no, it's raining, again! If you're yearning for sunnier times to come, there's still a fortnight left to bag £50 off your holiday this year. Offer applies to all 2024 week-long tours booked before 31 March. Have a look at our calendar and see if something shines for you. (1/2)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
20 days
A wonderful day for our Autumn in Andalusia tour, with European butterfly heavyweight rarity Zeller's Skipper - rediscovered in Spain in 2011 after decades of absence - abundant and showing well for us all.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
6 months
A most successful foray to Bosco della Ficuzza today on our Orchids of Sicily tour, finding both Dactylorhiza markusii (just hanging on for us) and major European rarity, Ophrys pallida. Plus many more new species for the tour, and smoking hot views of Etna on the way home. 🌋
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Should anyone fancy joining @thenewgalaxy for a day of Early Spiders and other orchids (and even an early slider if its a sunny day and Adders are a-sunning themselves) in Dorset on 27 April, places remain:
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
3 months
With both of our 2025 Orchids of Cyprus & Orchids of Rhodes tours fully booked, we've opened bookings for their respective 2026 counterparts - both available to see on our website, and both opportunities to enjoy some of Europe's loveliest Ophrys #orchids .
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
3 months
We may love butterflies here at Mariposa, but we also love orchids - and this Pink Butterfly Orchid ticks all the boxes! All of our orchid tours for 2025 are now guaranteed departures, and filling fast... (1/3)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
8 months
The ultimate Rhodes orchid tour? We certainly think so. Led by 'Orchid Summer' author & @BSBIbotany VCR @dunnjons , and superb botanist & orchid hunter @thenewgalaxy , our 2024 Orchids of Rhodes tour is already fully booked, and the 2025 tour is already a guaranteed departure (1/2)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Some more of the wonderful orchid colour variations we encountered during our orchid tour of Rhodes for the Orchid Conservation Alliance in recent days. A hypochromic Serapias, and a hyperchromic Anacamptis.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
🚨New tour alert! 🚨 We're delighted to announce a brand new tour for 2025! Spring Wildflowers of the Picos de Europa will take guests into northern Spain's botanical wonderland at the height of the spring flowering season. (1/3)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
Good morning, and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is False Comma & Summer Butterflies of Serbia - a guaranteed departure on 24 June - 1 July 2025. This is a very special tour, with one of the great European rarities at its beating heart.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Good morning from Rhodes, where we're getting ready for the second of our spring orchid tours here on our favourite Greek island. And not just orchids - the island's home to some gorgeous further wildflowers too. (1/2)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
8 months
Places on our False Comma & Summer Butterflies of Serbia tour are going like hot vasina torta* this week! And no wonder - we've got the best site gen, guides, and the tour generates a donation to @savebutterflies ' European Butterflies Group. (1/2) *yummy Serbian cakes. Mm... 🍰
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
Our Butterflies of Montes Universales tour is under way this week, and after our first full day in the field, we've seen 62 species including, yesterday, two Iberian favourites - Iberian Scarce Swallowtail, and Iberian Sooty Copper. Off to explore different habitats today...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 year
We've exciting news to share this weekend... We're greatly expanding our range of UK day trips, starting with those focused on orchids - you can create your own #OrchidSummer ! Join @thenewgalaxy and @dunnjons to orchid hunt in southern and northern England next year... (1/3)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
8 months
Spanish Festoon - a Spanish butterfly that's got a party going on upon its wings! Spain is a truly wonderful butterfly-watching destination. And two of our flagship butterfly tours in Spain this coming spring and summer have just one place remaining on each respectively...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Canary Blue (Leptotes webbianus) images from our recently concluded Butterflies of Tenerife tour, kindly shared by one of our guests, Gillian. 🦋 We're already looking forward to returning there next year!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
9 months
Heading into the weekend, delighted to see guests reserving their places to join us for our annual orchid-hunt in Rhodes next year. The tour's guaranteed to run, and we also guarantee thousands of orchids of several dozen species, much Greek delicious food, and many happy smiles.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
8 months
False Comma - a mythical European butterfly, and one that many yearn to see. Our new tour to Serbia in 2025 is all about showing our guests this special insect, and many more besides. It's already got bookings, is filling fast, and is guaranteed to run
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
Our featured tour this week is Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain. While it is, of course, mainly about the butterflies - the clue's in the name! - we always keep our eyes peeled for other wildlife. And in spring, that includes orchids...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
17 days
With flowers of a rich, imperial purple a Roman emperor would have been proud to sport, Dactylorhiza romana is one of the first orchids we find on Mt.Etna during our Orchids of Sicily tour - but it's far from alone, for other wildflowers abound there too.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
Coming up very shortly on @LBCNews - our very own @thenewgalaxy , telling the story of his discovery of a Ghost Orchid recently in Britain! 📻
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
2 months
We're all heading for home now after a tremendous week with the countless thousands of butterflies of Spain's beautiful Montes Universales. A feast for the eyes and the cameras. We'll be back there next year!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
5 months
We're delighted to be able to announce dates for our return to Sicily next spring, for what promises to be another superb Orchids of Sicily tour. Led by the orchid-hunting dream team of legendary Sicilian naturalist Andrea Corso, and ecologist Esther Pawley, this tour... (1/3)
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
4 months
Live from the field. Our popular tour leader David Fairhurst is taking a few days off showing people wildlife by... going and looking for wildlife! Marbled White are now on the wing and looking fresh, while the march of the Lizard Orchids across the UK continues apace...
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
3 months
Our Butterflies of the European Arctic tour for 2025 was shared exclusively with our guests last night, and immediately booked up. We'll be heading there in 2026 too - sign up for our newsletter to hear more about this incredible destination in due course
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Good morning! The new week's upon us, and our featured tour is Romania in Spring (18-25 May), a butterfly holiday with a big, furry difference! As well as rarities like Danube Clouded Yellow, our guests will enjoy time in a dedicated Brown Bear hide. 🐻
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
8 months
While the lunar new year may be ushering in dragons, our time in Rhodes this spring will be primarily all about the orchids - the island is an orchid-hunting wonderland. Our tour there in 2025 is already taking bookings, and is already guaranteed to run!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
Good morning, and welcome to the weekend and news of a fabulous new tour! Fabulous Fuerteventura follows our successful recent recce of the island, and will feature a host of special birds, butterflies, and flowers, many found nowhere else in Europe!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
1 month
Our first full day in the field here for our Autumn in Valencia tour was a brilliant one y'day - with new dragonflies and butterflies for many of us seen. Two particular highlights were African species at the very edge of their world range - Black Percher, and Desert Orange Tip.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
9 months
Our Orchids of Rhodes tour for 2024 has been fully booked for months now, and we've since had several enquiries about joining #orchid hunters @dunnjons & @thenewgalaxy there in 2025. We're delighted to confirm dates for the tour - bookings are now open!
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
3 months
If you fancy orchid-hunting closer to home next year, we've day trips that might fit the bill. You could join our friendly & knowledgeable orchid guides @dunnjons & @thenewgalaxy for a day out in Kent or Cumbria - we love making orchid dreams come true.
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
7 months
We're loving the #orchid -hunting exploits of @duncan_dine et al in Cyprus lately. We'll be heading back to Cyprus too next March for our Orchids of Cyprus tour - available to book, with our early bird discount, and generates a donation to @BSBIbotany .
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@Mariposa_Nature
Mariposa Nature Tours
10 months
Day 6 of our wildlife #AdventCalendar features a firm favourite of guides and guests alike - the fuzzy delight that's Provence Hairstreak, looking like the lovechild of a Small Copper and a Green Hairstreak.
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