Butterfly Conservation

Large tortoiseshell butterfly confirmed no longer extinct in UK Early spring sightings show colourful insect is a resident species for first time in decades, says conservation charity The large tortoiseshell – an elusive and enigmatic butterfly that became extinct in Britain in the last century – is a UK resident species once again, with a flurry of early spring sightings. Britain’s list of native butterflies has increased to 60 with the return of the insect after individuals emerged from hibernation in woodlands in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorset, Cornwall and the Isle of Wight. Continue reading...

Large tortoiseshell butterfly confirmed no longer extinct in UK

An Early Thorn moth resting, with wings held back like a butterfly, on a lichen covered branch

An Early Thorn moth resting on a lichen covered branch at night

Early Thorn moth caterpillar blending in with a plant stem

Happy #MothMonday! Looking like a butterfly at rest, the Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria) flies after dusk and is common and well distributed throughout the British Isles. 🦋

Look out for it this month!

📷: Bob Eade, Les Evans-Hill, Patrick Clement

#MothsMatter #TeamMoth

#DERBYSHIRE My best night of the year so far 8/5 with 3 NFG, 1 Brindled Beauty, 1 Small Quaker, 1 Chestnut. Clear at first, cloudy by morning.

Also present 3 Common Quaker, 2 Hebrew Character. #TeamMoth #MothsMatter @savebutterflies.bsky.social #Moths @derbyswildlife.bsky.social

First butterfly sightings 2026 Here are 2026's earliest sightings of resident and common migrant butterflies, as reported to Butterfly Conservation.To count as first sighting, butterflies must be seen outside and be active (i.e. no...

Keep up with the first butterfly sightings as they happen 👉 butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/...

Holly Blue butterfly feeding on forget-me-nots

Speckled Wood butterfly on forget-me-nots

Spring is springing! 🙌

More butterflies are beginning to make an appearance, with the first Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) and Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) of 2026 spotted on 25 February.

📷 Photos from archive: Nigel Ball, Anna Wheeler

📣 New paper 🎉 Proud to have helped with this nice study by @wlangdon12.bsky.social showing a trade-off between nutritional quality & microclimate of host plants for Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas). Here in England, they choose warmth over nutrition resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Live in Glasgow and interested in getting involved? Find out more 👉 wild-spaces.co.uk/project/glas...

Glasgow’s network of green spaces make up over a fifth of the city’s total area. By improving this network and creating Wild Spaces to support butterflies and moths, we can have an incredible impact for nature and for communities across Glasgow."

Butterfly Conservation project officer Claire Martin said: "Parks and green spaces are incredibly important for local communities, providing opportunities to enjoy time outdoors and discover wildlife. They are integral to our wellbeing and enrich our local environments in so many ways.

Three school children grinning at the camera with their hands on a freshly planted heather in a repurposed tyre.

Over the next two years, together with @glasgowcitycouncil.bsky.social and residents, we aim to:

🦋 Create 15 Wild Spaces in parks and green spaces
🦋 Create 13 more Wild Spaces for schools with the help of pupils and staff
🦋 Help 20 community hubs to create their own Wild Spaces

A group of school children in uniform, holding plants and gardening tools, standing in front of a brick raised flower bed. Behind them, a group of adults are smiling, also holding plants and paper butterflies.

Good news for Glasgow! More than 40 new Wild Spaces are to be created across the city for butterflies, moths, and people 🌿

📷: @juliebeephoto.bsky.social

Two comma butterflies seen yesterday in the sunshine such a delight to watch these beautiful gentle creatures.

#InsectThursday Did I mention I saw my first #butterflies of 2026 yesterday? 😍🎉🦋 Absolutely thrilled to see two #commas sunbathing and feeding on mahonia. Such a delight to see, hopefully the first of many for me. #Lancashire @savebutterflies.bsky.social #vitaminN

Brimstone. Grafton Wood, Worcs 4/3/26.
@westmbms-99.bsky.social @worcswt.bsky.social @ukbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Comma butterfly on gravel

Peacock

Gorse Shieldbug on gorse!

Seven-spot Ladybird

A warm, sunny day at the Dorset patch brought out plenty of insects: 2 Comma, 3 Peacock, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 1 Brimstone, Gorse Shieldbug & Seven-spot Ladybird. #inverts @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Ydych chi'n byw yng Ngogledd Cymru ac eisiau gwneud gwahaniaeth i glöyn byw prin? 🦋

Rydyn ni’n chwilio am wirfoddolwyr i helpu ni ddysgu mwy am y Gweirlöyn Mawr y Waun dan fygythiad drwy gynnal arolygon ar draws cynefinoedd mawndir yr haf hwn.

Ymunwch â ni 👉 buff.ly/TKbCq3O

Large Heath butterfly perched on an unfurling bracken frond

Live in North Wales and want to make a difference for rare butterflies? 🦋

We're looking for volunteers to help us learn more about the threatened Large Heath by carrying out surveys across peatland habitats this summer.

