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Mariposa Nature Tours

@mariposanature.bsky.social

1.7K followers 1.4K following 860 posts

Expert-led butterfly & botany tours Proud to donate funds to help support the work of conservation organisations Butterfly Conservation Europe, Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland, et al. https://linktr.ee/mariposanature

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · Nov 12

Hello! There seem to be lots of folk coming over here to join the @bsky.app family! And it's lovely to see some following us here - thank you!

By way of a hello to new followers - we're a small wildlife tour company, specialising in European butterfly and botany tours... And the important bit?

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 19h

Places remain available to join us there in 2026. If booked before 1 Dec 2025, they qualify for our Early Bird discount, automatically taking £150 off the list price of the tour. And the tour generates a donation to support @europebutterfly.bsky.social. 🦋(2/2)

www.mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Butterflies of the Italian Alps & French Mercantour

This tour will suit those who enjoy being surrounded by thousands of easily accessible alpine butterflies at a fabulous time of year, as the burgeoning vegetation in this glorious Italian and French a...

www.mariposanature.com

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 19h

"If I were to set out to create my perfect butterfly tour then this would be it"

"I have never personally seen so many butterflies in such a short time"

"An absolutely fabulous experience"

Wonderful guest feedback for Butterflies of the Italian Alps & French Mercantour! (1/2)

#butterflies

Guest feedback for Butterflies of the Italian Alps & French Mercantour

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Reposted by Mariposa Nature Tours

WA Orchids @wa-orchids.bsky.social · 21h

Enamel orchids (Elythranthera sp.) are endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. These orchids really do have the shiniest petals and sepals you will ever see 💜🩷

#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #bloomscrolling

A pinky/purple Enamel orchid with highly shiny petals

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 2d

Your guides to a feast of fritillaries and a bonanza of blues will be our popular, knowledgeable, and friendly team of Paul Selby & Michele Viganò.

Importantly, like ALL of our butterfly tours, this one generates a donation to support the great work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (2/2)

Scarce Fritillary (Euphydryas maturna) © Jon Dunn

Chequered Blue (Scolitantides orion) © Clive Burrows

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 2d

Good morning, and welcome to a new week!

Our featured tour this week is Butterflies of the Italian Alps & French Mercantour, a guaranteed departure tour in June 2026 that offers the best of both butterfly worlds on either flank of the mighty Alps. (1/2)

mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Southern Swallowtail (Papilio alexanor) © Clive Burrows

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 4d

Our Team Mariposa #orchid leaders never stop... Jon and Richard are wrapping up the 2025 season in the only way they know how to relax - by going to look for yet more #orchids!

You can join them both in 2026 for more orchid-hunting fun - Richard in Cyprus & Crete, and Jon in Sicily.

Jon Dunn @dunnjons.bsky.social · 4d

One of the very best days, #orchid -hunting with my good mate and fellow @mariposanature.bsky.social leader @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social in Madeira. We found over 20 flowering plants of European über-rarity, Goodyera macrophylla. A day of amazing plants, great company, good laughs, and muddy boots!

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Reposted by Mariposa Nature Tours

Dr Richard Bate @thenewgalaxy.bsky.social · 4d

4/10/25 - There are always great #orchids to be seen in #Orctober but you have to put yourself out there to find them!

Goodyera macrophylla is an endemic of #Madeira and one you have to put a real shift in for! Joined by my good friend @dunnjons.bsky.social every step of the way #teamorchid

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 4d

Storm Amy may be making life a bit miserable at the moment in the UK, but here's something else that begins with A to brighten and cheer your October weekend - gorgeous Ophrys annae, an #orchid from Sardinia last April.

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 6d

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies & artwork of FW Frohawk.

Today features Large Heath, inhabitant of acidic, wet peatlands mostly in the north. Since Frohawk's time it's declined badly in England and Wales; Scotland remains a stronghold to this day.

Plate 40 of FW Frohawk's 'Natural History of British Butterflies', featuring Large Heath (Coenonympha tullia)

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Reposted by Mariposa Nature Tours

BSBI Botany @bsbibotany.bsky.social · 7d

Our annual membership special offer opens today!
Join us this month & you'll enjoy 15 months of membership benefits for the price of 12.
Those benefits are so numerous & fabulous you'll have to head over here to see them all:
bsbipublicity.blogspot.com/2025/10/bsbi...
Then join us! bsbi.org/join-us

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Reposted by Mariposa Nature Tours

Kirsty Evans @kirstyevans.bsky.social · 7d

You’d be crazy not to fancy one! It’s a proper treasure hunt💎🤩

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 7d

Each of our #orchid holidays generates a donation to support the superb wildflower conservation work undertaken by @bsbibotany.bsky.social. That matters to us, and we know it matters to our guests too.

Our full range of 2026 tours is on our website: (2/2)

www.mariposanature.com/calendar

Tour Calender | Mariposa Nature Tours

Our tour calender has all upcoming tour dates in one place, making it easier than ever to plan your holiday.

www.mariposanature.com

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 7d

Fancy a relaxing #orchid holiday in 2026, with lots of photographic opportunities, led by friendly & dedicated guides?

