The region of eastern Spain between Barcelona and Tarragona is a contrasting landscape of heavily-visited tourist cities backed by swathes of agricultural land, dotted with rugged national parks. The sheer scale of the area and habitats makes it almost overwhelming - much different to all the islands I've become used to visiting.
This area of Spain is massive, and due to it being more of a family holiday I was not as focused on targeting specific species as I was with trying to ensure that everybody else enjoyed themselves as well. Although the majority still consisted of bugging, there weren’t any before-sunrise starts or extremely late night walks. I had high hopes for Spanish Ibex in the mountains, and my shieldbug target was Solenosthidium bilunatum, which had been sporadically recorded around the area. Unfortunately I saw neither of these species; however, there were plenty of surprises in store on the shieldbug front, and some great experiences with other wildlife.
DAY 1 - Ermita Santa Marina
On our first day, we took a local drive around the area, stopping at various sites including the Ermita Santa Marina, a hermitage set in a rather nice area of forest and scrub. There was a beautifully-decorated church, a small café, and across the road the crumbling remains of an old hotel constructed in 1917, but long since abandoned. A spring-fed font and pool containing cold, clear water was present at the front of the complex, claimed to have healing properties, from which people were filling water bottles up.
It was hot and dry. Around the abandoned hotel was a patch of waist high wildflowers and grass, singing with the zithering calls of grasshoppers, and buzzing with the busy, heat-propelled forms of all sorts of flying things. There was so much bug business going on in the dry vegetation, and abslutely nothing was prepared to sit still under the midday sun. The heat was bouncing off the grey stone of the building, and there was no breeze moving through the top of the pine trees. I could feel myself getting a little dizzy - how was anyone supposed to find things in this heat?
In these conditions, the best thing to do is to slow down and look closely at the surroundings. Things not on the wing are usually sat still, hoping you'll miss them. On the fennel was the ubiquitous Graphosoma italicum, while on the lower fronds some very small early-instar Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) caterpillars were grazing. Spanish Gatekeepers (Pyronia bathseba), Southern White Admirals (Limenitis reducta) and a gorgeous Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia) flitted past.
Above: Spanish Gatekeeper, Large Psammodromus, Graphosoma italicum, weevil (Genus Coniocleonus), Graptostethus servus, Valgus hemipterus, Queen of Spain Fritillary, and a tiny early instar Swallowtail caterpillar.
I sat down in the vegetation and stared at a thistle, surrounded by Viper’s Bugloss / Común viborera (Echium vulgare). One of my targets for this trip was Psacasta exanthematica, a beautiful spotted shieldbug which feeds on plants in the family boraginaceae. There were several buglosses dotted around the flower patch, and I was sure my quarry would be here, although examination of the nearest plant produced nothing.
A large yellow Lixus weevil became visible on the thistle stem next to me. I cupped a hand underneath and it dropped, but missed my hand and fell on a leaf below. Again I tried to slip my hand underneath, but again I missed as it folded its legs in and rolled out of sight. Oh well, better luck next time. However, sitting on the leaf that the weevil had fallen past was a small dirty shieldbug that would have been completely invisible had the weevil not dropped off next to it. Next to Echium and with the characteristic warty texture and prominent hump on the end of the scutellum, it could only be Psacasta tuberculata, a cousin of my target species and one I was not expecting to see - which arguably makes it even more exciting.
Next to the scrub were some boulders, under which Tom found the wonderful Ant Nest Cricket (Myrmecophilus acervorum) in a Lasius nest. These tiny (3mm) crickets live as kleptoparasites in ant nests, where various behavioural and chemical cues mean that the ants accept them in the colony. They have no stridulatory organs, and no wings, taking on a very distinctive smooth, hunchbacked appearance.
Later that day, we found a gorge in neighbouring Masboquera where a dry riverbed cut into the hillside, surrounded by trails and footpaths. The temperature had mellowed in the evening and was far more pleasant, and creatures that had been tucked out of the way of the fierce midday sun had come back out again. The paths and gorge we followed until we were forced to turn back for food, and they provided a varied and quite colourful fauna. Based on these early findings, we decided to return when the weather was cooling the following afternoon.
