The National Trust is halfway to their appeal to buy Giant Hill, one of the UKs top butterfly sites, also rich in insects and flowers. The last good habitat for Duke of Burgundy in Dorset. Please donate if you can @nationaltrust.org.uk www.nationaltrust.org.uk/support-us/a...

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...

Is the @savebutterflies.bsky.social Moth Recording website down? I haven't been able to connect for a few days @richardfoxbc.bsky.social

Large and Small tortoiseshell (grote en kleine vos, N polychloros and A urticae) show opposite trends in their distribution in NL. The Large T used to be rare, and is now widespread, esp. in the eastern half. The Small T is now rare outside the W and N. #vlindermaand

Lots of work parties coming up to save Dorset’s rarest butterflies like the Duke of Burgundy. Do join in if you can. Details on our website www.dorsetbutterflies.com/events/

Cornwall Butterfly Conservation volunteers were at Fellover today for our first work party of the New Year. A mild, sunny winter's day bearing the promise of spring: we were serenaded by a Song Thrush as we carried out Bracken management for Pearl-bordered Fritillaries.

As NL is at the NW-edge of the distribution of the Swallowtail (koninginnenpage, P machaon) we see periods of expansion (2009-2013 and 2018-2025) alternate with periods of retraction (2014-2017). #vlindermaand

Around 1990 the Queen of Spain Fritillary (I lathonia, kleine parelmoer) in NL was restricted to the coastal dunes. After 2000 the inland was colonised, but not from the coast, but from the southeast (B and D). In 2024 the species crashed, some recovery in 2025. #vlindermaand

A new study finds significant biodiversity loss in spiders & insects including butterflies and beetles. The likely culprit is long-term changes to the El Niño cycle, fuelled by climate change. Read more in The Conversation: https://ow.ly/KmLw50XqtvY

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?...

Here here, I think it’s the curious wing shape that makes it look exotic

The annual UK Moth Recorders Meeting for 2026 is coming up on the 31st of this month. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about moths in the UK, no need to travel it is online. To book for this free event buff.ly/P04QNhk

I'm running the 2026 TCS London Marathon dressed as a badger to raise money for Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the oldest of @the-wildlifetrusts.bsky.social – celebrating its 100th birthday this year. Please have a laugh at me and help save wildlife! 2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/backtheba...

Some positive news for the New Year: Year‐Round Grazing Promotes Species‐Rich Grasslands in Natura 2000 Sites 🐂 🌼 🐎 🌸See our new study: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #grazing #yearroundgrazing #helårsgræsning #plantdiversity #biodiversity

Before 1990 Brimstones (G rhamni, citroenvlinder) would be more abundant in summer than in spring, but this has shifted over time. The only explanation I can think of is that they go into hibernation sooner after appearing in summer, maybe to avoid summer heat. Other ideas welcome. #vlindermaand

Super cool new study from Talavera lab on migratory divide between painted lady (Vanessa cardui) populations north of the equator and south of the equator! They find a candidate gene that might be associated with the differenc ein behaviour. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

lets start the New Year with some good news. Many thanks to all our wonderful volunteers who have helped manage this crucial site with help of the fabulous private owner www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tour update 🚨 As of this evening, our Summer Butterflies of the Spanish Pyrenees tour now has just 1 place remaining available to book to join us. Naturally, the tour generates a donation to support the great work of our friends at @europebutterfly.bsky.social. mariposanature.com/tours/butter...

Preliminary results from our county recorder suggest 2025 was a better year for butterflies in Norfolk. Who got the top marks Purple Emperor & Clouded Yellow - Excellant Swallowtail - Good Dingy & Grizzled Skipper - Steady 📷 PE Iain Leach BC

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...

The odd Moth still on the wing, the trap had this dark-form of Acleris hastiana, Angle Shades and an RDP. Little to report from Rodden Hive, but quite taken by these tiny fungi I saw nearby. A Mycena sp according to the app.

