Based on four key climatic indicators, temperature, sunshine, rainfall and wind speed, the favourability index for butterflies is highest in June, July and August. More species fly in July than any other month. Thirty-one species are in flight in July, with some species having their abundance peak in July. The Comma first generation, the Silver-washed and Dark Green Fritillaries, Essex and Small Skipper hit their numerical heights in July.
Here we profile a selection of July flyers.
Silver-washed Fritillary
A large, colourful and magnificent butterfly, its flight is powerful and elegant. Whether in level or climbing flight, the Silver-washed Fritillary scores highly on pace and agility. The courtship flight is utterly unforgettable, a picture of synchronised romance, a complex ritual that has captivated generations of butterfly lovers. The female flies in a level flight, as if totally oblivious to the male, who loops repeatedly under her, then up in front of her. Woodland rides and clearing are the venues for this dance, while pairing follows in a tree, shrub, on Bracken, and occasionally on the ground.
Where to find the Silver-washed Fritillary
Open woodland, with violets plentiful in clearings and in the interior of the wood. Knocksink Wood, Enniskerry, County Wicklow, the woods around Lough Leane in Killarney, County Kerry, the oak woods at Crom in Fermanagh, Ravenwood in Wexford, the Furry Glen in the Phoenix Park, Dublin and woods with native trees and sunlit woodland floors containing violets, its larval food, throughout the country.
Comma
A striking butterfly, known by its underside hindwing comma marking, is perhaps the most interesting mid-summer species. Why?
It hatches in two forms, a dark form, which has an upperside ground colour of orange-red, and a light form, a golden coloured Comma named the hutchinsoni form (the hutchinsoni form, shown above, also has an underside that is lighter in colour) after Emma Hutchinson who bred the species in Herefordshire, one of its last British strongholds in the late nineteenth century. Unbelievably given its abundance in Britain today, and its increasing presence in many areas in eastern Ireland south of Louth and into the Irish midlands and beyond, it was believed to be on the brink of extinction in Britain in the 1880s, for reasons unknown. It was unknown in Ireland until 1998.
Emma Hutchinson bred vast numbers of Commas and sent them to areas of England it disappeared from. One such county is Surrey but despite a large release, the Comma did not repopulate the county.
A feature Emma Hutchinson noted is the butterfly’s ability to adapt to weather conditions by producing two forms; the golden form is produced following springs and early summers with warm weather and the darker form arises when conditions are cloudy, dull, and cool. The dark-form Commas don’t breed in the year of their birth, but feed briefly and hibernate. The golden Commas breed on emergence, taking advantage of fine summer weather. All offspring of the golden Commas are dark, fly in autumn and pass the winter as adult butterflies. Good spring and summer weather produces more golden Commas and two generations. Cold summers lead to fewer golden Commas, more dark Commas, and a small second generation. This account of the adaptable breeding strategy is more complex than stated here but this general outline holds good for most of our Commas.
The Comma breeds on Stinging Nettles and larvae have recently (May 2023) been recorded on elm.
Where to find the Comma
Still scarce or absent from most of Ireland, the Comma is still expanding its Irish range following its establishment in the southeast early this century. It is common in woods in Counties Carlow, Wicklow, Wexford, Kildare and Dublin, where it is found in wooded areas such as open woodland, hedged lanes, tree-lines along rivers and other waterways, mature wooded gardens throughout these counties. Elsewhere, it is becoming more numerous although it is still not abundant. In the last few years, it has reached Counties Limerick, Clare and Down and this westwards and northwards march is expected to continue. It is most evident in March-May, July and September and October.
Dark Green Fritillary
If this butterfly was a Premier League footballer, it would be a tricky, pacy winger, dashing towards goal, showing dramatic and unexpected changes of direction while at other times being more direct but always dynamic. A large, hyperactive and dazzlingly fast butterfly, it is a stunning sight when freshly emerged. The males will battle strong winds on cliffs and hills, eye-catchers who swoop and dive, passing in and out of view. The male is a deep, shining orange marked with black ticks, dots and chevrons. The female is more sedentary, darker, and highly variable. Typically, she is a duller orange with enlarged dark markings. Underside hindwings are green with spangled with reflective silver.