Two months remain to take advantage of our early bird booking deal, offering £150 off the list price of any week-long tour booked before 1 Dec 2025. (1/2)

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 7d

Every one of our butterfly holidays generates a donation to support the superb butterfly conservation work undertaken by @europebutterfly.bsky.social. That matters to us, and we know it matters to our guests too.

Our full range of 2026 tours is on our website: (2/2)

www.mariposanature.com/calendar

Tour Calender | Mariposa Nature Tours

Our tour calender has all upcoming tour dates in one place, making it easier than ever to plan your holiday.

www.mariposanature.com

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 7d

Fancy a relaxing butterfly-watching holiday in 2026, with lots of photographic opportunities, led by friendly & dedicated butterfly guides?

Two months remain to take advantage of our early bird booking deal, offering £150 off the list price of any week-long tour booked before 1 Dec 2025. (1/2)

Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius) © Clive Burrows

Greenish Black Tip (Euchloe charlonia) © Jon Dunn

Blue Argus (Aricia anteros) © David Moore

Lesser Fiery Copper (Lycaena thersamon) © Jon Dunn

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Reposted by Mariposa Nature Tours

Glen Ryan @silverdory.bsky.social · 7d

Spotted sun orchids (Thelymitra ixioides) starting to open in coastal heathland near Mallacoota, VIC. Lots of both this sp. + other sun orchids in bud around Mallacoota when I dropped by this week but the weather was maybe just a little too cold + cloudy for most of them to actually open #orchids

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 10d

The perfect way to ease the butterfly blues of a long winter, our Tenerife tour offers the opportunity to see a range of butterflies endemic or near-endemic to the island, and the chance of some unusual species from further afield too. (2/2)

#butterflies

mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Canary Skipper (Thymelicus christi) © David Moore

Tenerife Green-striped White (Euchloe eversi) © Dave Fairhurst

Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 10d

Good morning, and welcome to a new week!

Our featured tour this week is Butterflies of Tenerife, a guaranteed departure on 24-30 March 2026. Like ALL of our butterfly tours, it generates a donation to support the great work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (1/2)

mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Canary Blue (Cyclyrius webbianus) © Stephen Culley

Canary Red Admiral (Vanessa vulcania) © Clive Burrows

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 10d

That's us heading for home now after a resoundingly successful Autumn Exotica in Andalusia tour, with all the butterfly targets (and a huge bonus!) found, plus some fine dragonflies and birds too. We can't wait to return next year - and hope you might join us.

www.mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius) © Jon Dunn

Desert Babul Blue (Azanus ubaldus) © Jon Dunn

Desert Orange Tip (Colotis evagore) © Jon Dunn

Zeller's Skipper (Borbo borbonica) © Jon Dunn

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 11d

Postcard from the field from our stunned tour leader, @dunnjons.bsky.social:

We found Desert Babul Blue on the final day of our Autumn Exotica in Andalusia tour. European butterfly rarities come no bigger than this gem!

Next year's tour available to book:

www.mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 12d

Just three places remain available now to join us next year for our Late Spring Orchids of Sicily tour, led by 'Orchid Summer' author Jon Dunn, and local Sicilian naturalist legend Andrea Corso. As the Sicilians say, amuninni!

www.mariposanature.com/tours/botani...

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Reposted by Mariposa Nature Tours

WA Orchids @wa-orchids.bsky.social · 12d

Elythranthera brunonis - Purple Enamel Orchid

These orchids are just coming into flower in the Perth Hills. Not only do they have incredible glossy purple flowers, the back of this orchid’s sepals have beautiful markings
#orchids #ozflora #wildoz #nativeplants #inaturalist #bloomscrolling

A deep purple orchid with incredibly shiny petals and sepals

Two purple enamel orchid buds just opening showing the lovely purple spotting on the backs of the sepals

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 12d

Postcard from the field from tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social, on our Autumn Exotica in Andalusia tour:

Today we saw Two-tailed Pasha and African Grass Blue, two butterflies at the extremes of scale in Europe, the pasha a mighty insect, the blue vanishingly diminutive. Both delightful!

African Grass Blue (Zizeeria knysna) © Jon Dunn

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 13d

It's #FrohawkFriday, the day we celebrate the butterfly studies and artwork of FW Frohawk.

Today features Ringlet, a widespread species across most of Britain, whose range has expanded north a little since Frohawk's time. Bejewelled with eyespots, its name is self-explanatory.

Plate 39 of FW Frohawk's 'Natural History of British Butterflies', featuring Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)

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Mariposa Nature Tours @mariposanature.bsky.social · 13d

Postcard from the field from tour leader Jon with our Autumn Exotica in Andalusia group today:

It's not just about butterflies this week! We've seen a super array of African pioneer dragonfly species here in the past day - there's always something colourful here to catch our attention.

Jon Dunn @dunnjons.bsky.social · 13d

Lots of great butterflies today here in Andalusia, but the African pioneer dragonflies threatened to steal the show - Orange-winged & Violet Dropwing, Long Skimmer, and Northern Banded Groundling all putting in great appearances for us all.

Orange-winged Dropwing (Trithemis kirbyi) © Jon Dunn

Long Skimmer (Orthetrum trinacria) © Jon Dunn

Northern Banded Groundling (Brachythemis impartita) © Jon Dunn

Violet Dropwing (Trithemis annulata) © Jon Dunn

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