martinswarren.bsky.social

Malaysia, Day4, arrived in Sementra robe greeted by Rajah Brooks Birdwing, makes taking moisture and salts from the hot springs in considerable numbers. @greenwingstours.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Yes, lots of Peacock larvae in south Dorset, even though many are in hibernation. No Small Torts at all down here though☹️☹️

Wow, and so few Small Tortoiseshell this year.
Comma have done well and I expect a second generation of Peacock in the second half of this month.

Look what arrived yesterday hot off the press. The amazing Alpine flower book by my good friend Bob Gibbons. Published posthumously it is a wonderful legacy of one of the greatest modern botanists. It was a privilege to have shared many European tours with him @saveplants.bsky.social

I always love getting to know how animals like butterflies are called in other languages (and why).

In German this is called the "Little Fox" like the Large Tortoiseshell is then called "Large Fox".

Gypsy Moth going in for the "whose got the biggest antennae competition"

A brief update from our county recorder, it looks like a good year for Purple Emperor, Swallowtail, Meadow Brown & Gatekeeper. Clouded Yellows are showing in good numbers but not many reports of Purple or White-letter Hairstreaks. #savebutterflies

Delighted to see my second Small Tortoiseshell of the year on the north Cornish coast, looking resplendent on bright yellow Ragwort.

A Southern Small White feeding on a white flower

Mediterranean butterfly spotted in the UK for the first time - twice!

Two sightings of the Southern Small White (Pieris mannii) have now been verified - one in Suffolk and one in County Durham. 📍

Read the full story 👉 buff.ly/q7svIE5

📷: Adam Gor

Flight behaviour diverges more between seasonal forms than between species in Pieris butterflies Our study focuses on quantifying the flight behaviours of two closely related Pieris white butterflies and their seasonal forms, using high-speed videography. Our results suggest that there are no in...

Summer adults have a different wing shape to the spring brood allowing them to fly further thus enabling dispersion. Possibly also applies to Southern Small White onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

‘Top marks’ for sharp-eyed snappers as UK nets new butterfly species Sightings confirmed in County Durham and Suffolk as southern small white flutters in from European mainland

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Unbelievable year for them, i had
12 in my moth trap this morning and everywhere i look in my south London suburb the JT’s flutter into view. Quite a change from the description found in the Observer book of Larger British Moths published in 1963

By chance, a good comparison between White-point and White-speck in the moth trap this morning. #TeamMoth

Graylings having an average year on the Studland transects, but the grasses they lay on next to bare ground are all brown now. Not sure what the young larvae will feed on before they hibernate. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Machine learning training data: over 500,000 images of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) with species labels - Scientific Data Scientific Data - Machine learning training data: over 500,000 images of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) with species labels

Happy to announce our latest research contribution:
Machine learning training data: over 500,000 images of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) with species labels

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A nocturnal pollinator in the form of a Jersey Tiger in my garden last night, one of several! @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

@marcusrhodes.bsky.social

Postcard from the field, from tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social:

Our Butterflies of the Montes Universales tour concluded for another year yesterday, dropping down to the coast to see Mediterranean Skipper. It's been a brilliant week of #butterflies, laughs, and good company.

A short video showing a very small part of a puddling site near Moscardón in Teruel Provine today.
100s of Azure Chalkhill Blues, 100s of Red underwing Skippers as well as smaller numbers of other species.
Search lojawildlife for the blog.

Rare in UK for some reason, maybe enough salts near the sea?

Also, thought this worth documenting, approx 30 Small and Green-veined Whites presumably getting minerals from Swan droppings this morning! There are about 15 in this photo. Not sure how commonplace this behaviour is?

Amazed to see fresh Silver-studded Blue in my Studland transects this morning. Here shown with typical worn ones still around. Possible second brood or just a late one? @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Postcard from the field, from tour leader @dunnjons.bsky.social on our final full day of the Butterflies of the Montes Universales tour:

This was a day that included more wonderful views of endemic Zapater's Ringlet, but we were spoilt for choice as other beauties vied for our attention.

I was down at the Southbourne Butterfly Transect this morning for a quick look to see what was about.
Despite the early start it was great to see 3 Clouded Yellows around 9am before the cloud rolled in.
2 females and one male seen. Presumably there are more about.

Southbourne Dorset

A Mocha moth rests on the pale & tarnished insides of a moth trap.

A Rosy Underwing moth, secured in a pot, flashes its red and black underwings.

A Ptocheuusa paupella (Pale Seed head Moth) rests on a brown fabric surface.

A Eudonia truncicolella (Peppered Grey) moth rests on a brown wooden wall amongst speckled green light chen and yellowish fungi.

A pleasing 161/61 on a cool morning at the Cold Harbour office, with highlights of another Rosy Underwing (clearly established locally now), my first Mocha of the year, Ptocheuusa paupella, & a brace of Eudonia truncicolella #TeamMoth @dorsetmoths.bsky.social

This is your final week to make it count for butterflies! 🦋

Butterfly Conservation Vice President and wildlife presenter Mike Dilger is on the lookout for Marbled Whites, Ringlets and Gatekeepers.

What species are you hoping to see during your #BigButterflyCount? 👀

#Butterfly List 2025: 🦋 39
Brown Hairstreak - Thecla betulae
Alners Gorse, Dorset 02/08/25
female

@savebutterflies.bsky.social
@ukbutterflies.bsky.social
@dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS Insects are declining worldwide. These declines have been documented across taxonomic groups and are worrisome given ecosystem services provided by...

More bad news for butterflies. Our new paper led by Wendy Leuenberger shows common species are declining even more rapidly than rare ones. @ZipkinLab

Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2501340122

One species that has definitely done well from the livestock grazing on the Dorset heaths is the Hornet Robberfly Asilus crabroniformis, whose larvae feed on dung beetle grubs. I saw at least 6 in a recent trip to Hartland Moor NNR in Dorset in this mating pair. @naturalengland.bsky.social

Looks like White Ermine