This graph from @metoffice.gov.uk says it all about this summer's weather. Every month was at least a degree warmer than the average 20 years ago. Butterflies mostly did well but how will the drought have affected them? @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Still plenty of third gen Walls on Corfe Common, how are they doing elsewhere? @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

In my garden in Ely, Cambridgeshire this week

One month to go until the UKBMS 50th Anniversary Conference! Are you joining us? www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-butterf... #UKBMS50

@bcyorkshire.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social A lot of Brown Argus locally today. Assume this is the second brood. Also Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Whites

📣 New research, including @savebutterflies.bsky.social #citizenscience data, shows winners & losers across >1200 insect species in Britain since 1990. Urbanisation identified as major driver of decline for moths, ladybirds & hoverflies www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🌍 🦋🐞🦗🪲🐝

American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), on my garden Buddleja this morning. St. Mellion, SE Cornwall.

UKBMS data is crucial for research. A new paper uses 45 yrs of UKBMS data to examine how extreme climate events affect butterfly populations in England. Heatwaves during hibernation or early life stages and heavy rain during later stages have -ve effects. Its worth a read - buff.ly/nOU2Zod

New Europe-wide study finds that efforts to provide pollinator habitat in urban areas - such as sowing wildflower mixes - really do work, boosting numbers of bees and butterflies: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Annus Mirabilis! A brief summary across 20 sites show a remarkable recovery. With a 70% increase in our spring species and 50% increase till August its likely to the best year since the 90's. 20 year ranking puts 20 species 1st-3rd. Numerical winners were the Large White, GV White and Gatekeeper.

An influx of Clouded Yellow since 4/8. They can be seen in many flowery places and clover fields. Popular spots include Ledston Luck, North Cave wetlands, Ripon wetlands. Look for a medium sized dusky orange butterfly in flight. You rarely get to see the upperside so thanks go to Tony Wilson.

All set up for the day at Leeds CC’s Lotherton Hall. @bcyorkshire.bsky.social

An awesome video from Michael Williams taken a few days ago in South Derbyshire of Purple Emperors exerting their power over Comma's and Red Admiral's. Yorkshire has also 'fallen' purple with three sightings of 'HIM' this year from Sprotbrough, Guisbrough and York confirmed. youtu.be/ZSKUQgC1tHM

It's the Big Butterfly Count and we are at Tropical World Leeds. The Privet Hawk is proving a real crowd pleaser along with a very full moth trap. Lots of interest from visitors.

We will have a stand at the 'Jewel of York' Jamboree at Askham Bryan Wildlife and Conservation Park. Hope to see you there with live dispalys of Moths from the night before and the latest on our rapidly changing butterfly populations and the Big www.buglife.org.uk/events/jewel...

The Dutch had their Garden Butterfly Count last weekend. Red Admiral was top as in previous years followed by Small White, Peacock, Brimstone, Large White, Meadow brown, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Holly Blue and Comma. 2025 ranks best since 2016 but not as good as years prior to that.

Job Opportunity: Peatland Project Officer. An opportunity to help reverse the decline of some of the UK's rarest butterflies like Large Heath and Dark-bordered Beauty by restoring their habitats. Full time, fixed-term contract for 2 years 7 months). Closing 29 July butterfly-conservation.org/jobs

My first visit to the Floodplain Meadow in Great Ayton, North Yorkshire. Butterflies were numerous and I managed to record two new species for the area, the Brown Argus and the White-letter Hairstreak, classified as Vulnerable in the UK. @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @nymnptrust.bsky.social 📷 Library

Many Purple Hairstreaks seen in most of the oak trees around Swainby, North Yorkshire on a warm summer's evening. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @northyorkmoors.org.uk

Discover the beauty of butterflies this summer at Tropical World, Roundhay Park from 19th to 31st July and find out about their habitats. We’re taking part in the Big Butterfly Count 2025 (19 July to 10 August) Join BCY team with live insects 19-20th July tropicalworld.leeds.gov.uk/tropical-wor...

A good year for all four Pieris-whites on Dutch Butterfly Monitoring transects. The Southern Small White (P mannii, scheefbloemwitje) seems to be having its highest numbers so far, but also Large and Small White (P brassicae and P rapae) can be seen in large numbers.

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!