Where to find the Dark Green Fritillary
This butterfly likes flower-rich locations. The Burren, in Counties Clare and Galway, Sheskinmore in County Donegal, and Ballyteigue Burrow on the south County Wexford coast are among its key locations in Ireland. Coastal areas, especially vegetated sand dunes are also good places to look for it. This butterfly is highly vulnerable to agricultural intensification. Flower-filled grasslands lose their value for this butterfly when fertiliser or slurry is applied. It needs unspoiled grasslands rich in violets, its breeding plant, for its survival.
Wood White
This butterfly usually has two generations a year. Found in the areas of contiguous exposed carboniferous limestone from south of the Burren northwards close to the southern border of County Mayo, this small unspotted white is notable for its low, floppy flight, a soporific sight on a hot, sticky day in late July. Breeding on vetches growing among scrub on hot dry limestone habitats, it is one of our rarer butterflies and should be monitored. The first flight is usually in May and the second flight is in mid/late July to mid-August.
Just one interesting feature is that the female appears to have poor botanical skills. She frequently tests the wrong plants before eventually finding the correct larval foodplant on which to lay an egg. She searches in the right places but often alights on plants that are not even related to vetches. She’s not alone in her confusion. Her relative, the single-brooded Cryptic Wood White (which usually flies from May-early July), which looks identical, does the same!
The main foodplants observed being used in Ireland are Meadow Vetchling, Tufted Vetch, and Bitter Vetch.
Where do find the Wood White
The Burren area where open scrub on limestone pavement contains vetches and other flowers is its stronghold in Ireland but it has been confirmed on western limestones elsewhere such as around Ennis further south in County Clare and in limestone habitats around Lough Corrib, such as west of Lough Corrib at M 19532 40634, in the Carrowmoreknock area. It might also occur at Lough Carra, County Mayo.
Purple Hairstreak
Purple Hairstreak male above and female below.
Unless a dedicated search of oak woodland, usually with binoculars, is made, you are very unlikely to see this small but beautiful creature. Both sexes have silver undersides but the darker undersides are tinted violet in the male and purple in his mate. Here we show both sexes to illustrate the differences. The butterfly is known for occupying positions often very high up on oaks and for being very active during the evenings. They are also known to be nocturnal, although I don’t know the extent of their activity after dark. I have seen it fly in almost complete darkness and it is attracted to light traps set for moths.
The oak woods in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Tomies Wood, Killarney, County Kerry, and oak woods in Wicklow such as Glendalough and Glen of the Downs are good places to look for them. Scan the canopy for the butterfly during sunny weather, especially after 5 pm. It’s about the size of the Common Blue butterfly.
Enjoy watching butterflies this summer, and be sure to let us know about your butterfly records. You can find out how to send us your observations under the Records tab on this website.
There are very few places that you can visit nowadays and feel refreshed and relaxed by the natural abundance on offer. Patrick Kavanagh, perhaps our only truly spiritual poet, wrote about life’s simple experiences in such terms in Advent:
O after Christmas we’ll have no need to go searching
For the difference that sets an old phrase burning-
We’ll hear it in the whispered argument of a churning
Or in the streets where the village boys are lurching.
And we’ll hear it among decent men too
Who barrow dung in gardens under trees,
Wherever life pours ordinary plenty.
Denial brings fresh appreciation. Forget the phone, forget your agenda, plans, work schedule, worries and deadlines.
Bring the technology you were born with. Let your vision, hearing, touch and nose apprehend the experience of a day on the bog in northwest Kildare. You will not hear the drone of jet aircraft, or the din of road traffic, no traffic jams, or crowds. No human infrastructure; no roads, telegraph poles, pylons, masts, or buildings. Just a vast, gentle landscape as far as you can see, leafy, grassy, flower-filled, fragrance-filled, birdsong and butterfly and dragonfly-filled, happily and softly moist underfoot.
Brimstone butterflies, rare or absent in most of Ireland, flourish at Ballydermot.
You don’t have to try to be happy here. Anyone I had the privilege of showing the area to were smitten. People of all ages love this land of plenty. People kneel to get eye-to-eye with a Marsh Fritillary butterfly, resting on a leaf, waiting for the sun. He perches, wings closed, brick-red with cream markings, letting you admire him. He is unhurried and unworried. What will be will be. He doesn’t know that he is represented in Ireland as a genetically distinct subspecies, that he is red-listed, or that his habitats are being destroyed throughout Ireland, Britain and Europe.
