Читать книгу The Islands of Croatia. 30 walks on 14 Adriatic islands онлайн

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The large and exotic Two-tailed pasha on the summit of Kom, Korčula (Walk 27)

Croatia has over 180 species of butterfly (compared to 56 in the UK), and many of them can be seen on the islands – including such exotic, localised species as the Scarce swallowtail (easily recognisable by the distinctive, very long protruding ‘tail’ at the back of each wing), Southern swallowtail (with shorter ‘tails’), Two-tailed pasha (a large, fast-flying dark butterfly with orange wingtips and two prongs or tails at the back of its wings, which can be spotted on some island hilltops) and endemic Dalmatian ringlet. Croatia also has 71 species of dragonfly and damselfly (compared to 38 species of dragonfly in the UK), and those on the islands include Small spreadwing, Small red damsel, Winter damselfly and several classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, such as Bladetail and Black pennant.

Winter damselfly on Dragodid, the headland north of Komiža, on the island of Vis (Walk 24)

The European garden spider (also known as Cross-web spider) is common, its web (as the name implies) frequently slung between trees and branches across hiking trails, although it is completely harmless (and, thankfully, larger individuals tend to have their webs above head height). The European black widow spider (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus), the bite of which can be extremely dangerous, is also found in Dalmatia, albeit highly localised and in very small numbers (for example, in some areas around Zadar). There are also numerous species of ant – some 35 species on the Kornati islands alone.