Nature lovers in pursuit of butterflies

VAN

Photographers worked from dawn to document endangered species and build a visual archive.

Van, home to Türkiye’s rich biodiversity, has once again become a destination for nature and photography enthusiasts. Butterfly researchers and nature photographers who traveled from different parts of Türkiye covered nearly 2,000 kilometers to document and photograph rare butterfly species found in the region.

Nurtured by rich flora and unique microclimates, the Van Lake Basin serves as a thriving sanctuary for many of Türkiye’s butterfly species.

Despite rugged terrain, nature enthusiasts and lepidopterists spent days conducting fieldwork and searching for vibrant butterflies. Meanwhile, photographers equipped with specialized gear worked from dawn to document endangered species and build a visual archive to boost the city’s nature tourism.

After traveling long distances, photographers were thrilled by Van’s pristine environment and abundant butterfly population and emphasized the urgent need to protect and promote the basin’s extraordinary biodiversity globally.

The photographs and observation data collected are expected to be included in exhibitions and nature conservation projects in the coming period.

Nihat Kaymaz, who traveled from Siirt, said he came to Van with friends to observe and photograph valuable butterfly species.

“I came from Siirt to Van. We do butterfly watching. There are very valuable butterflies here at the moment. We came with our friends just to photograph them. Three of my friends came from Istanbul. We are currently in the Güzeldere area,” Kaymaz said.

He said they were searching for the Hazar Piri Reis and Iranian Fire butterflies in the Güzeldere area.
“The Van basin is a very important place for butterfly watching. Its habitat, flora and fauna make it a wonderful place for butterfly watching. Every year, my friends come to Van from different provinces of Türkiye to photograph these butterflies. I accompany them. I both photograph butterflies and guide them,” he said.

Kadir Özakkü, who came from Istanbul with his friends, said Van and neighboring Hakkari are particularly rich in butterfly diversity.

“We had been to Van before. This time, we climbed to the summit in the Güzeldere area to look for the Hazar Piri Reis. It was very windy. But we photographed and recorded other species, including several types of false witches and the mountain false witch,” Özakkü said.

He added that they were also looking for the Iranian Fire butterfly but had not been able to find it despite its previous records in the area.

“Last year’s records were our basis for coming here. But we did not come across it. We will try our luck again tomorrow, both for the Hazar Piri Reis and the Iranian Fire,” he said.

Özakkü also drew attention to pollution in the area.

“There is so much diversity here and nature is wonderful. But we see waste along the roads, especially plastic bottles thrown from vehicles. We need to be very careful about this. Even if we are walking, we should put the waste in our pockets and take it with us. We need to protect such wonderful nature as if it were our own eyes,” he said.

He noted that people from Europe had visited the region last year specifically to photograph the Iranian Fire butterfly.

“They came all the way from Europe just to photograph the Iranian Fire. But we could not find it this year. We will see. Hopefully, there is tomorrow and the day after. We will not leave before finding it,” Özakkü said.

Fuat Gülseren, who also traveled from Istanbul to photograph butterflies, said they wanted to observe and document the species found in Van.

“We want to take butterfly photographs and make observations in Van. Van is one of our cities that is extremely important in terms of butterfly diversity and abundance. Van’s nature is beautiful. There are still many places that have remained untouched,” Gülseren said.

He said the region is home to endemic and rare species, including the Roz’s large blue and the Iranian Fire butterfly.

“We want to see these beauties resulting from Van’s natural environment. We put our work and responsibilities aside and came here. We want to observe nature. The heat and weather conditions do not really make things difficult for us. What makes us happy is being together in nature. This is a passion,” Gülseren said.

“We want to photograph Van’s valuable butterflies. We also invite nature lovers like us to Van,” he added.