The BBC ask our Nick and Les onto Look North to talk to Tom Ingle about why there are more butterflies this year plus the dramatic changes in Yorkshires Butterflies. Goto 20 mins in. All filmed at Les's butterfly reserve at Wenthillside, Pontefract www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Look North (Yorkshire) - Evening News: 04/08/2026

The latest news, sport and weather for Yorkshire.

bbc.co.uk

We look back at the 2026 Butterfly season with less than 20% of season remaining in terms of butterfly numbers. 11 species had their best or 2nd best summers ever with representatives from every family. Gatekeeper for the Browns but it was also very much a Vanessid, Lycaenid and Pierid summer.

Who said moths are dull and eat clothes? Royal Mail stamps issue, release date 9th July

New #OpenAccess research by @benoitevol.bsky.social et al. in #RESInsectConsDiv reports on the genomic distinctiveness and #conservation #genomics of the British #swallowtail butterfly (#Papilio machaon britannicus) doi.org/10.1111/icad.70102 #WholeGenomeSequencing

Where the Red Admiral (V atalanta) has a good year on Dutch Butterfly Monitoring transects, Peacock (dagpauwoog, A io) and Comma (gehakkelde aurelia, P c-album) are only doing so-so. The Small tortoiseshell (kleine vos, A urticae) has been down for the last ten years.

Male and female Clouded Yellow. Grafton Wood, Worcs 20/7/26. @westmbms-99.bsky.social @worcswt.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Yorkshire's Butterflies Spring 2026: After a record breaking 2025 numbers are only down 7% but 35% up on 5 year average. It illustrates the carry over with good numbers of Lycaenid species but also poor survival in last year's drought of Small Tort. Wall & Small Heath docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Our latest Argus newsletter is now available at drive.google.com/file/d/1gIbB...

Occupancy-trend of the Chequered Skipper (bont dikkopje, C palaemon) in NL. After a long period of gradual decline distribution in 2024 and 2025 fell by almost 50%, esp. small populations were abandoned. Helas 2026 showed little recovery as far as we can tell now.

Yorkshire's monitored sites after the huge influx a week ago are still recording 2-5 Painted ladies per 1km. An abundance we've not seen since late July 2019. All set for an Explosion! www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Get set for a painted lady summer: big year for orange butterflies in Britain

Migrant insects have been seen in large numbers along east coast thanks to heatwave and benign southerly winds

theguardian.com

And another paper that's likely to spark debate "Biodiversity offsetting, if properly implemented, can be an effective tool for pollinator conservation" besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

The effectiveness of biodiversity offsetting for wild pollinator conservation

We show that even small differences in the composition of floral resources can result in significantly higher wild pollinator abundances and species richness in offset grasslands. Since our reference...

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Our Holly Blue caterpillars on the Alder Buckthorn have now acquired a couple of Black Garden Ants in attendance. The ants feed from the caterpillar’s honey gland. @bcwarwickshire.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

A nocturnal trip into my local woods with a UV torch turned up half a dozen Purple Emperor pupa shining like led’s

I must have taken 100s of photos of Purple Emperor larvae over the years, but this one, from today, is probably my favourite ... showing just how camouflaged a fully grown larva is against a leaf of its foodplant (Salix caprea, Goat Willow, in this case).

Great footage of Brown Hairstreak larva interacting with ants on tonights Springwatch. Starts @42 minutes @bc-hertsmiddx.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Springwatch - 2026: Episode 2

Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan continue to celebrate the season at National Trust Crom in Northern Ireland, revealing a hidden world playing out in the reed beds.

bbc.co.uk

Really valuable piece of research. We have used scrapes successfully on the old limestone quarries on Portland. A very different habitat but the vegetation recovers quickly and is also colonised by suitable ants, Lasius alienus. Sadly we do not have the resources to do enough to help SSB in big way

Dr Marcus Rhodes@marcusrhodes.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It increasingly looks like scraping will be our preferred management treatment for future restoration of butterfly habitat on these heathland mine sites (at least where a humus layer has developed beneath the heather sward).