DAY 2 - Masboquera
In an empty cistern on the way towards the gorge, I found a large histerid (Pactolinus major) and a Cydnus aterrimus nymph, and then further down the road the flora gave way to various brassicas and grasses, where tricoloured red, black and white Eurydema ornata made a first appearance.
Above: Pactolinus major, Cydnus aterrimus, Eurydema ornata, Coptocephala, tachinid, Chlorophorus trifasciatus.
A peculiar ground beetle with an enormous head (Dixus sp.) trundled over the sandy substrate, while the largest insect in the ravine, the Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima) sat immobile on grass stems and in shrubs.
Above: Dixus sp., Great Green Bush Cricket, Centrocoris sp., Certallum ebulinum, Napoleon Spider (Synema globosum) with bee prey, and Exosoma lusitanicum.
The ground flora was covered in dense patches of the transluscent-looking Paronychia, where we quickly found the amazing, delicate Phyllomorpha laciniata. These elaborate and incredibly well camouflaged coreids look as though they have been adorned with lace, and have the strange but effective habit of sticking their large, golden eggs to one another where possible, in order to increase nymph survival. One individual had upwards of eight hatched and unhatched eggs stuck all over his body, where they glittered like tiny jewels. They moved with grace and delicacy in stops and starts, on wavering legs like small stick insects. If you took your eye off them for a second it was difficult to re-find them.
Above: Phyllomorpha laciniata
After a rather unpleasant encounter with two large dogs, we left this productive spot and wandered further down the dry riverbed. The vegetation started to change a little, and we found a nice population of the spiky, distinctive leaf beetle Dicladispa testacea, which feeds on rockroses (Cistus).
Above: Dicladispa testacea
Tom beat a bush and found a lovely Holcostethus albipes, which didn't feel like cooperating for a nice photo.
Above: Holcostethus albipes
I had been checking a cypress tree for signs of various fir-feeding shieldbugs, thinking that it was an impossible task in the dense foliage. While I was sat staring vaguely into a bunch of needles about a foot above my head, I noticed a small, yellowish, fat-bodied tachinid fly sat on one of the round fruits, and thought in amusement that it would be nice if parasitoid flies could act as honeyguides – perhaps it could lead me to the shieldbugs. After slowly pulling down the branch the fly flew away, but left in its wake a view of a small grey shieldbug nestled in the needles: Holcogaster fibulata.
My nose led me to a large dead Montpellier Snake (Malpolon monspessulanus) nestled between some rocks, being visited by a host of flies and histerid beetles. This was the first of many dead Montpelliers on the roads, some of which were impressive sizes and must have been older individuals. The farmland and olive groves were particularly populous, passing sometimes three or more dead snakes within several hundred metres. On a couple of mornings we got up early, just as the sun was rising over the hills, and walked/drove down the roads looking for basking snakes, with no luck. We saw one live snake while driving (probably a Ladder Snake / Culebra de escalera Rhinechis scalaris) crossing the busy main road towards the central reservatio, although I have a sad feeling that it may not have been alive for very long after I saw it. I never saw a live Montpellier Snake.
DAY 3 - Muntanyes de Prades
The next day, we went for a drive in the Muntanyes de Prades, hoping to locate some gorges and caves. At our first stop we found Porcellio expansus in a small, damp area between some rocks. This was Tom’s target species, a real life trilobite in stunning colours. Despite their large size and gaudy-looking markings, they were surprisingly well camouflaged; the colours blend in on moss covered walls and leaf litter, while the markings effectively break up their outline, in much the same way as fire salamanders on the forest floor.
This species is well-established in the captive trade, a double edged sword – in the case of Porcellio expansus, the fact that it breeds readily in captivity means that there is a less present threat of overexploitation from these often small, fragmentary wild populations. The same cannot be said of other species elsewhere in the world (e.g. Cubaris from Southeast Asia), where small, often highly endemic populations are overcollected for the pet trade sometimes before even being officially described.
Above: Meta menardi
At our second stop, I found a Sciocoris shieldbug sat on top of some wild thyme. These small, brown shieldbugs have a reputation for being difficult, so I was a bit daunted; however, the large, obvious spots on the wing membrane, alongside the head shape, were a clear diagnostic of S. maculatus.
