A study of council detects a census of almost 18,000 butterflies belonging to 25 different species on the island of Tenerife. The work has been carried out thanks to a network of volunteers who have provided data to find out, among other things, the plurality, movements and habitats of these lepidopteran insects characterized by the intense color of their wings.
The Natural Environment Management and Security area together with the Insular Office of Environmental Volunteering have been the promoters of this report from the institution. The study model has consisted of a monitoring of diurnal butterflies -the best known- in the territory of Tenerife between 2017 and 2021.
This systematic monitoring campaign has made it possible to obtain information on a total of 17,805 individuals of 25 different species. Of the one hundred percent of existing species on the island, specimens of at least 89% of them have been identified.
Isabel García Hernández, director of the Natural Environment and Security Management Area, has stressed the value of this initiative “to learn about the fauna of our territory”. She also added that “this study shows the number of species that Tenerife is home to, as well as the need to safeguard them.” In addition, the councilor has finally recalled that “many of these species are endemic, which gives them even more value since they only exist here.”
A network.
The scientific work has been carried out by a network of volunteers in order to analyze the conservation status of butterfly populations, especially that of Tenerife’s endemic species, as well as that of its most common habitats. In this way, they intend to make the population aware of the importance of conserving the natural environment in order to safeguard the fauna that inhabits it.
“Many specimens are endemic, which makes it even more necessary to safeguard them”
Eight predominant.
After these five years of research, the results have revealed that the eight dominant species in Tenerife They are Blanquita de la cabbage (Pieris rapae), Manto de Canarias (Leptotes webbianus), Cinnamon striped (Lampides boeticus), Maculada canaria (Pararge xiphioides), Vanessa de los thistles (Vanessa cardui), Colias croceus, La Morena (Aricia cramera) and Vanessa indica canaria (Vanessa vulcania). In fact, the volume of these insect populations is so large that they make up 86% of the records collected in this study.
Endemic.
There are three families of endemic butterflies highlighted by their number in Tenerife. First of all, the Canarian Indica Vanessa (Vanessa vulcania), is an endemic butterfly from Macaronesia, which is distributed in Madeira and the Canary Islands (it appears in El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria). It is typical of laurel forests, but is also found in man-made habitats such as gardens and parks. The female lays her eggs on the endemic nettle Urtica. For its part, the Canary Maculada (Pararge xiphioides) is an endemic species of the Canary Islands. It can be found on the islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera and La Palma, in laurel forests and chestnut groves. The adults can be visible throughout the year and the caterpillars feed on various plants such as Brachypodium spp., Dactylus spp., Luzula forsteri, Oryzopsis miliacea, Agrostis tenuous and Carex divulsa. Finally, the Manto de Canarias (Cyclyrius webbianus, renamed Leptotes webbianus) is a species of the Lycaenidae family that is also endemic to the Canary Islands. It appears in the Islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. It is generally found between 200 and 2,500 meters high, although it has been recorded near the summit of Teide in Tenerife at 3,500.
Between May and September.
On the other hand, the study has revealed that most of the specimens are observed between the months of May and September, while from October they begin to decrease. Despite this, some exceptional events have been detected, such as the one experienced in the period of September and October 2019, when a massive arrival of Vanessa de los thistles (Vanessa cardui) was recorded. Regarding the habitat in which the studied species are found, it has been observed that they predominate in areas of brambles, with an abundance of 18.7 per linear kilometer.
Recognized methodology.
To carry out this research process, a methodology present in 19 European countries has been used, which consists of reviewing fixed itineraries noting the species and the number of butterfly specimens observed on each visit. To collect this data, the volunteer groups have carried out these tours once a month and continuously during the five years that the investigation has lasted.
Invasion’.
TO late September and early 2019 a strange phenomenon occurred, the already mentioned invasion of thousands of specimens of the butterfly Vanessa de los cardos (Vanessa cardiu), already quite present in Tenerife. High temperatures and an easterly breeze were the meteorological factors that favored the spectacle of color in the beating of these insects’ wings. This butterfly makes an incredible intergenerational migration between Europe and Africa every year. It is one of the most geographically distributed, being found on all continents except Antarctica. It can live in any temperate zone, including mountains in the tropics. Permanent resident in warm areas, it reaches other regions part of the year.