Fortunate to witness an astonishing spectacle at the beach tonight: tens of thousands of (mainly Small) white butterflies pouring in over the sea, as far as you could see. Pulses of butterflies swept in-off everywhere, an extraordinary sight. @linnetincley.bsky.social @norfolknats.bsky.social 1/2

This week seems to have brought a profusion of whites, small, large and green veined with dozens in view above patches of thistle.

Time to look back at an once in a century Spring with sunniest, warmest and one of the driest on record. The result was exceptional numbers of Peacocks, Brimstones but also the Whites, Speckled Wood and Dingy Skipper. In mid April some transects had counts of 100+ insects.. quite remarkable!

Two of five Leopard Moths from the actinic traps last night! @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @mikepilsworth.bsky.social

Large Heath after a couple of years absence on Fen Bog has returned with 4 seen on the transect yesterday which is very good news. Butterfly conservation are involved with a large new habitat restoration project nextdoor to expand habitat for this species.

In June 2024 during week 11 only 1 Small Tortoiseshell was recorded overall Yorkshire's sites. This year 150 have been recorded so far! Everywhere I go near nettles I'm seeing them! A strong recovery but everything depends on the weather and nettle quality. Too hot/dry could still spell disaster.

We need more butterfly banks! I wonder if the BESS solar battery companies who are building in a dozen locations over the Vale of York realise that their Blast Deflector Banks they put in between the groups of 10 battery containers are butterfly banks! At Fairburn they are even made of Chalk!

The next few days are likely to see our first Silver-washed Fritillary emerge. Hoping they will have a better year than last and we get this many!

Join us at Wintersett and see all the amazing moths to be found there and join our butterfly walk and learn so much more about their amazing lives.

This is so fabulous to see. So much work has gone into this since @richardtripp.bsky.social had this idea & pursued it with passion & dedication. Our wildflower meadows are so important & we need more. Well done Richard, & Leeds CC parks team & butterfly conservation for seeing this through. 🌸🦋

Common Heath moth today feeling the heat of strong sunshine in East Yorkshire.

Very surprised to find several Large Heath on the wing at Thirlwall Common Northumberland today. Seems remarkably early? @savebutterflies.bsky.social

A good morning at the trap in my Romanby VC62 garden with 22 moths of 13 species, and a Cockchafer. Pale Tussock, Swallow Prominent and Campion were nice @bcyorkshire.bsky.social

Lovely to catch up with twenty plus Small Blue butterflies today on the outskirts of York. A recent reintroduction scheme at an undisclosed site, now firmly established and doing well. Britain’s smallest and easily overlooked. @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Argent and Sable at Bishop Wood, Yorks. today. We saw seven, (fewer than on previous visits), and were lucky enough to find one basking in the warm sunshine near the edge of the track, allowing us to get a few clear photo's before it flew into the woodland.

Grizzled skipper numbers just over the Yorkshire border at Whitwell colliery really quite good!

Male and female Duke of Burgundy seen in Pickering yesterday. @savebutterflies.bsky.social @bcyorkshire.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

Butterflies have thrived in the sunniest March and April on record, up nearly 50%. Record counts of Peacock, Speckled Wood and Brimstone, similar to summer, with odd sites with over 100; remarkable! Yorkshire has a record breaking 22 species on the wing and emergence is 13 days earlier in 20 yrs.

Happy 99th Birthday to our President, the legendary Sir David Attenborough 🎂🦋 Thank you for being an inspiration to millions across the globe.

An Orange Tip egg...

The weather forecast is good for our second open day at Wenthillside thsi coming Sunday. Some of our spring species are in abundance this year including the scarce Dingy Skipper.

The BC Yorkshire Annual report is now available to enjoy by members who should recieve an email shortly with the password. An exciting but challenging year for our species drive.google.com/file/d/1dt70...

I think that's 23 species on the wing in our region before the end of April. I will double check, but I am fairly sure that's comfortably a record.

New life begins in our garden. During mating, the male passes a package of sperm and nutrients so the female lays a maximum amount of eggs. Green-veined White females might mate again to ‘forage’ for nutrients! @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @europebutterfly.bsky.social

Highest spring numbers since 1990 for Peacock (A io, dagpauwoog) on Dutch Butterfly Monitoring transects (red line=2025), thanks to a large 2nd gen in 2024 (black line) giving many hibernators. Grey lines represent other years.