DAY 4 - Parc Naturel des Ports
We drove up to another mountain range, Parc Naturel des Ports, where I was hoping to see Pyrenean Ibex at the top of the mountain. We arrived too late in the day for the Ibex (I suspect that at this time of year they’re an early morning species) but got good views of Griffon Vulture / Buitre leonado (Gyps fulvus), Chough / Chova piquirroja (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) and Golden Eagle / Águila real (Aquila chrysaetos). From the very top viewpoint you could see all the way down the slope into fertile grassy plains far below; here we saw a herd of domestic cattle on a track (thinking about exciting dung beetles), but unfortunately they were way too far away to be able to drive to.
In the hills of Tortosa on the opposing ridge we could see a wildfire raging, with helicopters overhead. I found out more information the following day: the fire covered about 70 hectares of land, primarily forest and abandoned fields, with a perimeter of over 5 kilometres. The local news reported that the police had arrested somebody for causing the fire – apparently the result of burning farm prunings that got out of hand. Six people were evicted from two farmhouses in the area, and luckily nobody was hurt. The Mediterranean region is at particular risk of wildfires due to the hot, dry climate, and in 2023 an area of 91,220 hectares was affected by fires in Spain alone. In the previous year, Spain saw its most devastating wildfire season in a decade, with 306,000 hectares lost to fire.
Day 5: Muntanyes de Prades again
We made a return to these productive mountains, finding by accident an abandoned military training camp, in the grounds of which was a huge derelict swimming pool full of big Green Frogs (Pelophylax perezi). A kind soul had left a large leaning plank as an exit for any animals that happened to fall in, and the frogs seemed perfectly happy with lots of water and basking areas. Dad found a dead, desiccated Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra) close to the pool. Rolling some beams that were lying on the ground, I saw two familiar shapes sat together on the underside of the log: flatbugs. These were enormous, significantly bigger than any of the UK species, which tend to max out at around 5mm. These were easily 10mm, and they weren’t fully grown yet. It was somewhat difficult to positively identify them given the life stage and lack of records, but I believe that this pair were Aradus versicolor, a chunky species which seems to have a characteristic band on one short, fat antennal segment.
After seeing the frogs, we bumped into a local naturalist who had been photographing Empusa pennata in the tall grass. He was friendly and incredibly helpful, and gave us lots of useful information about wildlife locations, also pointing us in the direction of local herping sites and caves.
Above: Empusa pennata, Lycosa sp. (burrow and occupant), Spotted Fritillary (Melitaea didyma)
We took a bit of a detour after this and ended up in Capafonts, which turned out to be quite a special destination for unusual species. Here in the verges around the town I found no less than four species of shieldbug that were new to me: Eurygaster austriaca and Aelia rostrata, two grass-feeding genera referred to as cereal bugs (chinches de los cereales) in Spain, and known to become crop pests. Coptosoma scutellatum was next, with many individuals feeding on vetches; these chunky bugs were quite a lot bigger than I thought they were going to be. Finally, Eurydema oleracea (Brassica Shieldbug / Chinche de la col) and Eurydema ventralis – the latter species I didn’t notice, having become used to the numerous red and black bicoloured forms of E. ornata, and was corrected via iNaturalist later on. A lesson to pay attention even if you think it’s a common species.
Above: Aelia rostrata, Eurygaster austriaca, Eurydema ventralis, Coptosoma scutellatum
Tom also found an adult Empusa with full wings, and we were able to observe it for a while. Like all mantids they are highly responsive, snapping its head round to look even if the slightest movement was made in its peripheral vision.
Above: Empusa, Eurygaster maura, Lime Seed Bug (Oxycarenus lavaterae) and the fully macropterous form of Firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus) the latter two both on Mallow.
Day 6 - A Long Drive & Nocturnal Wanderings
We visited a site close to the Parc Natural de la Muntanya de Montserrat, north west of Barcelona, where Tom was following up an unusual woodlouse record and I was looking for more unusual species of dry-loving shieldbugs. At the small area we visited there was certainly a different diversity of insect life, with some new butterflies (including Knapweed Fritillary Melitaea phoebe), quite a high density of assassin bugs (Rhynocoris sp.) and the large, armoured tenebrionid Asida sericea. All the while, the unusual, jagged peaks looked on from the background, looking very tempting from the exposed lowlands. There is something very mesmerising about limestone formations.