Unless the weather forecast changes, that was probably my last trap of the year. It ended on a high though with this stunning Bloxworth Snout, which really should be hibernating at this time of year. Dark Chestnut the only other Moth.

Nearly half way to the target. Please support this appeal if you can, it’s an amazing place

Boring #teammoth stats thread incoming! In 2025 11854 moths of 550 species, over 124 traps (95.6 moths per trap) compared very favourably with 2024's 10533 of 512 in 168 attempts (62.7 per trap). 47 were new, taking the garden list to 783. Lunar Hornet Moth & Ni Moth were highlights.

Yikes, a Boxing Day Speckled Wood in Boscombe. The 2025 season will certainly break some records with flight periods! www.dorsetbutterflies.com/2025/12/spec...

And you Tim, thanks for all the moth education during the year

Today I have something really special for you guys! Not too far from the caiman I posted recently, I found something MIND BLOWING This is a butterfly pupa, and it mimics the head of a snake. And not just any snake, but specifically the head of a boa snake!!! Probably Opsiphanes, an owlet butterfly.

We know that the role of nocturnal moths as pollinators has been greatly underestimated in Europe, but this impressive new study shows that tiger moths (Arctiinae) are important generalist pollinators in a lowland rainforest in Ecuador #teammoth 🌎 royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

A very Happy Xmas and New Year to all our followers. Here are some butterflies that make Dorset special: Adonis Blue, Silver-studded Blue, Grayling and Marsh Fritillary

[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

✨ Desde la Asociación ZERYNTHIA queremos desearos a tod@s unas muy felices Fiestas y un Año Nuevo 2026 lleno de experiencias positivas! 🎄 🦋☃️ #navidadsostenible #navidadresponsable

A Humming bird Hawk-moth emerged from the mid September chrysalis this morning. Though not exactly cold outside, we’re hoping that it’s warm enough for its wings to fully expand. Not the best time of year to pop out I’d have thought. #moths #MothsMatter #TeamMoth #ento #UKwildlife

Another campaign to go peat free, it only takes a second, please sign (link in comment below). Such an easy step we could take to address both climate and biodiversity crises.

Painted Lady on the wing in the Obs garden just now

New paper alert! Microclimate temperatures are more extreme than we previously thought! Near-ground temperatures are amplified in hot weather, cool refugia is lost and replaced with heat traps ☀️🔥🥵 escape from heat will be very hard for small ground-dwelling organisms doi.org/10.21425/fob...

A few Painted Ladies are still being seen around Dorset, could they be migrants this late? Or stragglers trying to return home?? www.dorsetbutterflies.com/2025/12/pain...

Europe is on a mission to #RestoreNature! We checked if all EU countries are up to speed. 🌱 Good news: Most EU countries have started implementing the Nature Restoration Law Not so good news: The progress is uneven & too slow so far 👉 Read our evaluation: www.restorenature.eu/en/our-work-...

Congratulations @rochellemeah.bsky.social @ecologyofvision.bsky.social (and all our wonderful coauthors!) on her first PhD publication in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🤩 Light pollution suppresses natural peaks in activity AND natural celestial polarization patterns at key times in arthropods 🕷️🦋✨

Wonderful news, and such a simple solution to boosting numbers. Lets hope other Councils follow suit

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

Nearly half way to the target. Please support this appeal if you can, it’s an amazing place

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

Meet the expert… Cristina Sevilleja 🦋 Read more about Cristina in this post! Do you have any questions for her? Let us know the comments 👇🏻👇🏾 #PollinatorAcademy #Meettheexpert #Pollinators #Butterfly #Taxonomy

Increasing human ecological impact over the Holocene (11,700 - 150 years ago) led to biodiversity gains in Europe. Why? From ~8,500 years ago, the spread of farming created heterogeneous, habitat-rich landscapes that enhanced biodiversity. Read our new paper: dx.doi.org/10.1111/geb.... 🌏 🧪

A fascinating paper from one of the oldest nature reserves in Dorset. Worrying to see the big decline on Portland but BC Dorset is taking action with @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social

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