UK Butterflies
@ukbutterflies.bsky.social
UK Butterflies is a community website providing comprehensive information on all butterfly species in Britain & Ireland. Posts by Pete Eeles. https://linktr.ee/ukbutterflies
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The UK Butterflies 2025 Photography Competition is now open for entries and closes on November 30th. The winning photos will be announced in early December and the overall winner will receive a signed Richard Lewington print. See www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewto... for more info. Good luck!
November 2, 2025 at 4:44 PM
The UK Butterflies 2025 Photography Competition is now open for entries and closes on November 30th. The winning photos will be announced in early December and the overall winner will receive a signed Richard Lewington print. See www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewto... for more info. Good luck!
The UK Butterflies 2025 Photography Competition is now open for entries and closes on November 30th. The winning photos will be announced in early December and the overall winner will receive a signed Richard Lewington print. See www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewto... for more info. Good luck!
November 2, 2025 at 4:44 PM
The UK Butterflies 2025 Photography Competition is now open for entries and closes on November 30th. The winning photos will be announced in early December and the overall winner will receive a signed Richard Lewington print. See www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewto... for more info. Good luck!
Given the number of sightings of Marsh Fritillary away from their core sites, as well as personally seeing them fly through woodland, I’ve always thought that they disperse further than people think and this study is a step to proving that theory!
Fascinating Swedish study proving that threatened butterflies can still disperse surprisingly long distances eg Marsh Fritillary >8km and more than 10% of Large Blues travelled at least 1km resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🌍
October 23, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Given the number of sightings of Marsh Fritillary away from their core sites, as well as personally seeing them fly through woodland, I’ve always thought that they disperse further than people think and this study is a step to proving that theory!
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The new European Butterfly Red List is published today, with worrying findings. Over 1/4 (28%) of Europe’s 442 species are threatened with extinction or are close to being so. The situation is far worse for our 148 endemic species, 40% are now threatened or nearly so www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...
October 11, 2025 at 9:17 AM
The new European Butterfly Red List is published today, with worrying findings. Over 1/4 (28%) of Europe’s 442 species are threatened with extinction or are close to being so. The situation is far worse for our 148 endemic species, 40% are now threatened or nearly so www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...
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It also has a Donate button if you want to support our work saving butterflies and moths across Europe
September 30, 2025 at 8:08 AM
It also has a Donate button if you want to support our work saving butterflies and moths across Europe
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Check out our new website, packed with new features, including updated project and EU policy pages + butterfly species pages with all known hostplants courtesy of Harry Clarke and downloadable country lists. Big thanks to Peter Eeles @ukbutterflies.bsky.social for all his help www.bc-europe.eu
September 30, 2025 at 8:07 AM
Check out our new website, packed with new features, including updated project and EU policy pages + butterfly species pages with all known hostplants courtesy of Harry Clarke and downloadable country lists. Big thanks to Peter Eeles @ukbutterflies.bsky.social for all his help www.bc-europe.eu
"Only a fool will go chasing a male Orange-tip in the heat of the day!" (Paul Atkin) ... we're having a debate at UK Butterflies that will allow us to create a 'Guide to Responsible Butterfly Photography' so do join the conversation at www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewto.... 📷 Neil Freeman
September 5, 2025 at 8:14 PM
"Only a fool will go chasing a male Orange-tip in the heat of the day!" (Paul Atkin) ... we're having a debate at UK Butterflies that will allow us to create a 'Guide to Responsible Butterfly Photography' so do join the conversation at www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB/viewto.... 📷 Neil Freeman
Here's our concise summary of events regarding the Southern Small White - keep yer eyes peeled! ... www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/webpage.php?...
August 8, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Here's our concise summary of events regarding the Southern Small White - keep yer eyes peeled! ... www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/webpage.php?...
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Congratulations to William Brame @landguardbirder.bsky.social for realising this was a different white butterfly. Now confirmed by @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social as a Southern Small White - the first seen in England. As it is a female let's hope it has been laying eggs. @matthewberry.bsky.social
August 3, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Congratulations to William Brame @landguardbirder.bsky.social for realising this was a different white butterfly. Now confirmed by @chrisvanswaay.bsky.social as a Southern Small White - the first seen in England. As it is a female let's hope it has been laying eggs. @matthewberry.bsky.social
Given the weather today, we focused on the ecological aspects of our butterfly fauna; geology (chalk, clay, sand/gravel), habitats (grassland, woodland, heathland), flora and fauna. Here are some of the butterfly eggs we examined - White Admiral, Small Blue and Small Copper (library pics).