Above: Rhynocoris sp., Asida sericea, Knapweed Fritillaries - female rejecting male, who stayed stubbornly sitting next to her regardless.
We went on several night-time wanders, most significantly visiting an area of scrub bordering a golf course near Tarragona (Club de Golf Bonmont Terres Noves). The golf course looked as though it hadn’t been used in a while. The wide roads, cycle lanes and pavements looked to have been designed to take heavy footfall, and the security barriers now stand permanently open, unmanned. Some of the houses on the same estate are clearly inhabited, but the old clubhouse, shop and hotel were dark and silent. Online, the reviews from the last few years have noted the apparent abandonment of the site, while those from 5+ years ago praise it as being one of Spain’s best golf courses. While from a social perspective the dereliction is sad to see, particularly as there is so much of what seems to be new infrastructure around it, from a wildlife perspective it’s a paradise. Nature has very quickly reclaimed the golfing greens and taken them over with native scrub and grassland, every wall and path becoming lost to the vegetation, and the footprints of boar could be seen in the dried mud at the side of the ponds. It felt strangely sad, but this emotion turned quickly to enthusiasm when the night life became more visible.
Viperine Snakes of all sizes sat in the stagnant ponds, sleeping with their noses out of the water, surrounded by huge Green Frogs and tiny toadlets. A non-native slider (Trachemys sp.) whizzed out of site in a large abandoned fishpond, green with algae and still full of koi and fry.
Huge tenebrionid beetles (Blaps sp. maybe lusitanicus?) wandered across roads and paths in a methodical manner, stopping and raising themselves up on their legs when the torch beam fell on them, then hurrying out of the light. Mole Crickets / Grillotopo (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) trilled unbelievably loudly from inside huge, inaccessible grass tufts. Mole crickets create acoustic burrows that amplify their songs by widening at the top, like a horn. While this means that the culprit is always underground and thus difficult to extract unless you’re willing to dig up the hotel’s lawn, it also means that they can’t see you, and often it is possible to walk right up to a calling cricket and listen to the incredibly loud noise without it being shut off. This is a direct contrast to the Field Crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) which chirped from their porches as the females sought them out – they stop singing as soon as they detect a person, which can be quite a distance if there’s a good line of sight.
Above: dusk and night fauna. Armadillo officinalis, Porcellio silvestrii, Gryllus bimaculatus, Blaps sp., Great Green Bush Cricket, Moorish Gecko.
Both species of nightjar, the European / Chotacabras Europeo (Caprimulgus europaeus) and the Red-necked / Chotacabras pardo (Caprimulgus ruficollis) called and flew over our heads, taking off from the road just outside the torchbeam, eyes glowing huge and green in the distance. The two species have very different-sounding calls, with the commoner European Nightjar a gentle purr, and the Red-necked a slightly more broken, harsh tone.
Finally, we got few but excellent views of the large yellow scorpions (Buthus sp.), which we had good fun shining a UV light on and seeing glow. Scorpions fluoresce because of a thin section within their cuticle called the hyaline layer, which reacts to ultraviolet light. This layer is present in the exocuticle, so when we found a recently-moulted individual, the pieces of discarded exoskeleton scattered around also glowed blue. The chemicals present in this layer only allow for UV reflection when the scorpion’s exoskeleton has hardened, so in the vulnerable hour or so after they have immediately moulted and their bodies are still soft, they do not fluoresce.
Day 7 - Ebro Delta
On our final day, we went for a walk around the wetland surrounding the Ebro delta, another unusual environment full of interesting creatures. There was a dense concentration of bird life, with huge numbers of Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), with a sprinkling of Whiskered Terns (Chlidonias hybrida), Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) and Zitting Cisticola (Cisticola juncidis). Amazingly we managed to miss the flamingos (the most frequently recorded bird on the peninsula) but perhaps we were too focused on the smaller winged things to notice. The substrate was very sandy, populated by ants, at least three species of velvet ant (Mutillidae), and large numbers of the satisfyingly round beetle Pimelia interjecta, which bumbled around like clockwork toys on the sand, munching on unappetising-looking dried up vegetation scraps and chasing each other.
We saw two new chafers in this area, the large and sweet-faced Anoxia sp. and the small, electric blue Hoplia caerulea.
