Butterfly enthusiasts needed in Wiltshire!
Help us survey 1km squares for butterflies as part of the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey. Visits take place twice a year in July and August.
Find out more:
volunteer.butterfly-conservation.org/opportunitie...
A fascinating PhD chapter looking at host plant nitrogen content and temperature trade-offs for Small Copper larvae. @bc-suffolk.bsky.social
Fascinating! Just what I wanted, some deeper insight into nitrogen effects on immature stages, especially upon Small Copper. Congratulations on your PhD , you worked with some great lepidopterists there.
Good points which I was hoping to see made (just in case I had mistook something). Thanks.
Here is the full paper
#conservationevidence
@richardfoxbc.bsky.social @djhbutterflies.bsky.social @martinswarren.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social @pietervantieghem.bsky.social
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
I wonder what the effect of rabbit grazing is when compared to sheep and cattle grazing? Lowland sites, such as chalk downland, require grazing for heat sensitive species to thrive at the northern edge of their range.
You beat me. Well done. 😁
Not clockwise, left to right 🫢
Clockwise, first post guesses: Pieridae, Lycaenidae, Papilionidae and Hesperiidae. Second post guesses: Nymphalidae and Riodinidae.
Peacock butterfly warming itself on the ground in early spring.
Last call. If anyone has any butterfly records for Suffolk (2025) please submit them online this weekend. I plan a final download early next week for processing into the 2025 Suffolk Butterfly Report. Early signs are of a record breaking year for observations. Thank you.
@bc-suffolk.bsky.social
I'll be interested in reading reviews of this title, although the names on the cover are impressive enough by themselves.
That's a very nice photograph! Should be published somewhere.
I'll guess that it was hiding #4 eye.
Received a report this evening of a Suffolk Brimstone, seen today, so your chances are high, Ed.
It will be so welcome. Winter has seemed long without butterflies, particularly as the warm summer brought last season to an early end.
You do gad around well. Hope you saw some of the unusual wildfowl whilst there.
Stunning. Such beauty in nature.
Phengaris teleius (Scarce Large Blue) in a French meadow. One of the 17 species in the European Grassland Butterfly Index. Photo: Martin Warren)
The latest European Grassland Butterfly Indicator is out. It shows that grassland butterflies have declined by 47% since 1991, indicating a huge loss of grassland biodiversity. The data come from 16,150 transects & 15,000 volunteers. We are calling for urgent action. www.bc-europe.eu/documents/69...
Thank you to everyone who came along to our annual UK Moth Recorders' Meeting last weekend!
All the brilliant talks from the day are now available to watch back on our YouTube channel. Grab a cuppa and catch up here 👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiZE...
#UKMRM #MothsMatter #TeamMoth
Fallow Deer at Shimpling, Suffolk. A small part of a herd that recently numbered 114+ animals. From the local Landscape Recovery project: 'the highest risk to the success of habitat enhancement and creation in the long-term, is the lack of deer management.' I'd never have guessed! 🦌🦌🦌.......
Save the date! Join us on Sat 28th March 2026 for the UK Butterfly Recorders meeting.
This free event is open to anyone intersted in butterfly monitoring. We'll present the 2025 UKBMS results, update on other monitoring schemes and talks about butterfly ecology.
Here is the review of the 2025 butterfly season in Northamptonshire. It was certainly an interesting year, and it was fantastic to see records from two species that were considered extinct in the county making an appearance!
www.northantsbutterflies.com/the-butterfl...
Thank you 😊
Peacock butterfly on the windowsill having found its way indoors.
Lucie discovered this Peacock inside our home today. Not sure if this counts as a first of my year sighting or even when and how it got in but it's now safely settled down in our unheated summerhouse. 🙏🏻🦋
@bc-suffolk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
Yes, a couple of records are received each year from the Suffolk coast, too. Seriously, I do wonder what might happen if the British subspecies britannicus met one of the European subspecies i.e. ssp. gorganus, after any colonisation.
@bc-suffolk.bsky.social
A Clouded Yellow butterfly sits on a Common Fleabane flower in north Lowestoft, Suffolk.
It was a good year for Clouded Yellow butterflies in Suffolk, being reported 100x more than 2024! Details later in my 2025 report. Here's one I photographed in Lowestoft, where I was also lucky enough to see a helice form and an egg-laying female.
@bc-suffolk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social
A good day to make plans for your garden? Planting a tree can support multiple species of moths and butterflies. e.g. an apple tree can host more than 50 types of caterpillar and their blossoms are a nectar source for butterflies. To discover more buff.ly/1M6bMCn
The BTO have just reported that 56% of UK butterfly species have been recorded in gardens. It shows how important gardens are to UK wildlife, to learn more sign up to the Butterfly Conservation newsletter for monthly tips on how to attract more butterflies to your garden buff.ly/6xHYo5j
Sorry for the delay. I have several spreadsheets which cannot be combined until end of year so the number is an approximation.
A few duplicates etc may be in this Suffolk total so far of 1160 sightings. Some areas had a bumper season while others saw no improvement. Very localised.
