Vagrant Emperors & Perez's Frog

As well as lots of migrant birds passing through Llobregat right now I have been seeing some equally interesting invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, plants and more. Every day I visit the reserve I see something new or at least have the chance to photograph something new. That's what I love about Catalunya. The weather is always great and there is always something to see. 

My list of non avian highlights from the past week are as follows:

1. Finding 3 Vagrant Emperors Anax ephippiger, 2 of which were copulating, with the female ovipositing. 
2. Finally managing to see and photograph Perez's Frog Pelophylax perezi, which I have been hearing (only) since last summer.
3. Finding & photographing a Peacock Aglais io (butterfly) which is very rare in Delta Llobregat, with only a handful of previous records.
4. Discovering Mallow Weevils Lixus angustatus, personally, for the first time.

1. Vagrant Emperor

Having had frustrating views of Vagrant Emperor the previous week, obtaining a terrible record shot; it was rewarding to find 3 examples which performed much better. Whilst they didn't land close enough for a really nice picture, they flew in a somewhat predictable pattern and allowed me to view the species well for the first time in my life. I also managed some better, but still not great, record shots. 

This species is a rare but regular migrant from sub-Saharan Africa to the reserve, and from what I can tell, early spring and late autumn are good times to see the species here. Not many dragonflies are on the wing here at the moment, and thus checking any large dragonflies has resulted in me seeing 5 Vagrant Emperors over the last week or so.  

Before recently, the only obvious morphological difference I knew of between Vagrant & Lesser Emperors, was that Vagrants have brown eyes and Lessers have green ones. It has since been pointed out to me that the blue "saddle" is a deeper blue on Vagrant Emperors, and only extends half way down the body, with the blue extending downwards much further on Lesser Emperor. All of the aforementioned differences can clearly be seen in the two pictures beneath. 

Mating Vagrant Emperors, Delta Llobregat, 2019

Mating Lesser Emperors, Delta Llobregat, 2018

One other feature I learned of, is that Vagrant Emperor has paired light spots on S8-10, whereas the same segments on Lesser Emperor are plain in comparison. These spots are illustrated in the below images, and can be compared to the plainer end segments of the male Lesser Emperor above and left. 

2. Perez's Frog

Having heard this mysterious frog all throughout last summer and autumn and again the last few weeks I was really determined to see one of the creatures responsible so I started to check small clearance pools along the track to Cal Tet. I saw a splash in one as I approached and was disappointed that I didn't approach more carefully, but was then delighted to see that there was still another sitting atop of some flotsam. I managed to get extremely close and was really happy to produce the below image, of what has been to me an extremely elusive, almost mythical animal in the reserve.

Perez's Frog, Delta Llobregat

Perez's frog is native to southern France, Portugal and Spain and is widespread and common (though not necessarily easy to see!). Its name in Spanish is  rana común  which literally translates to "Common Frog". See below for a recording I took in the reserve, of several call individuals.

3. Peacock

Whenever, I go to the delta, I always pay attention to the butterflies that abound the tracks and trails, & I think I have seen around 25 species over the last year. When I came across a Peacock on the path a few days ago, it was exciting as it was a new butterfly for me in the delta. However, having spoken to Ferran Lopez on the matter he confirmed that it is very rare there with only a few previous records, which was quite cool! This makes sense when you look at the European distribution of the species, with its southern limit occurring around the Barcelona region. I was lucky to get very close to it with the sun to my back.

Peacock, Delta Llobregat

This was not the only new butterfly added to my Llobregat list, as I also recorded two Bath Whites feeding on what appeared to be some kind of vetch in the arid sandy areas behind Ca L'Arana beach. Unfortunately they were quite distant allowing for only record shots, but they were beautiful, regardless.

Bath White, Ca L'Arana, Delta Llobregat

4. Mallow Weevil

Walking back to my bike along a riverside track, a strange shape on one of the large Mallow plants caught my eye. Every time I tried to get a closer look its body would turn around the stem of the leaf it was gripping to, so it kept itself concealed from me. I eventually saw it well and realised it was a big weevil species with a long snout. After googling "weevil" and "mallow" I found the suspect - Lixus angustatus. I soon discovered the animal to be quite common throughout the reserve on large Mallow plants. 

Lixus angustatus feeding on Mallow, Delta Llobregat

 

The final nice  invert' came in the form of a moth, more specifically, Puss Moth Cerura vinula. I saw this clung to a fence post right at the entrance to Cal Tet, clearly having chosen this as a resting place after its nocturnal activities. This is the first time I have seen the actual moth of this species, having previously seen the colourful larvae in Ireland a number of times.

Puss Moth, looking furry, Delta Llobregat

Last but not least, although it's a shame that it was dead, was this snake species found at the side of the road near Can Dimoni. Whilst I'm not fully certain, it appears that this is a Viperine Natrix maura, although, I could definitely be wrong!

Snake sp, Can Dimoni, Delta Llobregat