Next recorders meeting covering North Dorset is this Saturday 14th March in Gillingham. Several great speakers www.dorsetbutterflies.com/events/
10.03.2026 14:05
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Next recorders meeting covering North Dorset is this Saturday 14th March in Gillingham. Several great speakers www.dorsetbutterflies.com/events/
Tomorrow is a chance to brush up on your Iberian Lycaenids with top expert Miguel Munguira. It’s free and online, the links are here butterfly-monitoring.net/epic-butterfly
The rise in sightings of large TTS in the UK does mirror the increase on the near continent where releases are non significant. See fe bsky.app/profile/chri...
A banded grey-green and black Yellow Horned moth rests vertically on the pale wooden inner wall of a moth trap.
A coarsely marked rufous and grey Clouded Drab moth rests just off the horizontal on the pale wooden inner wall of a moth trap.
A welcome 17/7 in the Upton garden trap this morning incl'd the ever lovely Yellow Horned (NFG) & my 1st Clouded Drab of the year, alongside a variety of the usual seasonal suspects #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social
So sad to see all the red, hope you can turn some round
Smoothed trend 1992-2025 of most Dutch butterflies from Dutch Butterfly Monitoring transects. The color indicates the linear trend over the whole period. Each line starts at a value of 100. The black dot gives the 2025 index value.
📄✍️ ZERYNTHIA ha solicitado al Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico que la mariposa Pieris cheiranthi sea declarada “en situación crítica”.
Desde ZERYNTHIA pedimos medidas urgentes para evitar su extinción definitiva 🦋.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1ct...
I would have thought this was a bit premature? They turn up in small numbers but we cannot rule out releases for many sightings. I would have thought Clouded Yellow was a better candidate as we have larvae confirmed breeding on cliffs of Bournemouth most winters @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social
Early Thorn
Dotted Border
Oak Beauty
Pale Pinion
67 of 13 sp in #mothtrap at Corfe Castle. Some beauties were Early Thorn, Dotted Border, Oak Beauty and Pale Pinion. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetmoths.bsky.social #teammoth
Before coppicing!
Before coppicing!
After coppicing!
Primrose leaf with Duke of Burgundy larval feeding damage from last year.
I spent my weekend carrying out some more habitat management work for Duke of Burgundy in Pickering Woods, with volunteers from @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @northyorkmoors.org.uk and Pickering Env. Group.
We coppiced a strip of approx. 35m x 5m, opening up an area with lots of Primrose coming through.
All well here. Waiting for some better weather to see some Large Tortoiseshells!
Here in the UK numbers have been going up but 2023 and 2024 were disastrous. I think it will have picked up in 2025 (not shown). But the UK has a big variety of habitats and Dark Green does well in cooler climates in the north
After the extremly hot and dry summer of 2018 numbers of the Dark green fritillary (S aglaja, grote parelmoer) on Dutch Butterfly Monitoring transects crashed and has not recovered. I fear it could get extinct in NL soon, what is amazing for a species that can live in so many different habitats.
Great thread, thanks for the nice summary
Scarlet Tiger caterpillar in the garden today, but does anyone know what the tiny looper caterpillar is? Found on Marjoram @dorsetmoths.bsky.social
Field margin with wildflowers that can support butterflies in arable farmland
Livestock grazing is essential to maintaining grasslands in the mountains of Europe. Extensive cattle grazing has been shown to be the most beneficial but any extensive system is good
Grassland butterflies are declining across Europe, but how do we reverse that trend? We have just produced a report with some simple guidance to land managers and policy makers on how to 'Bend the curve' and help increase butterflies and other pollinators. www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...
"There's five times as many butterflies on cattle grazing sites compared with sheep grazed sites,"
@bcyorkshire.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Wow, this is an important paper. We had some evidence early on from @ukbms.bsky.social sites but rarely had good data in grazing regimes. But @tombrereton.bsky.social always said that extensive cattle was the best for butterflies and this add yet more evidence
Photo of the Large Tortoiseshell seen yesterday at Ballard Down by Shona Refoy. An exciting spot after one seen at Baiter in Poole a few days ago. Please report any other sightings on our website or here
Reliable report of Large Tortoiseshell at Ballard Down near Swanage yesterday, keep your eyes peeled out there. Pics to follow
False Comma (Nymphalis vau-album) © Janos Olah
Puddling group of Clouded Yellow (Colias crocea) & Berger's Clouded Yellow (Colias alfacariensis) © Clive Burrows
Tour update 🚨
As of this morning, our 2027 Summer Butterflies of Serbia tour now has just four places remaining available to book upon it. Naturally, like *all* our butterfly tours, it generates a donation to support the work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social.
mariposanature.com/tours/butter...
I thought it was just a battered Small Tortoiseshell on a muddy patch… but something wasn’t quite right. Then it clicked—it was far too big! My first-ever Large Tortoiseshell, emerging in the sun after months of Cornish rain. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @marcusrhodes.bsky.social
Interesting - okay everyone eyes peeled 👀 for a Painted Lady in Warwickshire! 😬🦋🤞🤞🤞
Male and female Crossbill in the leaf litter
Male Crossbill on the track
A Large Tortoiseshell Butterfly sunning itself by the track
A Large Tortoiseshell Butterfly with its wings closed
The Wednesday clubs day out to Orlestone with new member Jacob as our carer. Super views of Crossbills, a Goshawk and other woodland birds we don't see at Dunge. We also a great views of or target for the trip at least 2 Large Tortoiseshell Butterflies. Tea and cake back at the car provided by Owen.
Just a reminder, we have a Zoom talk this evening at 7.30 www.hertsmiddx-butterflies.org.uk/winter-zoom..... Our branch recorder Andrew Wood will be talking about 'Butterflies in 2025 and can we predict long term changes?' All welcome and no need to book.
This new paper on the palaeoecology of Europe's woods is worth a read and helps explain why so many butterflies, and other insects, are associated with open areas in woods, or 'wood edge' habitats. An important message for conservation www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
March is the new April. Astonishing how far spring has advanced in our lifetime #climatechaos
Well done RHS, lets save moths www.theguardian.com/environment/...
This revelatory news report by ITV (well done them), revealing what is in the FULL (still officially suppressed) intelligence services’ national security assessment on “Ecosystem collapse and national security” (actual title!), is an epochal shift.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59DZ...
A beautiful Two-tailed Pasha (Charaxes jasius) caterpillar found in south Portugal 🦋
@europebutterfly.bsky.social