Just as I thought that the capacity for recording new shieldbugs must be reaching an end for this trip, we scored three new species in about an hour – the first one was another Sciocoris, S. macrocephalus on Knautia fruits in numbers, while the second species Tom found, by thrashing some low-growing nightshade into a tray – nymphs of the colourful Dryadocoris apicalis. The third was a surprise, the beautiful and largely coastal species Brachynema purpureomarginatum.
Above: Brachynema purpureomarginatum, Dryadocoris apicalis, Sciocoris macrocephalus.
Above: Gonocerus juniperi
Spain is a huge, fascinating country full of Mediterranean and endemic flora and fauna. This was a tiny snapshot of an area bordering huge expanses of natural wilderness, and should I make a return trip (which is definitely desirable – I am very keen to photograph Spanish Moon Moths, Graellsia isabellae!) I would probably stay much closer to the mountains in order to make the very best of the terrain.
Overall, this was a great excursion, and I also managed to see more shieldbugs than on any other trip so far with 23 species, including 12 which were completely new to me.
Reptiles and Amphibians:
• Fire Salamander / Salamandra Común (Salamandra salamandra) dead • Green Frog / Rana Común (Pelophylax perezi) • Ladder Snake / Culebra de escalera (Rhinechis scalaris) glimpsed on the road • Large Psammodromus / Lagartija colilarga (Psammodromus algirus) • Montpellier Snake / Culebra bastarda (Malpolon monspessulanus) dead
• Moorish Gecko / Salamanquesa Común (Tarentola mauritanica) • Viperine Snake / Culebra viperina (Natrix maura)
Butterflies:
• Anthocharis sp.
• Bath White / Blanquiverdosa (Pontia daplidice)
• Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra)
• Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus)
• False Ilex Hairstreak / Rabicorta de la Coscoja (Satyrium esculi)
• Holly Blue / Náyade (Celastrina argiolus)
• Knapweed Fritillary / Doncella Mayor (Melitaea phoebe)
• Lang’s Short-tailed Blue / Gris estriada (Leptotes pirithous)
• Large Wall Brown / Pedregosa (Lasiommata maera)
• Large White / Blanca de la col (Pieris brassicae)
• Marsh Fritillary / Doncella de Ondas Rojas (Euphydryas aurinia)
• Meadow Brown / Loba (Maniola jurtina)
• Painted Lady / Vanesa de los cardos (Vanessa cardui)
• Pyrgus sp.
• Queen of Spain Fritillary / Sofía (Issoria lathonia)
• Red Admiral / Numerada (Vanessa atalanta)
• Scarce Swallowtail / Podalirio (Iphiclides podalirius)
• Small Blue / Duende Oscuro (Cupido minimus) • Small Copper / Manto común (Lycaena phlaeas)
• Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)
• Southern White Admiral / Ninfa de Arroyos (Limenitis reducta)
• Spanish Gatekeeper (Pyronia bathseba)
• Spotted Fritillary / Doncella Didima (Melitaea didyma)
• Swallowtail / Macaón (Papilio machaon)
• Wood White / Esbelta Común (Leptidea sinapis)
Shieldbugs:
• Aelia rostrata
• Ancyrosoma leucogrammes
• Brachynema purpureomarginatum
• Carpocoris mediterraneus
• Coptosoma scutellatum
• Burrowing Shieldbug (Cydnus aterrimus)
• Dryadocoris apiacius
• White-shouldered Shieldbug (Dyroderes umbraculatus)
• Eurydema ornata
• Eurydema oleracea
• Eurydema ventralis
• Eurygaster austriaca
• European Tortoise Shieldbug (Eurygaster maura)
• Graphosoma italicum
• Holcogaster fibulata • Holcostethus albipes
• Gorse Shieldbug (Piezodorus lituratus)
• Southern Green Shieldbug (Nezara viridula)
• Psacasta tuberculata
• Mottled Shieldbug (Rhaphigaster nebulosa)
• Sciocoris macrocephalus
• Sciocoris maculatus
• Mystery tiny black bug TBC
Other invertebrate highlights:
• Aradus versicolor
• Empusa pennata
• Gonocerus juniperi
• Phyllomorpha laciniata
• Striped Hawkmoth (Hyles livornica)