The Marsh Fritillary thrives in Ballydermot where it occupies many areas across the landscape.
He is safe here, with his exacting bucket of ecological needs met on a grand scale in this biodiverse landscape. But how long will that last?
When the sun shines, the landscape listens. It wakes up. Silence is filled with bird and insect songs. That perched Marsh Fritillary opens his wings, a glistening stained glass window shines, glittering with colour, a spiritual moment of brightening, glowing colour. This intricate lattice is worthy of Harry Clarke’s genius. The kneeling observer gasps with delight. Photographs are taken.
He is in the best of company. Twenty-four other butterfly species make up the cast of characters, including other red-listers: Dark Green Fritillary, Wall Brown and Large Heath.
When there is this level of butterfly biodiversity in any place, it’s indicative of so much more. Hundreds of moth species call this home. Included are rarities like Waved Carpet, Small Chocolate-tip, Hedge Rustic, threatened moths like Forester Moth, Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet, a black red-spotted day-flyer, flourish here.
Hairy Dragonflies love boglands.
The hum of insects from March to October is an experience in itself. Immersion in this landscape will make the findings of Queen’s University that nearly half the world’s animals are declining hard to believe. For these bogs are a world in themselves, constituting a vast landscape of around 6000 hectares of bog, forests, lakes, rivers, pools, marsh, grassland and intimate mosaics of these habitats, acting as a landscape of scale for the burgeoning biodiversity that makes the bogs of northwest Kildare and east Offaly (collectively known as the Ballydermot Bog Group) home.
The bogs are refugia for species driven from industrialised farmland. The relative importance of the bogs has increased biological desertification strips the surrounding farmed countryside of biodiversity.
Whatever you love in nature, there’s much on offer here: birds include Curlew, Skylark, Whooper Swan, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Woodcock, Goshawk and Lapwing, to name just a few. Indeed, the area holds 18% of Ireland’s red-listed birds (birds of high conservation concern) and 19% of our amber-listed birds (birds of medium conservation concern).
Mammals are well-represented: Fox, Badger, Stoat, Red Squirrel, Bank Vole and Pine Marten all occur.
Badgers are secure at Ballydermot, free from persecution. Photo Pat Wyse.
A great well-being boost flows knowing that you are in a place where nature thrives, but the attractions and benefits extend far beyond an empathetic experience. The sheer vastness of sky, water and greenery casts off confinement. Imagination and freedom await the wanderer. You can ramble for hours unobstructed, happy and fulfilled. You are one hour from Dublin but when here you are far from the world of work, small talk and the drone of lawnmowers. You can be yourself here.
Eyed Hawkmoths thrive on the native trees at Ballydermot.
The deepening crisis of biodiversity collapse and the sundering of nature’s protective balm, all our fault, makes this place more important and its care more urgent. A plan exists to fragment the bog with 60 km of infrastructure to serve a proposed 47 wind turbines with a tip height of 200-220 metres. Drainage and habitat fragmentation threaten this magnificent landscape, instead of peat re-wetting and preservation.
This would be a disaster for the wilderness atmosphere and biodiversity and peatland restoration.
All these values are critically needed. According to the EPA Boglands Report 2011, the most important function of peatlands regarding future climate change is that of a carbon store and sink. Covering only about 3% of the Earth’s land area, they hold the equivalent of half of the carbon that is in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2). It is estimated that the carbon stored in peatlands represents some 25% of the world soil carbon pool (i.e., 3–3.5 times the amount of carbon stored in tropical rainforests.
By protecting and restoring the peatlands in Ireland and elsewhere, a major contribution to dealing with our global ecological crises will be made. It is craziness to destroy a carbon-sequestering, biodiverse peatland to create ‘clean energy’ as if this compensates for CO2 and Methane (CH4) emissions and biodiversity destruction.