Hundreds of Painted Lady butterflies in East Yorkshire today, along with smaller numbers of Silver Y moths and Red Admirals @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Richard Lewington's Moths and Butterflies of the British Isles. Pre-order your copy today. Due to be published 12/11/2026. RRP: £75.00. Just add to your cart to get an instant £10.00 discount and free delivery too! *** UK Only *** wildernessbooks.co.uk/products/ric...

📣 Our recent paper, led by Luke Evans, assesses evidence for links between insect abundance & populations of insect-eating birds & bats. link.springer.com/article/10.1... #teammoth 🌍 @savebutterflies.bsky.social 1/3

Assessing direct effects of insect change on insectivore populations in the United Kingdom - Biodiversity and Conservation

Declines in insect abundance are a cause for concern, with potential downstream impacts on ecosystem function. Insects are key food resources for insectivorous vertebrates, with evidence that reductio...

link.springer.com

This female Brimstone was laying eggs on the Buckthorn hedge I planted in my Sheffield garden. Plant it and they will come! 🦋

#SundayScience | Dark Bordered Beauty Moths 🦋 Discover the conservation of the rare Dark Bordered Beauty moth with Georgina Lindsay in this #SundayScience. Learn how RZSS breeds and reintroduces this striking species to safeguard its future. ▶️ youtu.be/4noTrJyUwSc

More Moths Please

YouTube video by Biological Recording Company

youtu.be

We need your help with the BCY Argus Newsletter The Yorkshire Branch general editor feels that it is time to step back.They are happy to stay on for twelve months and support whoever takes on the role. Mail:penny.relf@yorkshirebutterflies.org.uk www.yorkshirebutterflies.org.uk/publications...

An opportunity to help out with the Leeds Wild Spaces project sowing wild flower seeds at Middleton Park on 24th April 10am www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leeds-wild...

Leeds Wild Spaces - Middleton Park Wildflower Meadow Seeding

(ACCESS CODE: MIDDLETON) - Join us as part of Butterfly Conservation's Leeds Wild Spaces project!

eventbrite.co.uk

The final zoom talk rounds up 2025 Butterfly season and what a season it was! An Annus Mirablis some would say. We look at the effects of the heat and drought on the fortunes of our species on different habitats as well as exploring a record breaking early start www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/yorkshire-...

Yorkshire Butterfly Season 2025 by Nick Hall

Nick Hall is the Yorkshire county Transect coordinator will present a review of the 2025 Butterfly Season.

eventbrite.co.uk

Another early spring (though has recent cool slowed it a bit) The latest from @patrickbarkham.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/environment/...

From early birds to emerging butterflies: UK shows signs of earliest spring on record

Citizen science data reveals early flowering, nesting and insect activity as global heating accelerate seasonal change

theguardian.com

An update on the Orange-tip butterfly chrysalis. The orange of the wing tip is looking more obvious now. Hoping for a still, warm day for the emergence. #butterflies #chrysalis #UKwildlife

A rare wetland plant is returning to East Yorkshire to support the nationally scarce Swallowtail butterfly. A joint project between Wassand Estate and Tophill Low are planting Milk Parsley to see if it is possible to bring this butterfly back to Hornsea mere. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

There are 8 species now on the wing in Yorkshire with Speckled Wood spotted along the south facing woodland roadside at Wentbridge yesterday. Emergences are running a week early and in the Midlands Holly Blue, Orange Tip and Green Hairstreak have already been spotted! Please report your sightings

Fascinating. If this spread continues will we start to see more and more in SE England? And will any re-establishment be clouded by questions over rogue releases?

Chris van Swaay@chrisvanswaay.eurosky.social · 2y ago

Butterflies increasing in NL: Large Tortoiseshell (N polychloros, grote vos). Took me years to see my first when I started butterflying, now a regular butterfly in my area, especially in early spring. In shorturl.at/8n8Ts I argue this is most probably a result of migration from the east.

Its 2 weeks today until the start of the official Butterfly Monitoring season But for any keen beans you can do early transect walks before April 1st if the weather is warm, above 13oC, dry, bright and still. Early counts can be entered on our website as weeks -3, -2, -1, 0 etc.