Biodiversity of Cyprus by NGO Protection of the Natural Heritage and the Biodiversity of Cyprus

The rich and rare biodiversity in Cyprus. The Cyprus biodiversity includes 1908 plants, 780 seashells, 250 fishes, more than 7.000 insects, 410 birds including migratory, 31 mammals, 9 snakes, 11 lizards,three amphibians, 120 land snails, fungi estimated 5-8 thousandand and three turtles.These numbers continually increase as a result of researc. Also see All about Cyprus. From George Konstantinou. Email - fanigeorge@hotmail.com - Το υλικό της ιστοσελίδας αποτελεί πνευματική ιδιοκτησία.

Monday, 5 June 2023

Southern white admiral - Limenitis reducta (Staudinger, 1901) - Cyprus

Limenitis reducta, the southern white admiral, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in central and southern Europe (northern Iberia, southern and eastern France, Italy, the Balkans, and the Alps), in Western Asia, in Syria, the Caucasus and Iran. These butterflies live in light woodland, in woodland glades and in forest edge, at an elevation of 0–1,650 metres (0–5,413 ft) above sea level.

Description

Limenitis reducta has a wingspan of 46–54 mm. The upperside of the wings is brown black with metallic blue shine, large transversal band of white markings and a submarginal line of small blue dots. The blue sheen varies with the angle of light. The ground colour of underside of the hindwings is red, with a silvery basal area, a row of white markings and a row of black spots. A few white cell spots are also present on the underside of the forewings.The caterpillars can reach a length of 27 millimetres (1.1 in). They are light green to dull green on the back, red brown on the underside. On the back there are numerous brown thorns.

This species is rather similar to Limenitis camilla, Neptis rivularis and Araschnia levana f. prorsa.

Biology

This species may have one or more generations, depending on the location. The butterfly flies from May to August depending on the location. Larvae feed on honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum, Lonicera etrusca, Lonicera implexa, Lonicera xylosteum, Lonicera alpigena, Lonicera nummulariifolia and Lonicera caprifolium). Adults usually feed on nectar of a wide range of herbaceous and arboreal flowers, but also visit fallen fruits, dung, aphid secretions and mineralised moisture from damp ground. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos 11/6/2020 by George Konstantinou

Oriental meadow brown or branded meadowbrown - Hyponephele lupina (O. Costa, 1836) - Cyprus

Hyponephele lupina, the Oriental meadow brown or branded meadowbrown, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in North Africa, Cyprus, south western Europe, southern Russia, Asia Minor, southern Siberia, Middle Asia, Iran and from Baluchistan to Nepal.Seitz describes it thus- lupinus Costa (47 e) is rather considerably larger than the forms [of Epinepele] so far named; the rusty yellow on the underside of the forewing is brighter, the underside of the hindwing strongly speckled. Southern Italy, Greece

Photos Prodromos 6/7/2020 by George Konstantinou

Lattice brown - Kirinia roxelana (Cramer, 1777) - Cyprus

See also - List of butterflys of Cyprus - Λίστα των πεταλούδων της Κύπρου

Photos Lysos 1/6/2020 by George Konstantinou

Kirinia roxelana, the lattice brown, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southeastern Europe and the Near East. The butterfly is on wing between May and July. The larvae feed on various grasses.

Description

The length of the forewings is 29 to 31 mm (1.1 to 1.2 in). Seitz describes it thus- P. roxelana Cr. (45 c). The largest Pararge, with the margin of the hindwing strongly dentate, especially in the female. Male black-brown. Female grey-brown, with the disc of the forewing reddish yellow. Underside of forewing fiery yellowish red with the margins grey-brown; hindwing beneath with dark dentate lines and a curved row of unequal ocelli beyond the centre. From South-East Hungary to the Black Sea, on the Balcan Peninsula, Cyprus, in Asia Minor and Mesopotamia, in the plains as well as the mountains, in June and July, not rare. It can be confused with the lesser lattice brown (Kirinia climene) with which it shares part of its range.

Distribution and habitat

The lattice brown is found in southeastern Europe and the Near East. Its range extends from Bulgaria and southern Croatia through the Balkans to northern Iran, Turkey and Israel, including many of the islands in the Aegean Sea. It is found in a variety of habitats such as warm, dry grassland and scrubland with rocks near woodland, forest verges, vineyards and olive groves with stone walls.