A solution is now available. This state-owned land, which belongs to the nation, should be made available to the nation as a new national park. This proposal is backed by the environmental NGOs and described to the minister responsible for our natural heritage, Malcolm Noonan. Following our three-year campaign, Kildare County Council has now included the Peatlands Park in the County Development Plan 2023-2029, critically designating 70% of Kildare’s cut-away bog for biodiversity and carbon sequestration (Kildare County Development Plan p. 300) This is a major first step in biodiversity and habitat recovery for the county and will also contribute to meeting EU legal targets and objectives under the new EU Nature Restoration Regulation.
The Silver-washed Fritillary occurs in the new native woods developing at Ballydermot.
Visit the area. A great portal is the Irish Peatland Conservation Council’s Bog of Allen Nature Centre in Lullymore, and the Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park. Check the Events calendar on Butterfly Conservation Ireland’s website (https://butterflyconservation.ie/wp/) for a chance to visit the area to see its butterflies. The National Peatlands Park website has more information: https://www.nationalpeatlandspark.com. You can let Ministers Ryan and Noonan know that you support our proposal by contacting them: minister.ryan@decc.gov.iemalcolm.noonan@housing.gov.ie
The National Peatlands Strategy 2015 promoted the concept of a National Peatland Park. The Review of the Strategy, considering different policies, programmes, and plans that came into existence since the Strategy was published, includes the prioritised action to “conduct a feasibility study on the creation of a national peatlands/wetlands park” in 2023. In addition, the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 will require the protection of more land.
It is time for this concept to be a reality. We don’t have a national park based on raised bog habitat.
It is time we did.
Crabtree River, Ballydermot.
All photos copyright J. Harding except where otherwise stated.
The prolonged period of dry mainly sunny weather ended with a tremendous downpour on the night and morning of our moth event on Saturday 17th of June. It didn’t stop the moths from thronging at the Heath and Robinsons Light traps on Kilberry Bog in south Kildare. The richness of the habitats, especially flower-rich wet grassland and native woodland, the warmth (15 Celsius at 4:30 am on Saturday), and the lure of the light traps brought great abundance and variety.
Poplar Grey. This moth breeds on Poplars (Populus).Photo Philip Strickland.
We had an outdoor shelter in which to examine the contents of the traps which were opened from 7:15 am. The range of colour, body and wing shape of these largely unfamiliar nocturnal ‘butterflies’ (moths and butterflies are members of the same invertebrate order, all are lepidopterans) are wonders in themselves.
Poplar Hawkmoth, female. This large moth is widespread in Ireland and Britain. It particularly favours using willows for breeding. Photo J. Harding.
The rain poured unrelentingly as if to mock the dry, sunny weather we have enjoyed since the 8th of May. This was the first time this year that I have seen several species in abundance. It highlights just how crucial our peatlands are for biodiversity.
We found about 160 species in the traps. The large, dramatic moths drew the most attention initially; the robust weirdly shaped Poplar Hawkmoths, the subtly spectacular Elephant Hawkmoths (named for their larvae’s elephantine appearance), the startling eye-flashing pose struck by alarmed Eyed Hawkmoths, and the bizarrely accurate cigarette butt/broken birch twig imitation intimated by the Buff-tip.
Eyed Hawkmoth, male. Photo J. Harding.
The names of our moths, often by Victorian Anglican clergy are often nicely descriptive and occasionally comparative. The White Ermine makes sense; the moth is snow white or pale cream with black spots or ovals, closely resembling black-spotted white fur worn by royalty. The Buff Ermine moth, similar-sized, and similarly shaped, is buff in colour, sometimes deeper yellow, but lacks the extent of spotting found in its white relative.
The Lilac Beauty lives up to its name. The crimpled forewing adds interest and variety to its outline. Photo J. Harding
Bright-line Brown-eye and Brown-line Bright-eye (the latter not seen but good tongue-twisters) are species whose appearance matches their names. Some have names that don’t complement their looks. Mottled and Willow Beauty moths are not beautiful but rather dowdy. Squinting at the lower crossline on the forewing upperside is needed to separate them. However, both possess nicely scalloped wing outlines and blend well on bark and rock.
Clouded Border is another aptly named moth. The spotting on this specimen is not often seen but was noted on several examples in Kilberry. The larvae feed on sallow (Salix) and poplars (Populus), especially aspen (Populus tremula). Photo J. Harding
Cinnabars were found in all the traps, and we even found larvae on ragwort near a trap; this smartly dressed species, named for its red markings which refer to mercury sulfide, remains a widespread moth. Eye-catching, especially in flight, it is rarely accosted by birds because they dislike the taste. It is attacked occasionally but birds that do learn not to repeat their assault.