Get involved 👉 buff.ly/TKbCq3O

📷️: Iain Leach

Marsh fritillary larvae out and busy in the morning sun. North Dorset. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Oak Beauty moth resting on a lichen-covered branch

The Oak Beauty (Biston strataria) certainly lives up to its name 😍

An unmistakable moth of early spring, they can be found in mature oak woodland and even gardens where broadleaved trees such as oak, hazel and elm grow.

📷: Iain Leach
#MothMonday #MothsMatter #TeamMoth

Butterfly Conservation's butterflies and moths to see in March: Red Admiral, Orange Underwing, Peacock, Oak Beauty, Brimstone, Dotted Border, Comma, Early Thorn, Small Tortoiseshell

Spring is on its way! Look out for these butterflies and moths in your gardens and local green spaces 🦋🌷

What have you seen recently?

Woo hoo! My 1st butterfly of the year spotted today! 🥳 A lovely Peacock 🦋 Too quick for a photo so here’s one from last year. #butterflies @bcwarwickshire.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

#TeamMoth A first 2026 mind boggler for the apprentice 🙋‍♂️ with this very dark fluttering garden visitor. Not sure if I have a Clouded Drab (more likely) or Lead-coloured Drab here 🤔 #DERBYSHIRE #MothsMatter @savebutterflies.bsky.social NFG either way but help needed please fellow moth-ers.

Pale Brindled Beauty Phigalia pilosaria North Antrim Feb2026. I don't often see the dark form (f. monacharia) of this species up here, so 2 earlier this week was a pleasant surprise. #moths #mothsmatter #teammoth @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @europebutterfly.bsky.social

Clean Water Now - tell your MP to take action Take action A new water law is coming. Soon, MPs will decide whether to finally clean up our rivers, lakes and seas − or let toxic pollution continue unchecked. Right now, sewage, farming pollution an...

We've joined forces with experts from across the country to call for #CleanWaterNow.

Politicians have been promising to fix the system for too long. Write to your MP to demand that water companies clean up their act and prioritise nature restoration 👉 action.friendsoftheearth.uk/target/clean...

An Orange-tip butterfly perched on a cuckooflower with sunlit water behind. Text overlay reads: "Email your MP to demand clean water now."

We are in an environmental crisis. Without clean freshwater habitats, the ecosystems our butterflies and moths depend on will never truly be fully protected from the threat of pollution.

But right now, just 14% of English rivers are in Good Ecological Condition. 🧪

Volunteers working amongst colourful flowers in a city park with autumnal-looking trees in the background

Join us in creating beautiful #WildSpaces in Leeds! 🌼🦋

We're looking for volunteers to help us transform spaces across the city into havens for butterflies, moths and people.

No experience needed, just enthusiasm to get stuck in and learn! Find out more 👉 buff.ly/wkxRb0U
@bcyorkshire.bsky.social

Close up of some yellow gorse with a small peacock butterfly with 3 eyes clearly showing and the fourth missing on its bottom left wing.

First butterfly of the year, a peacock on gorse. Photo taken 22nd Feb 2026, St Cleer. Can’t decide if it was hiding its fourth eye or if this was a mutation/aberration. #Cornwall #Butterflies #Insects @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Oak Beauty moth

Dotted Chestnut moth

First #mothtrap of the year yielded 10 moths of 7sp in my Corfe Castle garden. Two stunners this Oak Beauty and Dotted Chestnut. Good to be up and running for 2026 season. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @dorsetmoths.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social

Mottled Grey (Colostygia multistrigaria) - North Antrim - February 2026. The milder weather brought out the first of this species in the local woods. #moths #mothsmatter #teammoth @ulsterwildlife.bsky.social @savebutterflies.bsky.social @europebutterfly.bsky.social #gcampbellphoto

A small dark brown butterfly, with orange spots along the edges of its wings, resting on a blade of grass

Side view of a Mountain Ringlet butterfly with its wings held closed above its back, resting on a plant

A Mountain Ringlet butterfly basking on a lichen-covered rock on a Cumbrian fellside under a blue sky.

High up in the mountains lives the adventurous and elusive Mountain Ringlet, our Species of the Month! ⛰️🦋

Get to know this brilliant little butterfly 👉 https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/species-of-the-month-mountain-ringlet

📷: Mark Searle, Tim Melling

Dr Amir Khan smiling at the camera and pointing with both hands at his t-shirt, which features a Holly Blue butterfly and text above it that reads 'Big Butterfly Count'. Green shrubs and trees in the background.

Happy Birthday to Butterfly Conservation Vice President @dramirkhangp.bsky.social!

Thank you for being such a passionate advocate for butterflies, moths and our environment, and all the work you do to help others. 🦋💚