Venezuela | Butterfly watching - The Butterflies of Venezuela

The Butterflies of Venezuela

Venezuela’s rich and colourful butterfly fauna extends to over 2,400 species. Our annual small-group butterfly watching tour is for amateur and professional lepidopterists who enjoy watching and photographing butterflies (collecting is not permitted).

The itinerary focuses on three distinct faunistic regions within the eastern and western slopes of the Andes: Apure, Catatumbo, and the Mérida valley - each supporting two to four times the number of species found in Europe.

Andrew Neild

The tour is led by Andrew Neild, author of ‘The Butterflies of Venezuela’.

Based on 7 years research in the field, in collections and libraries, Andrew’s first volume has received international scientific acclaim as the first comprehensive identification guide to the adult Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, and Pieridae for any South American country.

Andrew lived in Venezuela for 4 years, speaks fluent Spanish, and has been studying Venezuelan butterflies for over 20 years.

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1 D We meet in Caracas in the early evening at a chosen 3* hotel. -Rooms are clean and comfortable, with en suite facilities. If you are arriving in Venezuela the same day we will arrange for you to be met at the airport and escorted to the hotel.

Day 2 BLD Early this morning we fly to Santo Domingo del Táchira located in the extreme south of the Venezuelan Andes. We’ll be met by our local driver and transferred to the nearby town of San Cristóbal, where we stay at a 3* hotel for six nights. San Cristóbal is about 800 m above sea level. Set in a luxuriant valley, it has a pleasant climate. -After checking-in we will spend the day butterfly watching on a track beside the Río Negro and Río Frío in the Andean foothills of El Tamá National Park. Andrew will put out over-ripe banana bait along the trail.

This area is especially rich in species - about 1,600 fly here. One particularly magnificent and scarce species is Papilio zagreus, notable for its tiger-pattern colouring which mimics many species of ithomiids and several Heliconius (Heliconiidae). Some of the many species which are regularly seen here include the papilionids Eurytides pausanias, E. ariarathes, E. protesilaus, Papilio cleotas, P. anchisiades and Parides arcas. Other notable species include Archonias tereas, Leodonta dysonii, and Dismorphia amphione (Pieridae), Rhetus arcius (Nemeobiidae), Heliconius doris (red rayed form) (Heliconiidae), Catonephele numilia, Doxocopa cherubina, Marpesia petreus, Callicore manova, Prepona meander and Anaea clytemnestra (Nymphalidae), Morpho rhetenor (Morphidae), Caligo eurilochus (Brassolidae), and Ituna lamirus (Danaidae).

Day 3 BLD Today we travel on the road to San Vicente de La Revancha to reach the middle to upper elevations of the Andean slopes in El Tamá National Park (1000 - 2000 m). We’ll be concentrating on flowers and puddling butterflies at about 1400 m. Much of this area has been cultivated, but remnant patches of cloud forest still remain. Some species which we should see here are only known in Venezuela from this area. This includes the magnificent ithomiid Elzunia humboldt (similar to E. pavonii). Some other species we might see are several Catasticta species (Pieridae), Rhetus dysonii and Necyria species (both Nemeobiidae), Dione moneta (Heliconiidae), Marpesia corinna, Anaea moeris (cf. alberta), Hypanartia kefersteinii, Perisama oppelii, P. vaninka, and Prepona chromus (all Nymphalidae), Junea species, Oxeoschistus species, and several Corades species (all Satyridae).

Day 4 BLD We return for a full day’s butterfly watching along the productive Río Negro and Río Frío, checking Sunday's bait for interesting species. The plentiful roadside flowers and wet sand near streams will also attract many species.

Day 5 BLD Today we return to the Río Frío and Río Negro area, checking out our bait which should now be even more productive.

Day 6 BLD Today we return to the La Revancha road, investigating which new species have been lured here by our bait.

Day 7 BLD This is our "round-up" day for butterfly watching in the San Cristobal region we will return to Río Frío or some other destination.