Celypha cespitana is a very local micro-moth found on limestone and sand dunes. There is enough calcareous substrate in the Kilberry Bog area to support its foodplants. Photo Philip Strickland.
More eye-catching species are the emeralds, named for being emerald! The Large Emerald, Common Emerald, Light Emerald Grass Emerald, and Little Emerald were all marked present. The presence of their breeding plants accounts for this; abundant birch, Alder, gorse, and heather exist in the Kilberry area.
Waved Carpet, a scarce moth in Ireland and Britain. It flies in June and July, and the larvae feed on the young leaves of several trees, including Common Alder (Alnus glutinosa), birch (Betula), and sallow (Salix). Photo Philip Strickland.
One of the rare moths we found is Waved Carpet. It is strangely rare because it breeds on birch, a very common tree on bogs. We counted four Waved Carpets, the highest number I have ever known in a trapping session in Ireland. Many moths we found are not necessarily rare but are localized, confined to certain habitats. Pebble Hook-tip, which again looks like its name, is one such. It occurs in wooded areas with birch scrub. Another notable moth we found is Bordered Sallow, better known in the Burren and limestone areas than in bogs.
Bordered Sallow. Photo Philip Strickland.Pebble Hook-tip. It looks better adapted when settled on a birch trunk. J. Harding
The excitement of seeing so many moths and so many species is one of the greatest experiences for any nature lover. It is often bewildering because there are so many. But it offers the prospect of a journey of discovery, of stepping into another dimension, the realm of the night.
Be brave, step into the darkness. Great discoveries await…
A special thanks to our host, Mary Broughall, who made us more than welcome and served delicious refreshments after our time outside. Thanks also to Philip Strickland who led the event and Chris McKenna who set up the traps. Thanks to all who attended-this was not a morning for those with an aversion to rain!
Early Thorn, second generation. The first brood flies from March to May. Its larvae feed on various trees. Photo J. Harding
The Transparent Burnet moth occurs in the Burren in County Clare and Galway and on limestone habitats in Mayo and Limerick. The caterpillars feed on thyme in spring. The Transparent Burnet in the west of Ireland is subspecies sabulosa. This form has deeper red than is found on subspecies found in Britain. It flies in June and July, and large numbers can be seen feeding together on mats of flowering thyme. A good place to see it is Coolorta, County Clare, at R 34240 96588.Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet moths are found in flower-rich, often damp grasslands where they can be abundant. It has been recorded more widely in recent years but is rated vulnerable on the moth red list. Like the Transparent Burnet, it overwinters as a caterpillar and pupates in May and June. The adult flies in June and July. The moth occurs here as subspecies insularis. It breeds on Meadow Vetchling, A good site for it is Pollardstown Fen, at N 76388 15994.The Six-spot Burnet is similar in appearance to the previous species but has six spots, not five, is far more abundant and widespread, and is especially abundant along the coasts. It has a much longer flight period, flying throughout the summer months. It often occurs in stunning abundance on sand dunes around Ireland’s coastline where dozens can be seen on a single Common Ragwort. It breeds mainly on Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil. One good area for it is the Dingle peninsula, such as at Stradbally, at Q 58707 13406.The Cinnabar is a striking moth, and unlike the previous three species, it is mainly nocturnal. It flies in May and June. Although it is striking when seen in flight in bright sunshine, it is probably better known for the larvae which feed socially on Common Ragwort and related plants, their black and yellow hoops making them unmistakable. This is the best distributed of the black and red moths, occurring along the coasts, on dry ground wherever the foodplants occur.The Brown Silver-lines can be seen during bright sunshine where Bracken exists. Large abundance exists where beds of Bracken occur. It is nocturnal, but like the Cinnabar, it is often disturbed in daylight. This moth is well distributed in Ireland.The Small Heath is a grassland butterfly that was once very common. Distribution maps from the Millenium Atlas show it to be mainly coastal but with many inland sites but these are scattered, but it may have been under-recorded at the time. There is a strong possibility that it has declined since, with greater intensification in farming eliminating it by changing the grassland habitat it needs. It is very vulnerable to fertilizer use, re-seeding of grassland, and over-grazing. It appears to like ungrazed