Our second Masterclass in identifying European butterflies is coming up next Wednesday 17th Feb. This one covers the trickier species in the Atlantic region given by renowned expert Chris van Swaay. The Webinar zoom link: us06web.zoom.us/j/81934375118

Don't forget to tune in this Wednesday 11 February at 15:00 CET to hear our first masterclass on identifying European butterflies from a top expert Rudi Verovnik, covering East Continental and Balkan species butterfly-monitoring.net/EPIC-Butterfly

Tour update 🚨 Places going fast on our 2027 tours - as of this afternoon, Spring Butterflies of Marvellous Morocco is now a guaranteed departure. Which means another guaranteed donation to support the great work of our friends at @europebutterfly.bsky.social. www.mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Chapman's Blue (Polyommatus thersites) (Cantener 1835) Known as Çokgözlü Menekşe Mavisi in Turkish Often overlooked as similar to C Blue Habitat is warm sunny flowery meadows Larva feeds on Onobrychis species and are attended by ants and hide themselves in the litter layer to pupate #Turkey

Due to a late cancellation a place has become available to join our unique Uganda butterfly tour in May. Beautiful butterflies & a fascinating adventure guaranteed - you may even get to see the prehistoric looking Shoebill (yes we like birds too!). greenwings.co/our-holidays...

Tour news 🚨 We've launched the first tranche of our 2027 butterfly tours on our website today. Lots to choose from, including Andalusia, Morocco, Abruzzo & Serbia, and many more to follow! All generate donations to support the great work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social mariposanature.com/calendar

We've all made it to another weekend, that's worth celebrating! Here's Caria mantinea, photographed in Bolivia by Adrian Hoskins. Book your next butterfly tour from our extensive worldwide range of destinations... greenwings.co/our-holidays...

For all who more or less know the butterflies of NW Europe, but find the diversity of the Balkans overwhelming, there is a masterclass on "Eastern continental and Balkan butterfly species" by Rudi Verovnik on 11th February at 15h CET. For more details see butterfly-monitoring.net/epic-butterfly

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...

Our latest Activity Report for 2025 is now available on our website. It gives updates on several major projects as well as a report on our Partner meeting in December. We have made good progress but are aware of the huge challenges ahead www.bc-europe.eu/documents/69...

Part 2 (and last of the autumn!) - Moth-trapping at CIMA, Tarifa, Cadiz Province, Andalucia, Spain on the 27th-29th November 2025. Photos are; Compsoptera opacaria & Itame vincularia. - see alt button for details in photos #teammoth #spanishmoths www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...

Wow, UK moth recording really on the up. Nearly 900K records in 2025, probably reach over 1 million in due course. Well done everyone. National Moth Recording Scheme meeting online now @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Some good news from the UK. Shows how simple changes in hedge cutting can make a big difference to butterflies

Interesting paper on the dramatic increase of Silver-studded Blue butterflies on Dorset heathland sites suggesting it is probably a climate change winner that is benefitting from the warmer summers, and possibly wetter winters www.dispar.org/reference.ph...

This coming Saturday the annual UK Moth Recorders' Meeting. Free tickets are still available. To book your place buff.ly/QHLFDFv

Aedon Blue (Polyommatus aedon) (Christoph 1887) Gevas, Turkey A striking blue butterfly also know as Many-eyed Edonian Blue and Çokgözlü Edon Mavisi Habitats include alpine meadows, grassy & rocky slopes Larvae have been recorded as eating Cicer sp., Cicer anatolium in Turkey #Turkey #Butterflies

Truly it's our absolute pleasure to help support the great work you do. Conservation, and butterflies and moths in particular, has a great champion in @europebutterfly.bsky.social.

Good morning and welcome to a new week! Our featured tour this week is Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees. A tour that explores a richly butterfly-laden area of France in late May, and guarantees a donation to support @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

'Morpho Monday' Our time in Colombia has come to an end, but what a beautiful pair of butterflies to finish with on our final day in the field!

A new UK government report warns that global #biodiversity loss threatens food security, economic stability, and geopolitical order. In my latest blog post I ask whether pollination should now be considered a #nationalsecurity issue: jeffollerton.co.uk/2026/01/26/p... @butterfly-project.bsky.social

We are enormously grateful for your support, it has enabled us to keep up pressure on the EU and Member States to honour their commitments to biodiversity and of course butterflies and moths in particular.

Yet more worrying data on the decline of European butterflies, this time from Finland. We must find a way of combining agriculture and biodiversity, it can be done and many NGOs are showing the way www.rspb.org.uk/helping-natu...

Greek Clouded Yellow (Colias aurorina) (Herrich-Schäffer 1850) Turkey Found in Greece, the Near East, the Caucasus, Iran and Turkmenistan Largest species of it’s genus with a wingspan of 35–70 mm Larvae feed on Astracantha & Astragalus species of plant #Turkey #Catak #GreekCloudedYellow

⚠️2026: a make-or-break year for nature in Europe.⚠️ As environmental protections in the EU are under pressure, the choices being made now will shape the next decade. 👉 Here’s what we’ll be watching and fighting for in the months ahead: www.birdlife.org/news/2026/01...