July 26, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Given the weather today, we focused on the ecological aspects of our butterfly fauna; geology (chalk, clay, sand/gravel), habitats (grassland, woodland, heathland), flora and fauna. Here are some of the butterfly eggs we examined - White Admiral, Small Blue and Small Copper (library pics).
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Enjoyed a fantastic walk guided by the hugely knowledgeable Peter Eeles, over a neighbouring estate doing extraordinarily good & innovative things for wildlife. Truly exciting. Learning to spot caterpillar webs in the fields, & tiny white admiral larvae in the woods! @ukbutterflies.bsky.social
July 26, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Enjoyed a fantastic walk guided by the hugely knowledgeable Peter Eeles, over a neighbouring estate doing extraordinarily good & innovative things for wildlife. Truly exciting. Learning to spot caterpillar webs in the fields, & tiny white admiral larvae in the woods! @ukbutterflies.bsky.social
When I started UK Butterflies in 2002, I had no idea that it would attract such interest! This is a 'shout out' to Vince Massimo, who has spent over 2 decades curating our image library from over 450 contributors. This recent image from Neil Freeman did make me laugh - name that species!
July 17, 2025 at 7:09 PM
When I started UK Butterflies in 2002, I had no idea that it would attract such interest! This is a 'shout out' to Vince Massimo, who has spent over 2 decades curating our image library from over 450 contributors. This recent image from Neil Freeman did make me laugh - name that species!
Now is a great time to seek out the immature stages of some of our rarest butterflies; 2 of my favourite targets shown below, plus parents! Locating these is hard work and time-consuming, as anyone who actually does field work (rather than posting the work of others) can attest, but is so rewarding.
July 12, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Now is a great time to seek out the immature stages of some of our rarest butterflies; 2 of my favourite targets shown below, plus parents! Locating these is hard work and time-consuming, as anyone who actually does field work (rather than posting the work of others) can attest, but is so rewarding.
What an incredible year for our Lepidoptera - so many species have benefited from this good weather and I just stumbled upon some lush semi-shaded nettles growing behind my greenhouse and found 3 Red Admiral larvae, 6 Comma larvae and, I'm sure, 12 Comma eggs !!! Time to grow more nettles! Library 📷
July 12, 2025 at 4:34 PM
What an incredible year for our Lepidoptera - so many species have benefited from this good weather and I just stumbled upon some lush semi-shaded nettles growing behind my greenhouse and found 3 Red Admiral larvae, 6 Comma larvae and, I'm sure, 12 Comma eggs !!! Time to grow more nettles! Library 📷
Good grief - in normal years, the last 2 species to emerge in Britain are Brown Hairstreak and Silver-spotted Skipper. And yet I've seen reports today of both flying ... in June! This is, without doubt, a very unusual year!
June 30, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Good grief - in normal years, the last 2 species to emerge in Britain are Brown Hairstreak and Silver-spotted Skipper. And yet I've seen reports today of both flying ... in June! This is, without doubt, a very unusual year!
A grand finale to the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour - with several Poplar Admiral sightings (what a beast!) and several photographable subjects. A fantastic ending to a fantastic tour. Do consider joining Ben Greenaway (below) and I next year greenwings.co/our-holidays...
June 24, 2025 at 4:44 PM
A grand finale to the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour - with several Poplar Admiral sightings (what a beast!) and several photographable subjects. A fantastic ending to a fantastic tour. Do consider joining Ben Greenaway (below) and I next year greenwings.co/our-holidays...
More from the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour to the Italian Alps where, today, we had an extreme form of female Spotted Fritillary that had a steely-blue sheen to its wings; a hybrid between Adonis and Chalk Hill Blues, known as polonus; and a cleodoxa form of High Brown Fritillary. What a place!
June 23, 2025 at 9:24 PM
More from the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour to the Italian Alps where, today, we had an extreme form of female Spotted Fritillary that had a steely-blue sheen to its wings; a hybrid between Adonis and Chalk Hill Blues, known as polonus; and a cleodoxa form of High Brown Fritillary. What a place!
Another amazing day on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour. Today had an ecology air to it, as Southern Swallowtail was found laying eggs on a member of the Apiaceae, with a maximum of 7 eggs found on one plant. Spotted Fritillary was also seen laying on Perennial Yellow-woundwort.