grasslands but it will disappear from such areas when scrub becomes established and the grass is shaded. This butterfly is still well represented on coastal grasslands. A good place to see it is Mornington, County Meath at O 15737 75513. It flies in May, June, July and August, in one generation.The Meadow Brown occurs throughout Ireland in semi-natural grassland where it even manages to survive fertilizer use, but it exists on such sites in lower numbers. It flies from June to August and occasionally later especially in the west of Ireland. It is exceptionally abundant in some grasslands even on farms.The Cryptic Wood White is well established throughout Ireland excepting areas of hot, dry, exposed carboniferous limestone where it is replaced by the Wood White. The Cryptic Wood White flies mainly in May and June and breeds on Meadow Vetchling and Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil and presumably related plants. ‘Unkempt’ scrubby grasslands, well-vegetated field margins, wood edges, lanes, wilder gardens in rural areas, and cutover bogs vegetated with grassland vegetation are places to look for this dainty, extremely interesting little butterfly.A Small Tortoiseshell on Rough Hawk-bit, Lullymore, Co. Kildare. This is flying now, especially around nettles where it is busy breeding to lay down a second generation that flies mainly in late August and throughout September when it visits gardens to feed on flowers before overwintering as an adult, often in your house. This attractive, swift-flying butterfly occurs throughout Ireland.
The prolonged period of dry weather which has extended over five weeks, appeared to be about to end just as our Portrane outing was due. Fortunately, the weather at Portrane was dry and mild, with bright conditions and some hazy sunshine.
We assembled and made our way to the dunes at the northern extremity of Portrane Burrow. At this point, some explanation is needed. Over the past 15 years, the dunes in the area were eroded by the sea until only the dunes at the northern end, immediately south of the estuary, remain. Last winter, these were inundated, but not removed.
The vegetation remains mainly in place but the condition of the habitat appears less favourable. Re-growth of the recently uprooted Sea Buckthorn was noted. Non-native plants like Cordyline (New Zealand) and Red Valerian (Mediterranean region) have appeared too. Some areas appear to have lost some habitat for the Small Blue and Small Heath.
Small Blue laying her egg on Kidney Vetch in Portrane. Photo J. Harding
Drought is beginning to affect the condition of the Small Blue breeding plant, Kidney Vetch.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has identified five direct drivers of biodiversity loss. These are changing use of the sea and land, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution and invasive non-native species. The two indirect drivers are people’s disconnect with nature and the resulting lack of value placed on the importance of nature.
Looking at the direct influences on biodiversity loss, the latter three, climate change (coastal erosion removing the dunes), pollution (burning, dumping waste,) and invasive non-native species (a range of species, especially Sea Buckthorn) are at play in Portrane which also holds breeding populations of birds of conservation concern: Little Tern, Ringed Plover, Eurasian Skylark, and Meadow Pipit. As for human disconnect and disinterest…
During our outing, we counted 24 Small Blues (ranked endangered), 8 Common Blues, and 12 Small Heaths (ranked near threatened).
To put this in context, on 7th June 2018 John Lovatt, (who led this event) counted 439 Small Blues, 204 Common Blues, and 33 Small Heaths.
Of course, populations are not the same every year, so let’s look at the 2nd of June 2020. That day, John recorded 232 Small Blues, 82 Common Blues, and 23 Small Heaths.
On the 7th of June 2022, John recorded 85 Small Blues and 34 Common Blues. These declines mirror the loss of habitat and the reduction in the quality of the area remaining.
While the precise causes of Portrane’s decline in habitat size and quality are not universally applicable, the signs are ominous for Ireland’s butterflies and habitats. Portrane is on the front line and tells us to change our attitude before we are left with nothing.
Dune habitat with invasive, non-native Sea Buckthorn encroaching on Kidney Vetch. Photo J. Harding
Saturday 27th May 2023 was a beautiful sunny morning and although cloud built later conditions remained bright and pleasant with good breaks in the cloud and warm spring sunshine. This weather allows for comfortable walking and great close views of butterflies and day-flying moths which can be unapproachable in hot weather and impossible to find when it is cold. In short, conditions were perfect for Butterfly Conservation Ireland’s walk on Lullybeg Reserve.
