Cyprus Butterflies by Eddie John F. L. S., F. R. E. S.

A Guide to the Butterflies of Cyprus,

Cyprus Butterfly Recording Scheme and

Cyprus Butterfly Study Group





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Baytas, A. 2007. A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Turkey. NTV Yaylinlari.

Benyamini, D. 2002. Field Guide to the Butterflies of Israel, 5th revised ed. (Including the butterflies of Mt. Hermon, Sinai and Jordan). Keter Publishing, Jerusalem. (Reviewed by me in the Amateur Entomologists’ Society’s journal: Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., Vol. 64, Oct 2005, No. 462: 205-206.)

Benyamini, D. 2001 -2002. The Butterflies of the Dana Reserve, Edom, Jordan. Published in three parts: Linneana Belgica, Pars XVIII (2): 95-102, XVIII (6):265-272 & XVIII (7): 351-359.

Benyamini, D., Bruschini, C., Serra, G. & John. E. 2007. First confirmed records of Papilio demoleus (Linnaeus 1758) in Syria, with comments on the species' appearance in Turkey and the Dominican Republic. News of the Israeli Lepidopterists Society, Vol 24 (2).

Dennis, R. L. H., Olivier, A., Coutsis, J. G. & Shreeve, T. G. 2001. Butterflies on islands in the Aegean Archipelago: predicting numbers of species and incidence of species using geographical variables. Entomologist’s Gaz. 52: 3-39.

Dennis, R.L.H., Dapporto, L., Shreeve, T.G., John, E., Coutsis, J.G., Kudrna, O., Saarinen, K. & Ryrholm, N. 2008. Butterflies of European islands: the implications of the geography and ecology of rarity and endemicity for conservation. In Insect Conservation and Islands. New, T. R. (Ed). 2008. Springer, Dordrecht.

Fischer, H. 2003. Crocallis cypriaca sp. nov., eine neue Spannerart von der Insel Zypern. Ent. Z., Frankfurt a.M. 113: 372-374.


Fischer, H. & Lewandowski, S. 2003. Zweiter Beitrag zur Schwärmer- & Spinnerfauna Zyperns. Entomologische Zeitschrift, Stuttgart, 113 (10): 295-301.


Fischer, H. & S. Lewandowski. 2004. Neue taxonomische Erkenntnisse der Zyprischen Geometridae, (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae). Atalanta 35 1\2: 127-132.


Fischer, H. & S. Lewandowski: 2005. Die Geometriden-Fauna von Zypern – eine Überarbeitung aller bisher bekannter Arten. (1. Teil: Geometrinae und Ennominae) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Geometrinae, Ennominae). Atalanta 36 1/2: 291-309.

Fischer, H. & S. Lewandowski: 2006. Die Geometriden-Fauna von Zypern – eine Überarbeitung aller bisher bekannter Arten. (2. Teil: Orthostixinae und Larentiinae) (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Orthostixinae, Larentiinae). Atalanta 37 3/4: 329-344.

Fuchs, J. 1996. Zwei Wochen Schmetterlingsbeobachtungen auf Zypern (4-18.6.1995). Galathea 12/2: 57-62.

Georghiou, G. P. 1977. The Insects and Mites of Cyprus. Athens.

Grill, A., de Vos, R. & van Arkel, J. 2004. The shape of endemics: Notes on male and female genitalia in the genus Maniola (Schrank, 1801), (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Satyrinae)
Contributions to Zoology, 73 (4).

Haahtela, T., Saarinen, K., Ojaleinen, P & Aarnio, H. 2011. Butterflies of Britain and Europe. 383pp. London.

Haines, D. & Haines, H. 2010. The Butterflies of north Cyprus. 34 pp.


van der Heyden, T. 2009. Bemerkungen zur Biologie, zur Ökologie und zur Verbreitung von Danaus chrysippus Linnaeus, 1758 im Mittelmeerraum, insbesondere in der Türkei (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Danainae). Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, N.F. 30 (3): 173-176.


Hesselbarth, G., van Oorschot, H. & Wagener, S. 1995. Die Tagfalter der Türkei, Vols. 1-3. Bocholt, Germany.

Hofmann, P. & Rose, K. 1987. Zur Rhopaloceren-Fauna Zyperns. Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, Bd. 7, Heft 4: 133-141.

Katbeh-Bader, A., Amr, Z. S., Isma’el, S. 1998. The Butterflies of Jordan. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera, 37: 11-26.

Koçak, A. Ö. and Kemal, M. 2001. List of the Vernacular Names of the Butterflies of Turkey (Papilionoidea, Hesperioidea, Lepidoptera). Centr. Ent.Stud., Misc.Pap. 72 / 73: 1-15 [in Turkish, with English abstract and Uighurian summaries].

Kudrna. O. 1986. Aspects of the conservation of European Butterflies. In Butterflies of Europe Series, Volume 8. Wiesbaden.


Kudrna, O. 2002. The Distribution Atlas of European Butterflies. Oedippus, Nr. 20.

Lafranchis, T. 2004. Butterflies of Europe. Paris.

Larsen, T. B. 1974. Butterflies of Lebanon. Beirut.

Larsen, T. B. 1976. The importance of migration to the butterfly faunas of Lebanon, East Jordan and Egypt (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera). Notulae Entomologicae, LVI, 73-83.

Larsen, T. B. 1984. Butterflies of Saudi Arabia and its Neighbours, London.

Larsen, T. B. 1990. The Butterflies of Egypt. Denmark.