June 22, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Another amazing day on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour. Today had an ecology air to it, as Southern Swallowtail was found laying eggs on a member of the Apiaceae, with a maximum of 7 eggs found on one plant. Spotted Fritillary was also seen laying on Perennial Yellow-woundwort.
With 78 species seen today on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour, it's no wonder that all coppers we could expect to see were found; Small, Sooty, Scarce, Purple-edged & Purple-shot. Male & female of Purple-shot and Purple-edged below. Such beauties & hard to resist photographing!
June 21, 2025 at 8:10 PM
With 78 species seen today on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social Italian Alps tour, it's no wonder that all coppers we could expect to see were found; Small, Sooty, Scarce, Purple-edged & Purple-shot. Male & female of Purple-shot and Purple-edged below. Such beauties & hard to resist photographing!
Another incredible day on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour in the Italian Alps. Among the 57 species found today, it was the Apollos that really provided the 'wow' factor - a nice male showing all of its red spots & a mated female with a 'sphragis' on her abdomen that prevents further pairings.
June 20, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Another incredible day on the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour in the Italian Alps. Among the 57 species found today, it was the Apollos that really provided the 'wow' factor - a nice male showing all of its red spots & a mated female with a 'sphragis' on her abdomen that prevents further pairings.
An amazing start to the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour to the Italian Alps with 69 species seen thus far, including mating Large Blues, lots of 'puddling' fritillaries and Black-veined White, and lots of Apollos to boot, including this Clouded Apollo. I wonder what day 2 will bring!
June 19, 2025 at 8:15 PM
An amazing start to the @greenwingstours.bsky.social tour to the Italian Alps with 69 species seen thus far, including mating Large Blues, lots of 'puddling' fritillaries and Black-veined White, and lots of Apollos to boot, including this Clouded Apollo. I wonder what day 2 will bring!
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This flagship tour of ours is a long running firm favourite. And next years will be very special - led by a hugely experienced & talented lepidopterist team of Dr Michael de Courcy Williams & Peter Eeles @ukbutterflies.bsky.social
Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra) from northern Greece.
One of my favourite parts of the country & where I researched & launched the original @greenwingstours.bsky.social butterfly tour back in 2013.
Roll on the next one in June 2026! 🦋🇬🇷💙
One of my favourite parts of the country & where I researched & launched the original @greenwingstours.bsky.social butterfly tour back in 2013.
Roll on the next one in June 2026! 🦋🇬🇷💙
June 17, 2025 at 2:43 PM
This flagship tour of ours is a long running firm favourite. And next years will be very special - led by a hugely experienced & talented lepidopterist team of Dr Michael de Courcy Williams & Peter Eeles @ukbutterflies.bsky.social
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New digital publication available for free on our website! A checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles (2nd Edition): covering all British macro-moths, micro-moths and butterflies, this is an indispensable reference for any serious lepidopterist. www.benhs.org.uk/publications...
A CHECKLIST OF THE LEPIDOPTERA OF THE BRITISH ISLES (2nd Edition) - British Entomological & Natural History Society
www.benhs.org.uk
June 1, 2025 at 9:25 AM
New digital publication available for free on our website! A checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles (2nd Edition): covering all British macro-moths, micro-moths and butterflies, this is an indispensable reference for any serious lepidopterist. www.benhs.org.uk/publications...
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Celebrate #WorldSwallowtailDay this Sunday 8th June. Post your favourite pictures of Swallowtail and Birdwing butterflies with #WorldSwallowtailDay
Checkout our website at sbbt.org.uk for lots more information about Swallowtails
Checkout our website at sbbt.org.uk for lots more information about Swallowtails
June 7, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Celebrate #WorldSwallowtailDay this Sunday 8th June. Post your favourite pictures of Swallowtail and Birdwing butterflies with #WorldSwallowtailDay
Checkout our website at sbbt.org.uk for lots more information about Swallowtails
Checkout our website at sbbt.org.uk for lots more information about Swallowtails
Nice piece on the dioecious Goat Willow (Salix caprea) by @bbcspringwatch.bsky.social on BBC1 right now. It's also the primary larval foodplant of the spectacular Purple Emperor butterfly 😀
June 5, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Nice piece on the dioecious Goat Willow (Salix caprea) by @bbcspringwatch.bsky.social on BBC1 right now. It's also the primary larval foodplant of the spectacular Purple Emperor butterfly 😀