Ecology

There is one generation of this butterfly which is on the wing between April and September, and is most commonly seen from May to July. The eggs are laid on broad-leaved grasses, often at the foot of walls or rocks. The caterpillars are fusiform, green with longitudinal yellowish and pale green stripes. Having overwintered as caterpillars, they pupate in the spring among the vegetation before emerging as adults..From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Synonyms

Pararge roxelana (Cramer, 1777)

Papilio roxelana Cramer, 1777

Saturday, 3 June 2023

Has Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) succeeded in becoming established in Cyprus? Evidence from citizen science reports in 2022

Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 159: 87–95

doi: 10.31184/M00138908.1592.4178

Has Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera:
Papilionidae) succeeded in becoming established in Cyprus?
Evidence from citizen science reports in 2022

BY EDDIE JOHN, HASAN BAĞLAR & GEORGE KONSTANTINOU

EJ: Coach House, Church Street, Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7BB, U.K.;
email: eddiejohn100@gmail.com

HB: P.O. Box 22365, 1520 Nicosia, Cyprus; email:baglar@hotmail.com

GK: Society for the Protection of Natural Heritage and the Biodiversity of Cyprus, Keryneias 6,
Geri 2200, Cyprus; email: fanigeorge@hotmail.com

Article history: Received: 30 January 2023; Accepted: 27 March 2023; Published: 26 May 2023

ABSTRACT

Overwintering success of Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758, a recently arrived Swallowtail to
the Mediterranean basin, has been such that we are able to report on dispersal of the species into
50×5km2 -UTM squares in Cyprus. Citizen science reports, appropriately verifified, have been
invaluable in assessing the spread of a papilionid that was fifirst reported from Cyprus in August
2021. These observations, supplemented by others from members of the Cyprus Butterflfly Study
Group, point to a known area of occupation representing ca. 11% of the island in just one year.
However, the distances separating observations from the main concentration in central/eastern
areas of the island with those reported from coasts around the island, strongly support a belief that
the species has a far greater distribution in Cyprus. In turn, as the species has survived throughout
an unusually cold winter during 2021/2022, this leads us to hypothesize that a successful,
potentially permanent, range expansion has been achieved. Until more is known about the
adaptation of P. demoleus to pertaining environmental conditions in Cyprus, where fifive annual
generations appear achievable, we urge caution before the tag of ‘pest species’, as applied in other
parts of the world, is attached to P. demoleus in Mediterranean regions.
Keywords: Lepidoptera, Papilionidae, Papilio demoleus, Lime Swallowtail, Phenology,
Mediterranean Turkey, Syria, Cyprus

INTRODUCTION

Readers of the erstwhile sister journal Entomologist’s Gazette have perhaps become familiar with reports of the arrival in 2021 of Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 (Lime or Chequered Swallowtail) (Figs 1 & 2) in areas of the eastern Mediterranean. In Başbay, Salimeh & John (2020a & b) we commented on the recent discovery of the species at Mediterranean coastal regions of Turkey and Syria, and in John et al. (2021b), confirmed the presence (in Syria) to be that of nominotypical P. demoleus demoleus. The last-mentioned paper also confirmed the species’ dispersal into Lebanon and predicted further territory expansion by this vigorous swallowtail into Israel and Cyprus. Hecht (2021) reported arrival in northern Israel in the autumn of 2021, prior to which the anticipated arrival in Cyprus had been realised, with the discovery of P. demoleus on 11 August 2021 (John et al. 2021a). The species was first seen on the outskirts of Lysi (WD68SW), ca. 28km south-east of Nicosia, in a garden owned by the parents of the second author. Molecular analysis showed this to be P. demoleus demoleus (GenBank accession number OL742425), identical to the haplotype of the specimen from Syria (GenBank accession number MW390816), thus indicating a

Friday, 2 June 2023

Armadillo konstantinoui Campos-Filho, Dimitriou & Sfenthourakis sp. nov. - The new species is named after Giorgos Konstantinou who, with his wife Fani, has contributed significantly to our knowledge on Cyprus biodiversity, and gave us important guidance during field work.

Αφιερώσεις στους George Konstantinou και Emmanouela Karameta που έχουν συνεισφέρει σημαντικά στη συλλογή ισοπόδων από την Κύπρο..

