Hungary - Butterflies & Moth

Butterflies

Hungary is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains that hold many attractive mountain species while within the Carpathian Basin you can find an amazing variety of different habitats ranging from special wet meadows, alkaline marshes, steppes through to extensive oak, beech, evergreen woods, limestone slopes and volcanic hills. No wonder that Hungary is one of the richest countries in the Old Continent in terms of butterfly and dragonfly species. The country hosts almost 200 butterfly and more than 3600 moth species including Hungarian Glider, Southern Festoon, Lesser Clouded Yellow, Large Blue, Iolas Blue, Zephyr Blue, Large Copper, Freyer's Purple Emperor, Poplar Admiral, Scarce Fritillary and many more.

On our tours we visit the finest butterfly habitats of the country and in case of relevant weather our target list may cover more than 120 species. Dragonflies, birds, other animals, culture and history will always be in focus, too.

Ecotours is supporting Butterfly Conservation and also BC European Interest Group in the UK, and we have organised several joint monitoring projects in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Romania over the years in cooperation with different National Parks as well. We are also supporters of the Szalkai Hungarian Lepidopterist Society.

Moths

Hungary is famous for its high wildlife diversity. No wonder that many birdwatchers and butterfly enthusiasts come for a visit to this beautiful country. It is not widely known that with regard to moths the situation is even better. It is hard to imagine that such a small country has almost 4000 moth species, including ones typical for the high mountainous regions of the Carpathians and the Alps as well as for the dry steppes and semi-deserts of Siberia. Hungary has a special geographical location, which allowed many species to survive after the ice age, while others could penetrate the country from the Mediterranean. Hungary is also a kind of meeting point for eastern and western fauna. It is not rare to see above 100 species excluding Micros during one night, and you can sometimes reach 200 species. It is not only the diversity of moths, but the vast amount of specimens you find on the sheet, in a warm, humid night, before the arrival of a rainy weather front. Sometimes you can see your moth sheet fully covered by insects of an amount, which can be experienced only in the tropics.

GREENWING Trip report 2015