White butterflies, like this Small White, brighten our days with their glowing brightness.
We began our walk along the track leading to the Irish Peatland Conservation Council’s reserve at Lullymore, and walked through various habitats, such as wet grassland, poor fen, scrub, woodland, wet heath, and onto Lullybeg Reserve which continues the habitat diversity, especially wet grassland, elements of dry meadow, poor fen, marsh, wet and dry heath. This habitat richness means that a biodiverse fauna is expected, and we observed plenty of examples of this richness.
This Common Blue beautified the start of our walk.
Drier areas showed good displays of Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil, a magnet for Burnet Companion moths, Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoths, Common Blues, and Dingy Skippers. This plant produces a ‘trefoil lawn’ at the base of the track opposite the reserve at Lullymore and near the silt pond on Lullybeg Reserve, and we stopped and spent plenty of time at both locations, seeing abundance and diversity. An especially lovely ‘blue’ female Common Blue loitered at the first patch of trefoil in Lullymore and we managed some great photographs of her; she posed nicely during the bright spells before becoming more active during direct sunshine. Many female Common Blues are chiefly brown on their upper surfaces, so seeing a blue individual is a treat. This blue suffusion usually features more prominently the further west you look, with more easterly areas having smaller, browner females.
The male is bright, shining blue wherever one looks for him, and these looked dazzling in the sunshine.
This Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth was ambushed by Misumena vatia, a crab spider that lurks on same-coloured flowers.
We checked the buckthorn bushes in the track connecting Lullymore and Lullybeg, seeing Brimstone eggs and half-grown larvae. Brimstones are good at breeding over an extended period, laying eggs from March into June. This results in adults emerging over at least two months giving the impression that it is on the wing most of the summer.
This is somewhat illusory. Individual newly hatched Brimstones spend little time on the wing during the summer; they hatch in summer, feed for a short time on flower nectar and disappear until the following March. Hatching over many weeks means it appears to be flying for several weeks, but no butterfly that needs to survive the winter as an adult can afford to take the risk that prolonged activity brings. That explains the seeming anomaly of seeing more in late March after winter than were counted the previous summer. This brief summer fling also accounts for the excellent condition of the over-wintered Brimstone in March, when it is already around eight months old! After checking the Brimstone caterpillars, Emperor Moth caterpillars were found on Meadowsweet, one of several plant species it uses in the area.
A half-grown Brimstone caterpillar on Alder Buckthorn. Like many edible larvae, it has the same colour as the foodplant, showing adaptation to its host plant. This adaptation to leaf colour is continued in the pupa and adult butterfly. Despite this camouflage, it is likely that the larva is heavily predated by birds and wasps.
Lullybeg Reserve was awash with Marsh Fritillary butterflies, most looking perfectly fresh. Confusion reigned along the stream bank, with Burnet Companions jostling with Marsh Fritillaries for space and attention, with occasional skirmishes between Dingy Skippers and Burnet Companions. Altogether I counted 99 Marsh Fritillaries. I am sure number 100 was seen by one of us!
A perfect specimen, this male Marsh Fritillary probably emerged on the morning of our event.Showing the sealed abdomen of a female Marsh Fritillary. The male seals her to prevent a second mating. Genetic succession is a step closer!
We reached the silt pond which has an adjoining luxuriance of Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil, a fuel station for passing traffic and resident butterflies and moths alike. Nuzzling its furry way among the fragrant yellow blooms was a rather bumbling Narrow-bordered Bee Hawkmoth. An astonishing bee mimic, it is rarely bothered by avian predators but even if pursued, it is formidably elusive in full flight.
The increasingly scarce Small Heath butterfly joined in; it shouldn’t be in trouble, but like so much of our butterfly fauna, it is dwindling in distribution. The abundance of butterflies, moths, dragonflies (high numbers of Hairy Dragonflies and Four-spotted Chasers), and other groups at Lullybeg give a glimpse of what the wider countryside looked like, 30 or more years ago. There’s plenty wrong, but Biodiversity Week gives us the opportunity to admire what we still have and inspires us to nurture and advocate for nature. And so does the support we receive from people with a shared passion for nature, like those whose company we had the pleasure to enjoy on Saturday. Some members travelled from Cork and Tipperary for the event, so it was wonderful that the reserve’s bounty was on show, thanks to the great weather.
