The Sierra de Almijara is one of Spain’s lesser-known mountain ranges located in the provinces of Malaga and Granada in the south of the country. In contrast to mountains like the Pyrenees or the Sierra Nevada, this range receives far fewer visitors each year and consequently it is a true wilderness with much unspoiled landscape.

The underlying geology of the area is calcareous marble with many steep valleys and sharp ridges whilst the climate is variable depending on the altitude, but generally winters are mild and wet whilst summers are hot with virtually no rainfall. The lime-rich soil and warm conditions create a wonderful habitat for many species of flowering plant. These in turn attract a myriad of insects quite unlike what I would be used to in Ireland, with many commoner continental and  Mediterranean butterflies  together with a few rarer species, a large range of bees and wasps, bugs, dragonflies, grasshoppers and many other insects. The area is also home to the locally scarce Cabras Montes, or Spanish Ibex which is an endemic species of wild mountain goat. Other animals include the Betic Midwife Toad (an endemic frog species), Common Genet, Wild Boar and Jewelled Lizard, whilst birds of the area include the Bonelli’s Eagle, Griffon Vulture and Golden Oriole. On my first day in the area I took a hike into the mountains starting in the town of Nerja to see what they had to offer.

The track I took led through woodland consisting primarily of Aleppo Pine and small clearings where plants like Anthyllis tejedensis and Mediterranean Thyme (the former is a particularly rare and attractive little flower with pale furry leaves, restricted to these mountains). The sun soon rose over the rocky ridge to the east which brought out the first butterflies of the day. By far the commonest species was the Dusky Heath, a species which is restricted to south-western Europe but can be common where found. Indeed, it was the most abundant butterfly at all of the locations that I visited in these mountains. Another species which I encountered frequently was the Striped Grayling, again restricted to the southwest of Europe:

Further along the trail, more butterflies started to appear such as the familiar Wall Brown, the diminutive Lulworth Skipper and a fresh male Southern Blue. The Wall Brown is a butterfly I had seen several times before but always in ones and twos, whereas here it was rather abundant. It was nice to see a species which is now so scarce back home doing so well here. On the other hand the Lulworth Skipper I saw was the only individual of the trip and a species that I had not seen before, so I was glad to get a few photos of this widespread European skipper.

During the hot summer months many of the plants here have finished flowering but there were still a few on display, such as Delphinium gracile, Dianthus broteri and the Spurge Olive (an inedible wild berry more closely related to oranges than olives). I also found the Western Prickly Juniper, a spiny shrub found in southwest Europe used to make Cade Oil, a type of incense.

The next area was more open with less shade which eventually led downhill towards a dry riverbed. It was here that I found two more species of skipper; the Red-underwing Skipper and the Southern Marbled Skipper. The first of these was one which I had seen previously in southern Portugal but the Southern Marbled Skipper was completely new for me. It is the rarer of the two, being confined mostly to Spain but with a few scattered populations in southern France and Italy too. It can be differentiated from similar species by its whitish underside veins and prominent white markings on the upperside.

Walking up from the dry riverbed took me towards an area of open scrub and maquis where I found some interesting insects. The Semipunctated Shieldbug was found on certain Fennel plants here, whilst a species of Mylabris beetle and the Antlion Myrmecaelurus trigrammus were also found here. Bees of the area included the large and impressive Xylocopa cantabrita (a type of carpenter bee) as well as an attractive little black and white Thyreus bee. Interestingly, there a large and robust fly feeding on the Mediterranean Thyme just like Xylocopa cantabrita which mimicked it rather well. This is a common trend in nature, where harmless flies have evolved to resemble species of bees and wasps which have the capacity to sting, thus allowing them to fool would-be predators. Wasps I saw here were similar to those seen at lower altitudes near Maro, such as Stizus ruficornis but in addition I also saw a large species of cutworm wasp, a member of the genus Sphex. Along the path I also stumbled across an Erodius beetle, otherwise known as a Dune Beetle. It was a large and sluggish beetle which I decided to place off the path in case it was trodden on! Further up the hillside again I came across a large dragonfly which I later identifies as a Large Pincertail, another new species for me. 

Close to this area was the Fuente del Esparto, a mountain spring upon which a small stone outlet has been constructed. It was almost strange to hear running water when so much of the surrounding countryside was so warm and dry. Around this area too I encountered one of the highlights of the trip, a mother Spanish Ibex and her young. Unfortunately my camera was kitted out primarily for close-up work on insects and flowers, which combined with their wary nature meant that I couldn’t get too close and the photos are a tad fuzzy, but it was a lovely animal to have seen for even the few seconds that i was treated with.

I ended up climbing up to around 800m, but at this point there was a lot of thick mist and cloud and the previously abundant insects had mostly disappeared for the time being. I decided to make my way down and among some patches of flowers there were still a few butterflies feeding on the Mediterranean Thyme, notably the Blue-spot Hairstreak.  This feisty little butterfly was rather abundant along the majority of the trail, often chasing off other Blue-spots as well as much bigger butterflies like Striped Graylings! Sage Skippers were also present in this area, as was a lone Bath White.

Admittedly there wasn’t a lot that I stopped and photographed on the way down as fatigue was starting to get the better of me, but here are a few final photos of some other plants and insects that I found along the way. In my next post I’ll be documenting my finds in another section of the Sierra de Almijara further inland, which threw up a few local specialities!