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Almost all year the antics of butterflies provide intriguing entertainment on the Lobos summits. What is it exactly that attracts them? The plants seem no different from those further down the slopes. Is it something about the air currents? Could it be that butterflies, like me, revel in the airy feel of a summit and a 360˚ panorama? Then, by chance, I come across a reference to ‘hill-topping’ in the Collins Butterfly Guide and this sets me off in pursuit of more information.

Hill-topping, I discover, is a mate-location behaviour seen in many species of butterflies and other insects. Male butterflies may be found flying up to and staying on a hilltop, for days on end if need be. Females, looking for a mate, fly up the hill. Males dash around the top, displaying their aerial skills and competing for the ‘best’ part of the area, usually the summit itself. The male with the best territory at the top of the hill will have the highest chance of mating with any female which arrives. She will know the ‘top male’ must be strong and thus genetically fit. Female butterflies at hill-topping sites have been found to be predominantly unmated individuals. Presumably, that is, until they reach the top of the hill. Studies have shown that even slight elevation differences on flat terrain can trigger hill-topping behaviour and that the concentrating effect of hill-topping on butterfly populations makes such locations of special conservation significance.

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