Lewandowski, S. 2000. Beitrag zur Lepidopterenfauna von Zypern. Entomologische Zeitschrift, Stuttgart, 110 (12): 376-377.

Lewandowski, S. 2001. Lasiocampa terreni (Herrich-Schäffer, 1847), Bestätigung des Artstatus und Beschreibung der Präimaginalstadien. Entomologische Zeitschrift, Stuttgart, 111: 43-46.


Lewandowski, S. 2006. Ergänzungen und Korrekturen zur Check-Liste der Noctuidae von Zypern (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). Atalanta 37 (1/2): 229-230.


Lewandowski, S. & Fischer, H. 2002. Beitrag zur Schwärmer- & Spinnerfauna von Zypern sowie eine Übersicht der bisher bekannten Arten. Entomologische Zeitschrift, Stuttgart, 112 (9): 264-272.

Lewandowski, S. & H. Fischer: 2004. Check-Liste der Noctuidae von Zypern. – Atalanta 35 (1/2): 119-126.


Lewandowski, S., & Makris C. 2006. Dritter Beitrag zur Fauna der „Spinner und Schwärmer“ Zyperns: Neue Erkenntnisse zur Gattung Ocneria Hübner, 1819 (Lepidoptera, Lymantriidae) und aktualisierte Daten zu anderen Familien. Nachrichten des entomologischen Vereins Apollo, 27 (3): 165-170.

Makris, C. 2003. Butterflies of Cyprus. Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, Nicosia. 329 pp.

Manil, L. 1990. Les Rhopalocères de Chypre. Linneana Belgica XII(8): 313-391.


Olivier, A. 1993. The Butterflies of the Greek Island of Rhodos. 250pp. Antwerpen Vlaamse Vereniging voor Entomologie.

Özden, Ö., Ciesla, W. B., Fuller, W. J. & Hodgson, D. J., 2008. Butterfly diversity in Mediterranean islands and in Pentadactylos Pinus brutia forests of Cyprus. Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 17: 2821-2832.

Özden, Ö. & Hodgson, D. J. 2011. Butterflies (Lepidoptera) highlight the ecological value of shrubland and grassland mosaics in Cypriot garrigue ecosystems. European Journal of Entomology, 108: pp. 431-437. 

Parker, R. 1983. The Butterflies of Cyprus. Entomologist’s Gazette 34: 17-53.

von Stetten, M. 2001. Beobachtungen zur Biologie von Zerynthia (Allancastria) cerisy Godart, 1822, auf der Insel Zypern (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae).

Tennent, W. J. 1985. Some Records of Spring Butterflies in Cyprus in 1984. Entomologist’s Gazette. 36:105-109.

Tolman, T. & Lewington, R. 1997. Butterflies of Britain & Europe. London.

Butterflies of Cyprus -
BIBLIOGRAPHY (Cont.)

The following references are relevant to the region, but not necessarily to Cyprus. For example, the books on Turkey (Baytas (2007) and Hesselbarth et al. (1995)) are specific to that country. Please refer to the main Bibliography page for other references pertaining to Cyprus.

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Seasonal dispersal of the Cyprus Grayling (Hipparchia cypriensis)

“The first of the Spring 1998 sightings of H. cypriensis (loc. cit.) was observed near the Larnaca coast when, after a period of cool, wet weather during the previous week (maximum day temperature 14.6ºC) emergence was induced by rising temperatures (maximum day temperature 18.8ºC, on 2 April). Sightings followed with increasing frequency throughout each week of April and May, as more adults emerged.


The summer in Mediterranean countries is long and hot, and this especially applies in Cyprus, the most easterly of the Mediterranean islands. Mid-summer temperatures may exceed 40ºC and are regularly in the range 30ºC to 35ºC between late June and mid-September. The countryside becomes parched and, from the end of April / early May the absence of any summer rain at low altitude ensures that all potential larval foodplant withers in the extreme conditions. Having emerged into an environment rapidly becoming unfavourable, H. cypriensis spends little time near the coast, quickly making its way to higher, cooler altitudes where it spends the summer roosting communally with others of its species. At least, such appears to be the case in central and eastern areas of the island. In the north-west, extensive tree cover of Calabrian Pine (Pinus brutia) is found from the coast at Pyrgos (VD79 – see Fig. 2.) to the mountains (Christofides 2001), which may encourage cypriensis to remain at a lower altitude in these areas. Typical habitat is light, pine woodland on rocky hillsides, often broken by watercourses and with occasional glades where cypriensis flies with other species such as Limenitis reducta (Staudinger, 1758) and Celastrina argiolus (Linnaeus, 1758). In its feeding habits, H. cypriensis undoubtedly behaves like others of the genus, principally taking resin from pine trunks, as well as moisture from mud and dung (Tinbergen et al, 1942, in Olivier & De Prins, 1989). In Cyprus, H. cypriensis has been observed nectaring in autumn on the yellow flowers of the strongly smelling Inula viscosa, in company with Papilio machaon (Linnaeus, 1758), Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758), Colias crocea (Geoffroy, 1785), Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) and Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767) (E. John, pers. obs.). Parker (pers. obs.) noted ’40 H. cypriensis feeding at moist ground in dappled shade’ on 12 July 1998.”


Extract from:

John, E. & Parker, R. 2002. Dispersal of Hipparchia cypriensis (Holik, 1949) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Satyridae) in Cyprus, with notes on its Ecology and Life-history. Entomologist’s Gazette 53, 3-18.