Accepted by T. Riehl: 28 Feb. 2023; published: 19 Apr. 2023

Abstract

The present work aims to morphologically characterize the species of Armadillo from Cyprus. Moreover, two new species of the genus are described, A. konstantinoui sp. nov. from several places along the island, and A. karametae sp. nov. from Pafos region. The circum-Mediterranean species A. officinalis is also redescribed.

Key words:

terrestrial isopods, cryptic species, endogean species, oceanic island, Mediterranean region

Φίδια, αλλεργίες και προφύλαξη, με τον Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου - Μέρα Μεσημέρι - ANT1 NEWS - 30/5/2023

Thursday, 1 June 2023

Mylabris madoni Marseul, 1883 – Endemic species of Cyprus

Endemic species of Cyprus

Photos Pentadaktylos mountain 31/5/2023 by George Konstantinou

Mylabris is a genus of beetles in the family Meloidae. It is endemic to the Palearctic realm. The species-rich genus Hycleus (c. 430 spp.) was historically confused with Mylabris and have their greatest diversity in the Afrotropics

Albinaria rollei (O. Boettger, 1896) – Endemic to Cyprus and Pentadaktylos mountain

Endemic species of Cyprus and Pentadaktylos mountains

Albinaria rollei (O. Boettger, 1896) Ένα από τα πιο σπάνια ενδημικά χερσαία σαλιγκάρια της Κύπρου που το συναντούμε μόνο στην οροσειρά του κατεχόμενου πενταδάκτυλου και μόνο σε μια μικρή περιοχή.

Photos Pentadaktylos mountain 31/5/2023 by George Konstantinou

Young

Albinaria is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Clausiliidae, the door snails

The Albinaria snails live on limestone rocks, where they feed on algae and lichen. They are active only during the wet season, that is, in Mediterranean lowlands, from November through April. Eggs are laid shortly after the beginning of the wet season. The development from a juvenile to a fully grown shell takes two to three wet seasons. During the intermittent dry seasons, the snails, young and adults alike, aestivate ("the warm weather equivalent of hibernation) on the rocks or in crevices inside the rocks. For aestivation, aggregates are often formed, sometimes reaching sizes of many hundreds of individuals. During the last dry season prior to sexual maturation, the subadult snail (the shell of which is already fully developed, albeit thinner than that of an adult) increases the size of its genital organs. Copulation then takes place during the first weeks of autumn rains. Population densities can sometimes be very high, in spite of heavy predation by beetle larvae of the genus Drilus. These insects attack the snails during their aestivation, by perforating the shell and eating the snail inside

Habitat of Albinaria rollei at Pentadaktylos Mountains

Photos Pentadaktylos mountain 15/3/2024 by George Konstantinou

Φίδια και αλλεργίες με τον Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου - Πρωτοσέλιδο - SIGMA TV - NEWS - 1/6/2023

SigmaLive

Τα είδη φιδιών στην Κύπρο-Πώς προστατευόμαστε και τι κάνουμε αν μας δαγκώσει

Συμβουλές για το πώς να προστατευτούμε από τα φίδια εν μέσω καλοκαιριού και τι να κάνουμε σε περίπτωση που μας δαγκώσει φίδι έδωσε στο Πρωτοσέλιδο ο Γιώργος Κωνσταντίνου, Πρόεδρος του συνδέσμου προστασίας φυσικής κληρονομιάς και βιοποικιλότητας της Κύπρου.

Μιλώντας στο Πρωτοσέλιδο ανέφερε ότι στην Κύπρο έχουμε εννέα είδη φιδιών εκ των οποίων το ένα είναι επικίνδυνο για τον άνθρωπο, εννοώντας δηλητηριώδη. Το συγκεκριμένο φίδι δεν είναι επιθετικό φίδι, η μόνη περίπτωση να σε δαγκώσει ένα τέτοιο φίδι είναι να το πιάσεις κατά λάθος με το χέρι σου, να το πατήσεις ή να το πλησιάσεις σε απόσταση γύρω στους 50 πόντους.

Πρότρεψε όλους όσους επισκέπτονται τους αγρούς να φοράνε ψηλά παπούτσια όταν περπατάνε σε μέρη που έχει χόρτα. Επιπρόσθετα είπε ότι, είναι καλό να κοιτάζουνε που πατάνε καθώς όταν είναι κρύο το φίδι μένει ακίνητο οπότε κινδυνεύουν να το πατήσουν. Όπως για παράδειγμα, η οχιά με την θέα ενός ανθρώπου επειδή είναι αργοκίνητη μένει ακίνητη για αυτό κινδυνεύει κάποιος να την πατήσει.