Day 8 BLD Today we drive some 30 minutes (40 km) north-east from El Vigia through flat agricultural land, then north-east through La Azulita to Jají (2 hours excluding stops), following the road up the western slopes of the Mérida range. As we follow the road upwards, we will note that much of the forest below 1000m is severely disturbed. However, above this there are still extensive swathes of unspoilt forest, especially in the area around and above La Azulita. Above this town on the main road to Jají there are several extensive remnant patches of cloud forest, and we should find many species on roadside flowers as well as puddling on tracks off the road. We climb from near sea level to over 2,300 m, so we can hope to see an interesting mix of species. At higher elevations we will see several delightful pierids in the genus Catasticta and Leodonta, as well as colourful Actinote and unusual cloud forest ithomiids. We stay at a lodge near Jají.

Day 9 BLD A full day of butterfly watching around La Azulita. We will also visit the series of waterfalls of La Chorrera at 1,700 m on the road to Mérida, the state capital. Here if we are lucky we might see the rare Papilio cacicus and the scarce large green Anaea pasibula, as well as the riotously coloured Perisama, including the purple-barred P. patara.

Day 10 BLD Morning butterfly watching around Jají. This afternoon we drive north east from Jají to Valera. The route takes us through flat farming country as we drive along the western side of the Andes mountains, close to Lake Maracaibo. We stay at a 3* hotel in Valera.

Day 11 BLD We drive half an hour north-west of Valera towards La Gira de Betijoque. In small hamlet of La Gira, is the start of an unpaved road through partially disturbed tropical wet forest at 550 m elevation. Many excellent species can be found puddling along this track, or feeding from flowers at the roadside: Baeotus baeotus, Callicore astarte, Catonephele numilia, Doxocopa clothilda, Nessaea aglaura, and the rare Prepona gnorima (like P. omphale) (all nymphalids), Morpho theseus (Morphidae, looking like M. telemachus below, and a shining snow-white above), Parides sesostris (Papilionidae), Eryphanis polyxena (Brassolidae), Heliconius hecalesia, H. hecale and H. cydno (Heliconiidae), Tithorea tarricina (Ithomiidae), Ancyluris inca and Rhetus periander (Nemeobiidae). After 3 km, we reach a water station at La Amarilla stream. From here we will walk along a narrow trail through excellent forest, where we should see more nemeobiids, lycaenids, and ithomiids.

Day 12 BLD We drive north from Valera along the Motatán river, turning eastwards away from the river after a half hour. Close by is a track southwards through deciduous lowland acacia forest punctuated with tall stands of cactus – apparently an unlikely site for butterflies! However, the rainy season brings this vegetation to life, and the Lepidoptera are present in numbers. Here we see a different species mix from that at La Gira – on Andrew’s previous visit the nymphalids Callicore pitheas and Doxocopa laure were abundant, as was the localised species Anaea tehuana. Other species included Adelpha fessonia and the scarce Anaea marthesia (both nymphalids), numerous Phoebis (Pieridae), Battus belus (Papilionidae), Caria and Lasaia species (Nemeobiidae), and an abundance of Hesperiids.

Day 13 BLD We return for a full day’s butterfly watching at La Gira, checking our recent bait for interesting species.

Day 14 BL After a leisurely morning at our hotel we transfer to Valera airport for the midday flight to Caracas, arriving in good time for onwards international flights back to the UK. (As it is only 40 minutes drive from the hotel in Valera to La Gira those catching late evening flights home may be able to squeeze an extra morning in the field with Andrew before catching an afternoon flight to Caracas).

Day 15 a.m. International flights arrive back in the UK

PLEASE NOTE: The collecting of specimens is illegal and will not be permitted on this trip.

Dates and Prices

Tour code

Starts Caracas

Ends Caracas

tour price

The Butterflies of Venezuela

Andrew Neild

Day-by-day itinerary

Dates and Prices

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