Lucky shot of two Common Blues roosting, but in closer inspection the lower one is a female Brown Argus. The colon twin spots on the underside hindwing giving it away @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Development of Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) chrysalis. Photographed from larva, pre-pupal stage, freshly formed pupa and finally the hardened finished product. Found on Broad-leaved Dock in a Luton garden. #UKButterflies

My first second-brood Adonis Blue on the Purbeck Ridge, also a couple of Grayling which is interesting. May be breeding or just dispersed from heaths? Goodness knows what the Adonis larvae will make of parched habitat. A crash next year? @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Yes, that’s very different from here. Yours will be much more drought prone and maybe the ants suffer more?? An interesting species…..

James CBR@jamescbr.bsky.social · yesterday

Yes, Bell heather is preferred by SSB over Ling and it's nearly all on dry heath over sandy souls There's a tiny amount of wetter heath that has Cross-leaved Heath but nearly all of the heath is sandy, coastal and dry.

Just two nights ago our all time largest catch of Small Mottled Willows saw the 500 mark exceeded, last night that was more than doubled to 1007 - barmy times! Busy traps for everything else as well last night incl obvious arrivals of Diamond-backs and Beet Moths; 9 Small & a Purple Marbled of note

Its been another record year for Silver-studded Blue at Studland NNR with total count of 2164, just beating 2024. That's nearly a 12 fold increase over 16 years. The huge rise with little management is a puzzle and is explored in our paper dispar.org/reference.ph.... @ukbms.bsky.social

Stumbled on this Eyed Hawk-moth larva whilst out looking for leafmines. Actually it found me really; as I reached for a sallow leaf it reacted and waved around bashing my fingers before I'd seen it. #vc55moths #teammoth

I think Gatekeeper had a good year down here, less so Meadow Brown and even lease so Ringlet which likes damper conditions. Ditto Green-veined White which have been more or less non existent. We lost Small Tortoiseshell years ago due to the hotter summers (I assume)

James CBR@jamescbr.bsky.social · 2d ago

It is sobering, isn't it? Many of my local browns are surviving well, except Speckled Wood and Ringlet but I fear for Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral larvae. Just as ST started to pick up following last year's good numbers, the drought is looking set to wipe many out, even on the marshes.

Good grief! Super WOWWW! I know and have watched many sphinx moths, but that tongue is the longest I've ever seen! From the recent Smithsonian moth expedition to the Azuero peninsula, Panama. stri.si.edu/story/mothbox

My 2 Wider Countryside butterfly recording squares on Lulworth Army ranges felt like the end of days, with brown grass and very few butterflies left. Just the odd Meadow Brown, Wall, Small Heath +whites in 4 km. And one very worn Lulworth Skipper @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @ukbms.bsky.social

Last night's Obs moth-traps still busy with migrants, with 3 Purple Marbleds and singles of Convolvulus Hawk and Eastern Bordered Straw the best of the quality; beyond the Convolvulus Hawk, not really much evidence of new arrivals as opposed to mostly home-bred stock

I was down at Southbourne today and it was nice to meet up with fellow Transect walkers who were manning a stall for Dorset Butterfly Conservation. These Clouded Yellows and Painted Lady were seen on S7. It's great to see that so many reported around the county. Southbourne Dorset

Great day on our Southbourne Seafront transect supporting @savebutterflies.bsky.social Big Butterfly Count. Nice to show visitors the Clouded Yellows zipping along the undercliff. Thanks to all who helped with the display 😀 @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @ukbms.bsky.social

New paper out 😊 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Plant species richness is key for restoring grassland butterfly assemblages

The results indicate that successful restoration of grassland vegetation and butterflies is strongly linked. To fully restore target butterfly assemblages, future grassland restoration should aim to ....

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

There is still a large amount of Knapweed, Scabious, Wild Carrot, Stemless Thistle in flower I don’t know the butterfly trends this summer in East Kent but always amazed to see the chalk being quite resilient Good numbers of Silver-spotted Skipper compared to last few years (but just observation)

020826 OM1ii Two HBHM in my #York garden @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social #teammoth #gardenmothscheme #muchadoaboutmothing. #mothsmatter

REPORT: Long-tailed Blue, 1st Aug 2026. Holland-on-Sea, Essex. @migrantmothuk.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social @jamescbr.bsky.social

Caterpillar of the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) being tended to by ants in my Bournemouth garden this week. #UKButterflies #Caterpillars @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

It's only taken 35 years of visiting the French Alps and Pyrenees to finally get settled views of a Peak White. A late highlight yesterday afternoon here in the Alps, all my previous sightings of this (in)famously mobile species have been butterflies zipping past at great speed.

This lovely Death's-head Hawkmoth was found in Caversham by Philip Jones, on his allotment. He very kindly gave it me to look after and it has now burrowed down into the soil to pupate.

The study combines data from 149 field studies, in 27 countries across five continents to compare the impacts of plant diversity on natural pest predators across croplands, grasslands and forests. UKCEH's Ben Woodcock is among the co-authors. See our news: https://tinyurl.com/3mtyu6ft 2/2

Plant diversity boosts pests’ predators and reduces crop damage

The largest global assessment of its kind has shown that plant diversity increases populations of predators to suppress pests before they cause significant crop damage. The meta-analysis combines data from 149 field studies across five continents, with co-authors including Dr Ben Woodcock of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

tinyurl.com

Clouded Yellows were abundant at last weeks open day at Alners Gorse, over 25 seen, including this helice (white form) female laying eggs on tiny Bird’s-foot-trefoil plants in an area we cleared of conifers a few years ago @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Monday has trended hotter with slower moving, shallow Atlantic low which now increasingly looks sparse on 🌧️helps drag up hot continental air. Feasible we see mid 30s again, if that occurs we will have seen 35C in May, June, July and August. Unbelievable. There’s nothing remotely comparable.

New month, new butterflies and moths to look out for in your gardens and local green spaces! 🦋🌻 See how many you can spot in the Big Butterfly Count, running until 9 August 👉 https://butrfli.es/3SVFepj

Hornet Robberflies are becoming increasingly common on Dorset heaths now they are grazed and providing lots of dung for the larvae. Here is one with a big grasshopper at Studland @nationaltrust.org.uk @naturalengland.bsky.social

Sad but not surprising. Few conservation strategies are aimed at insects, which in turn provide food for birds. They are also often underfunded and poorly implemented. We simply must do better to tackle biodiversity loss, we have the knowledge to do a lot better @europebutterfly.bsky.social

Nature Ecology & Evolution@natecoevo.nature.com · 5d ago

Are current species conservation policies enough? New study indicates that common bird and common butterfly species across Europe are set to keep declining in the coming decades. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Pine Hawk Sphinx pinastri caterpillars on Scots Pine. When they reach their final instar the green and white camouflage amongst the pine needles isn't so effective so they gain a brown central line to blend in. Thanks Barry Henwood #teammoth

EBG Romania Day 9 - The finale. Black Ringlet, Danube Clouded Yellow, Poplar Hawkmoth and it’s time to say goodbye for now @europebutterfly.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Please share: Full-time PhD position on Butterfly Evolution at High Elevations 🦋⛰️ The project aims to understand the evolution and adaptation of Andean white butterflies using genomics. DEADLINE: September 11, 2026 More info: pavelmatos.wordpress.com/join-us/

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Opportunities Below are the positions currently open in our lab. Open PhD position (full time) Comparative and Population Genomics of Butterflies at High Elevations. The project aims to understand …

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