Schmetterlingsparadies Eifel - Germany
Long time ago, the Eifel was a region of extensive volcanic activity and the eruptions generated a huge volume of volcanic ash, now found in thin ash layers in contemporaneous sediments. Further the Eifel mainly consits of sandstones and limestones. This combination makes that this area is valuable; 110 m2 have been protected as the Eifel National Park.
Since the mid-1990s I travel to the Eifel every year to see and photograph butterflies. A lot of rare species like fritillaries, coppers, blues, skippers and hairstreaks can be found there. Together with friends I enjoy the variety of butterflies, the good conversations with German beer and 'our' traditional 'Kaffee & Kuchen' place.
Since the mid-1990s I travel to the Eifel every year to see and photograph butterflies. A lot of rare species like fritillaries, coppers, blues, skippers and hairstreaks can be found there. Together with friends I enjoy the variety of butterflies, the good conversations with German beer and 'our' traditional 'Kaffee & Kuchen' place.
In 2023 we paid a visit during the first weekend of August. The spring season was very bad and we were surprised that we found more butterflies than expected. The numbers decrease every year so our expectations were low....what a surprise that we found 24 butterfly species. My highlight was the Brown Hairstreak which was not easy to catch as this species only came down from the bushes with sunlight. The majority of meadows had already been mowed except on our 'old' spot.
In 2021 our weekend trip was cancelled due to corona. For one day I visited the Eifel but did not find many butterflies.
In 2022 I visited the Eifel with friends early June again and visited the same areas as in 2020 and 2019 but we unfortunately we did not find much roosting butterflies.
In 2022 I visited the Eifel with friends early June again and visited the same areas as in 2020 and 2019 but we unfortunately we did not find much roosting butterflies.
In 2021 our weekend trip was cancelled due to corona. For one day I visited the Eifel but did not find many butterflies.
In 2020 I visited the Eifel for a weekend early June. It was a cold and rainy weekend but fortunately we found some fresh roosting butterflies and we had time to drive around and visit different kind of area's.
In 2019 I visited the Eifel twice together with friends and the mission for the first visit was to find and photograph the Duke of Burgundy early in the morning but unfortunately we did not find any resting Duke. Our second visit was early July and during this trip we found out that most of the meadows were recently mown. Instead of butterflies we saw a lot of foxes and wild boars.
In 2018 I visited the Eifel three times, one morning, one day and two days; three visits in three different parts of the Eifel. The weather was unstable but on all four mornings the sun was shining for at least half an hour. The number of butterflies were in general again disappointing; on two 'old' spots we found more butterflies than last year but on the 'new' spots the amount was lower. The majority were Meadow Browns and Ringlets.
2017 was a three days visit with some members of the Palinka club (see Blog or Gallery A-Z -> Hungary). Although the weather was good, the number of butterlfies was low again. We visited the old (well-known) spots and discovered two new spots. One of the two new spots was a butterfly paradise as hundreds of butterflies were fluttering....the majority was the Silver-studded Blue. The other spot was a small moor area in which we found the Cranberry Fritillary.
2015 was a visit of surprise as I could not find much butterflies; on one of my favourite spots I walked around for almost one hour without finding any butterfly. Later, on a second spot I found some but not high amounts. The highlight of 2015 was the discovery of the Black Hairstreak spot. Unfortunately by that time (the sun was shining) they were too active.
In 2014 I had the mission Violet Copper, a beautiful small butterfly which I photographed for the last time decently in the nineties on slide. As this species is very vulnerable, I entered their habitat this year for the first time since years again; fortunatley with succes. Next to the amount of butterflies I was happy to find a lot of orchids.
In 2013 I visited the Eifel mid June and I was surprised by the growth arrears of plants and flowers and the low amounts of butterflies (except the Small Blue). Actually, I wanted to photograph the Violet Copper but that plan vanished. This year I visited my 'spots' in the weekend and found out that it was very crowded. I met some friendly butterfly photographers!
In 2012 I visited this area early June and this year I arrived just after sunrise. Comparing to former years, the number of butterflies and butterfly species were dramatically low. The few ones I found were very cooperative due to the low temperatures. In the field, discovered in 2011, I could not find one single fritillary. This is the selection of 2012:
The trip to the Eifel in 2011 was my first oppertunity of photographing butterflies. Unfortuntely we arrived a bit late so some butterflies were already flying. I walked to the shadow places and after some time I found a butterfly still resting on an orchid; I was very happy!
Sometimes we had a rainshower and the grass was very wet but to our advantage the butterflies were resting for a short while. This year we discovered a new field with a lot of butterflies. I look forward to the next trip!
This is a selection of 2011:
Sometimes we had a rainshower and the grass was very wet but to our advantage the butterflies were resting for a short while. This year we discovered a new field with a lot of butterflies. I look forward to the next trip!
This is a selection of 2011:
From the mid '90s I visited the butterfly area's in the Eifel almost every year. On slide I have some beautiful images of the Violet Copper and some other 'rare' butterfly species. Here is a small selection of digital images before 2011:
