Coppers may be pennies from heaven, but we know the pounds count too - which is why our Early Bird booking discount offers £150 off the cost of any of our week-long tours in 2026 if booked before 1 December. All our tours, and availability, are here: www.mariposanature.com/calendar

A reminder of the importance of ancient grasslands. In Uk we really should be treating our remaining ancient meadows as irreplaceable and given the same protection afforded to ancient woodlands.

⚡ We’re excited to announce that Dorset Council is backing the Climate and Nature Bill! 🐝 They join 384 councils across the UK calling for new, urgent, science-led legislation—bold enough to tackle the climate-nature crisis. 👉 action.zerohour.uk/council #CANBill

Great. I haven't seen more than half a dozen for the whole year. It's not that bad, though. It's been a cracking year for Clouded Yellow in Suffolk with two (probable) Pale Clouded Yellow reported as well.

The 2025 season goes on down here in Swanage. A rather tatty Painted Lady today 13 November @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Yesterday the wonderful Phil Sterling came to Studland to tell us about some unique moths of Purbeck, and we’ve got some real goodies and some real weirdos. Who’d have thought Bagworms were so devious! @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetmoths.bsky.social

Glacier Blanc from Tuckett Hut 1926 | 2025 Exactly one century of man-induced ice loss at the largest glacier (now) in the Ecrins massif! 🧊🔥 The scale is difficult to grasp here, but the glacier has lost approx. 1.8 km in length over this period! 📈 📷 RTM and Ecrins NP

My friend Penny Green has started a new podcast over the last few months, I recorded this with her back in July and it's just been released. I was surveying the arable margins for invertebrates on the Wiston Estate. It's a great listen.

Running 30 April - 7 May 2026, just 1 place remains available to join this perennially popular tour. And, of course, like ALL our butterfly tours, it generates a donation to support the great conservation work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (2/2) mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Good morning and welcome to a new week! Our featured Spanish tour of the week is Spring Butterflies of Andalusia - a chance to enjoy a mouth-watering array of special butterflies rare or absent elsewhere in Europe. (1/2) mariposanature.com/tours/butter... @europebutterfly.bsky.social

Back on Bodmin Moor this weekend with Cornwall Butterfly Conservation. This time, we were working at Fellover, another site for Pearl-bordered Fritillaries, managing Gorse and Bracken in an area between the two existing colonies. @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Huge thanks to Nigel Spring who is stepping down as Chair after many years of superb leadership of our Branch. We are grateful that he is staying on the Committee and as Reserves Manager. A true great of conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Caroline Bulman explains action to save priority butterflies in Dorset, especially the Duke of Burgundy which is now found on only 6 small sites. It has died out from several nature reserves and requires careful management. Action is now being taken on the last few sites under a special grant.

Wonderful to see so many butterfly and moth enthusiasts at our AGM and Members Day. Great to hear so much super work being done by our dedicated volunteers

It’s definitely been a good year for clouded yellow in Kent, though several weeks since I’ve seen one. These were at Elmley NNR and Canterbury. All recorded on iRecord of course ☺️

Rather bedraggled helice form of Clouded Yellow at Chapmans Pool in south Dorset just now. This remarkable long season goes on @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @richardfoxbc.bsky.social

A reminder that some downland was once ploughed. Ancient field system showing well in morning light near Chapmans Pool, south Dorset

It was so good to hear that in other parts of the country, concerted efforts at both site and landscape level have returned Duke of Burgundy to old haunts and newly created habitat. There is hope in Dorset yet!

Fantastic turnout for our Duke of Burgundy workshop for land advisors in Dorset. So much interest in saving this lovely butterfly which is down to 6 small colonies in Dorset. Funded thanks to Farming in Protected Landscapes grant with Hilfield Friary and @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

A reminder that our AGM is this Saturday in Cerne Abbas. Please join us if you can www.dorsetbutterflies.com/events/

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?...

What a remarkable discovery! In SW Turkey a new species of Lycaenid was discovered, Rapala suleymani sp.n., of a genus that was only known from the eastern palearctic & indomalayan realms, it's closest relative flies 7000km away! doi.org/10.31184/M00...

And it doesn't look like any other species in the western palearctic, so not some cryptic species stuff here but an amazing new find! Here's a pic by Süleyman Erdeğer, the person who first found it (and after whom it is named) www.trakel.org/kelebekler/?...

A meagre 14 moths of 7sp last night in Corfe Castle, but worth it for two Feathered Thorns #Teammoth @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetmoths.bsky.social

Another pair of phone pics sent back from our group in Bolivia. Looks like they're having a blast! An incredible bonanza of both butterflies & moths & the tour has only just begun! 🦋

Too much out there repeating vague notions that nature protection & restoration will combat climate change It really depends on what is protected & restored, & what the comparison is We need to massively reduce emissions, not wave the magic wand of ‘nature’ as the solution

We have added two new pages to our website: habitat management principles for butterflies (and other pollinators) and causes of decline. Check them out here www.bc-europe.eu/webpage.php?...

Losses and gains in European plant communities. A fascinating but complex paper showing some good news i think onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Miguel's working life has been devoted to butterflies and, among other accomplishments, he's been a pivotal part of @europebutterfly.bsky.social (BCE), including a tenure as its Chair. As regular Mariposa guests will know, we donate to BCE after every one of our butterfly tours. (2/2)

'Female Large White in Flight'

Runner beans in November, is that the new normal? It’s been a fantastic year for them, yielding since late June!

There may be just 1 month left on our early bird deal for 2026 holidays, offering £150 off the list price of any week-long tour if booked before 1/12/25, but our commitment to support conservation is timeless. We donate to BSBI & BCE after all our botany and butterfly tours respectively.

I found three Brown Hairstreak eggs today during a casual search at the Dorset patch....still too much leaf on the Blackthorn bushes at present to search for more! @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Great to start our first task to save the Duke of Burgundy in Dorset. It’s reduced to 6 small colonies and we will be managing 5 of them under a Farming in Protected Landscapes grant. We are grateful to the private owners for permission and EUCAN and @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social for expertise

Apologies for the delay. I can recommend Sean Clancy's excellent report in the link below, which lists all the known immigrant Noctuid species - www.atropos.info/flight-arriv...

A new proposal from a group of peers could disarm the most damaging aspect of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill and reduce the risks that it currently poses to the UK's wildlife:

Saving Brown hairstreak eggs from the flail today. Relocating them on the same site where they can hatch next spring and progress as caterpillars. 55 eggs from 105 mins search bodes well for the coming winter survey. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

The health of people, nature, and future generations depends on it. 👉 Read more: www.birdlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Open-Letter-Organisations-calls-for-better-implementation-of-the-Pesticide-Regulation.pdf

🚨 Across Europe, farmland that once echoed with birdsong and buzzing life is falling silent, poisoned by the overuse of harmful pesticides. These chemicals contaminate soil and water, kill the insects that birds depend on, and weaken the ecosystems that make farming possible.

‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C #climate target, says UN head Exclusive: ‘Devastating consequences’ now inevitable but emissions cuts still vital, says António Guterres #COP30 Interview by @jonathan-watts.bsky.social Watts and Wajã Xipai www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Innovative study using Met Office radar, throwing away all the nonsense about rain and looking at the insects! The results show yet more declines but also a complex picture of change www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The opportunities for photography, or simply enjoying the burgeoning butterfly show, are endless here in a beautiful region of France that's bursting into life in late May. And naturally, this tour generates a donation to support the great work of @europebutterfly.bsky.social. (2/2)

🚨 Today, Agriculture Ministers are meeting to discuss the future of Europe’s Agriculture policy, and one crucial topic is on the table: nature. We call for dedicated funding for the environment and climate. 👉 Read our vision: www.birdlife.org/wp-content/u...

Bumblebees, butterflies and bugs are in crisis. You can help by adding your voice to the Big Insect Rescue Plan by 31 October! 📢🐝 ⏰Take 1 minute to answer this quick survey: https://ow.ly/r58L50Xg852 Butterfly Conservation Buglife #InsectDeclines #NatureRecovery

On the subject of endemic island butterflies, guests on our Fabulous Fuerteventura tour next February can expect to enjoy close views of the island's very own charming endemic, Fuerteventura Green-striped White. mariposanature.com/tours/wildli...

Great to see so many fellow butterfly enthusiasts at the @upperthames.bsky.social Members Day, listening to fascinating talk by Peter Marren on butterfly names, which go back to 1700s

Pesticide cocktails can be highly damaging to insects and other wildlife. It’s truly shocking that they are still so widely used in a manner which contaminates people, the countryside and wildlife @savebutterflies.bsky.social @bc-hertsmiddx.bsky.social

This might also explain the slow and steady decline of common insects. I am sure they cannot avoid these pesticides either and low levels could disrupt behaviour or reduce survival rates www.theguardian.com/environment/...

#RightsofNature - delighted to be hosting this event in #HouseofLords today www.theguardian.com/environment/...