Ο Γιώργος Κωνσταντίνου, ανέφερε πως «κανένα από αυτά τα είδη φιδιών δεν προκαλεί αιφνίδιο θάνατο στον άνθρωπο ή έντονες αντιδράσει εκτός και αν είσαι αλλεργικός. Μετά από ένα δάγκωμα οχιάς έχουμε πάρα πολλές ώρες μέχρι να πάμε στο νοσοκομείο και δεν υπάρχει λόγος για πανικό. Αυτό που πρέπει να κάνουμε είναι με ήρεμες κινήσεις χωρίς πανικό και χωρίς να παίρνουμε κανένα μέτρο εννοώντας φάρμακο, πάμε όσο πιο γρήγορα σε ένα νοσοκομείο».

Τέλος, υπάρχουν πολλά τεστ τα οποία μπορεί να κάνει κάποιος για να δει αν είναι αλλεργικός σε κάτι. Παρόλα αυτά, δεν νομίζει ότι υπάρχει τεστ για να δει κάποιος αν είναι αλλεργικός στα φίδια, είπε.

Monday, 29 May 2023

3 sp. of herons nesting together in Mari pond - Perfect day today to watch them - Cyprus 29/5/2023

Saturday, 27 May 2023

I feel proud that the best Wildlife channel in the world BBC used my video on Serengeti III - Eps 4

Monday, 22 May 2023

Eurasian stone-curlew nest (From egg to chick) (Burhinus oedicnemus) - Πετροτριλίδα–Cyprus 21/5/2023

Saturday, 20 May 2023

Egyptian fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) feed on Morus alba (white mulberry) Nicosia 19/5/23.

Thursday, 18 May 2023

Onosma mitis Boiss. & Heldr.

Photos Panagia 7/5/2023 by George Konstantinou

Status

Indigenous (IN)

Endemism

near-endemic, also in Turkey (Anatolia)

Altitudinal range

450–925 mD

Flowering Period

Apr–Jun

Επικίνδυνά φίδια και προφύλαξη, με τον Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου - Μέρα Μεσημέρι - ANT1 NEWS 9/5/2023

Wednesday, 17 May 2023

Outdoor & Φύση εκπ.10 - 24/42023 - SigmaTV – Με τον Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου.

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

Lecture by the naturalist George Konstantinou on16/5/2023 on the topic of the biodiversity of Cyprus

Base of the European program eTwinning Cyprus , "BIODIVERS CY : I see Cyprus with green eyes", a lecture was held at the primary school of Ayia Napa - Antoni Tsokkou by the naturalist and president of the association for the protection of natural heritage and biodiversity of Cyprus George Konstantinou, on 16/5/2023. The topic of the presentation was on biodiversity of Cyprus and the risks that it is threatened by the human factor. The lecture was attended and participated online by another ten schools from all over Cyprus as well as one school from Thessaloniki.

A big thank you to the teacher of the same name, Giorgos Konstantinou, who gave me the opportunity to teach our children that they should know about the unique biodiversity of our country and its protection.

Βάση του ευρωπαϊκού προγράμματος eTwinning Cyprus , "BIODIVERS CY : Βλέπω την Κύπρο με πράσινα μάτια", πραγματοποιήθηκε διάλεξή στο δημοτικό σχολείο Αγίας Νάπας - Αντώνη Τσόκκου, από τον φυσιοδίφη και πρόεδρο του συνδέσμου προστασίας φυσικής κληρονομίας και βιοποικιλότητας της Κύπρου Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου στις 16/5/2023 με θέμα η βιοποικιλότητα της Κύπρου και οι κίνδυνοι που την απειλούν από τον ανθρώπινο παράγοντα. Την διάλεξη παρακολούθησαν και συμμετείχαν διαδικτυακά ακόμα δέκα σχολεία από όλη την Κύπρο καθώς και ένα σχολείο από την Θεσσαλονίκη. Ένα μεγάλο ευχαριστώ στον συνονόματο δάσκαλο κ.Γιώργο Κωνσταντίνου που μου έδωσε την ευκαιρία να μάθω στα παιδιά μας ότι πρέπει να ξέρουν για την μοναδική βιοποικιλότητα του τόπου μας και την προστασία της.

Ευχαριστώ τον Demetris Kolokotronis για το βιντεο.