Event Postponement

We must postpone the reserve management event planned for Saturday 24 February. The weather has been extremely wet, and the access routes are in very poor condition. Apologies for any inconvenience.

On the plus side, some Marsh Fritillary caterpillars on the reserve are out of hibernation. We look forward to counting and monitoring them over the coming weeks.

Butterfly Conservation Ireland’s reserve’s butterflies continue to thrive (see the reserve report in our Annual Report: https://butterflyconservation.ie/wp/butterfly-conservation-ireland-annual-report-2023/), even though the National Biodiversity Data Centre analysis of the 15 most common butterfly species show a -57% decline in the number of butterflies flying in 2022 compared to the baseline year of 2008.

A special thanks for the continued support from all our members and friends.

Fourth instar Marsh Fritillary caterpillars communal basking on Purple Moor-grass, Lullybeg, County Kildare.