Crucial new meta-analysis of pollinator requirements in agricultural landscapes shows that butterflies need a min of 37% of semi-natural habitat, whereas bees need 16-18% and hoverflies 6%. Where this is not possible greatly increasing habitat quality can help. natuurkennis.nl/wp-content/u...

We've begun the year with a cracker of a tour, in Colombia - megadiverse country & capital of the butterfly world! Here's a few phone pics sent back to us from the first couple of days of fun! 🦋 And more funds generated that we'll be able to donate to @europebutterfly.bsky.social too!

Las mariposas son bioindicadores esenciales: su presencia y variedad nos cuentan cómo está el entorno. En España conviven muchas especies, tanto diurnas como nocturnas, una riqueza que habla del enorme valor ecológico de nuestros paisajes. Cuidarlas es cuidar el equilibrio de la naturaleza 🦋🌿

Good morning, welcome to a new week! Our featured tour of the week is Spring Butterflies of Central & Northern Spain. Just 4 places left available to book on this one, and of course it generates a guaranteed donation to support @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

In 2016 we found Nevada grayling still relatively easy at Puerto de la Ragua, E of Sierra Nevada. New research shows this is one of only 4 remaining locations for this species (of once 11). It was only discovered <100y ago, let's make sure this species action plan gives it a few more 100y to live!

Sad to say this probably shows that many butterflies have hit rock bottom, just surviving in low numbers on the best sites. But I guess we should be glad they are not yet extinct, although that may be round the corner unless we get our act together and start rebuilding our habitats

Pogge’s Skipper (Muschampia poggei) (Lederer, 1858)Turkey Also known as Pogge Hop & Pogge’nin Zipzipi Found in in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Middle East, and Transcaucasia. There preferred habitat is arid mountain slopes dominated by desert plants Larvae feed on Phlomis sp. #Turkey #PoggesSkipper

Fascinating blog - a Spanish montane localised endemic butterfly losing habitat to climate change and land use change - both abandonment and grazing intensification.

New information on one of the rarest butterflies in Europe: the Nevada Grayling Pseudochazara williamsi. It's distribution is now reduced to only four mountains in Southern Spain, but it is still suffering from habitat loss.

New study using @gardenmothscheme.bsky.social data shows that 125w & 80w bulbs attract more moths than any actinics, and that Robinson and Skinner traps retain more moths that Heath traps #teammoth doi.org/10.1111/icad...

We have a new blog on our efforts to save one of Europe's most threatened butterflies: the Nevada Grayling (Pseudochazara williamsi), found in just a few locations in southern Spain. www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...

Looking back at 2025, we've lots to be proud of, not least having delivered some super tours to happy guests, and donations to @bsbibotany.bsky.social & @europebutterfly.bsky.social. More news and looking forward to the year ahead in our New Year's Day blog: www.mariposanature.com/about/news/2...

Shows there is hope, even in the highly fragmented UK landscapes

Tour update 🚨 As of this afternoon, our Spring Butterflies of the French Pyrenees tour is now a guaranteed departure in May 2026. We love returning to the butterflies here, and we love the donation it generates to help the work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Happy winter solstice to all our supporters and wishing you a wonderful and Lepidoptera filled New Year

A great new course from colleagues at @europebutterfly.bsky.social

[3/3] 3) free butterfly taxonomy course: The Pollinator Academy has launched a free, online butterfly identification course. With flexible lessons taking just 10–30 minutes, you can master European butterfly characteristics at your own pace 🦋 pollinatoracademy.eu/training/eu-... #PollinatorAcademy

Part 1 - Moth-trapping at Baza Desert, Granada Province, Andalucia, Spain on the 22nd of October 2025. Photos are; Agrotis lasserei & Crimson Speckled - Utetheisa pulchella. - see alt button for details in photos #teammoth #spanishmoths www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...

And you get a personal 'profile' and a PDF guide to Mediterranean butterflies too!

Our friends at the University of Florence have been looking into the aesthetic appeal of European butterflies and does this bias the species we choose to protect. You can help their research by completing a simple online survey. Many thanks in advance www.unveiling.eu?fbclid=IwZXh...

Well worth a look. Dirk is one of the top butterfly researchers in Europe and a founder member of BC Europe

Cristina is our wonderful co-ordinator of the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. Under her guidance the scheme is expanding rapidly and more and more people are getting involved. Do join in and help us monitor butterflies

Intriguing paper from the UK showing contrasting trends of Plebejus argus in two different habitats: heathlands doing very well, limestone grasslands doing very badly. Wonderful to see what fifty years worth of monitoring data can show us

Neue Rote Liste der Tagfalter & Widderchen Deutschlands. Gut gefällt mir, dass in Sachen Gefährdungsursachen die Landnutzungsgeschichte & historische Nutzungsformen stärker miteinbezogen werden. Kuh & Pferd hätten aber etwas stärker gewürdigt werden können. www.rote-liste-zentrum.de/de/Rote-List...

Losses of specialist and expansion of thermophilic generalist macro-moths in nature reserves of Central Europe: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...