Thanks to everyone who attended, to everyone who worked on the reserve over the winter, and to Kildare’s Heritage Officer Bridget Loughlin who organised the county’s biodiversity week events.
Nature needs a hand to survive, not neglect or the contempt implicit in the drive for profit. The Marsh Fritillary does well in species-rich grassland managed without chemicals and with gentle cattle grazing.
Here are five lovely butterflies to look for in May. See if you can find them and let us know about your record. See Butterfly Conservation Ireland’s Records Page https://butterflyconservation.ie/wp/records/ for the details we need to report your sighting on Butterfly Conservation Ireland’s 2023 Record Page. The photographs below were taken in May 2023.
Marsh Fritillary underside. The upperside is shown below. This occurs on wild grasslands, often in wet or damp areas containing its breeding plant Devil’s-bit Scabious. This is the only legally protected insect that occurs in Ireland.
Dingy Skipper. This little butterfly is usually seen fluttering low over Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil. Areas of unfertilized grassland with some bare ground are the places it frequents.The male Orange-tip is unmistakable. He is often encountered patrolling the sunlit side of a hedge. In the female, the orange band is replaced with white but both sexes show the lovely moss-coloured hindwing underside.The Small Heath is just starting to emerge. Found on wild grassland in a number of habitats, from coastal grasslands to upland heaths, this formerly common butterfly is in retreat throughout much of Ireland’s farmed land.This delicate little white butterfly is unspotted which separates it from all other white butterflies found in Ireland. The wood white exists in Ireland as two identical-looking species: the Wood White found on grassland among open scrub growing on exposed carboniferous limestone in Clare, Galway, and Mayo and the Cryptic Wood White which breeds on more open grassy sites with scattered scrub outside the areas occupied by its sister species.
Record rainfall in March, an indifferent April and the cool first two weeks in May provided the inauspicious meteorological backdrop to our Burren outings. Vegetation growth, butterfly abundance and emergence times are influenced by sunlight, temperatures and precipitation so expectations were tempered, despite the excellent habitats that we planned to walk.
Our Day Out.
Happily, Saturday gave us excellent weather especially in the morning after the mist dissipated and up to mid-afternoon after which it clouded over.
Our large, enthusiastic group of Burrenbeo Trust and Butterfly Conservation Ireland members assembled at Crevagh to walk the green road through Clooncoose Valley. This road mainly runs east/west so it is open to sunlight for much of the day, and along much of its length it is sheltered by stone walls and scrub making it an attractive corridor for commuting butterflies. The broad roadside also contains resources such as basking platforms, nectar and larval foodplants, while these are also present, albeit in more exposed situations, in the adjoining landscape. In short, it’s perfect!
Clooncoose Valley, County Clare. J. Harding
And it is great for walkers too, with a fairly level surface and magnificent views. At the gate, I showed photographs of the butterflies we hoped to encounter and off we went, chatting and sharing observations and stories on our stroll.
A male Wood White soon fluttered into view, bobbing ponderously but purposefully over vetch-rich verges, seeking his mate. Previously netted and jarred Wood Whites were passed around, while the story of its place in the Burren was described. The delicate greenery on its hindwing underside distinguishes our Wood White from the examples found in Britain and Europe, with theirs showing grey undersides. We spotted several more, all flying low or tasting nectar from wayside blooms. Ranked Vulnerable on the Irish red list, it felt reassuring to see it thriving here on The Burren’s Butterfly Road.
A companion species, in The Burren at least, is the even rarer Pearl-bordered Fritillary. This blue-eyed beauty is much sought after in Irish butterfly circles, with generations of butterfly lovers making the trek to Clooncoose to see it during the 100 years following its discovery in this area in June 1922. One dashed past, its deep orange uppersides drawing instant heed. One of our number netted the next commuter, another male. I jarred him to pass around, pointing out his blue eyes, deep orange upperside marked with velvety black chevrons, spots and lines, and his pearl-edged hindwing undersides. It is such a pleasure to see people’s reactions to a creature of immense beauty.
Pearl Bordered Fritillary on dandelion. Photo Geraldine Nee.
We released him and more appeared, and the green road became a catwalk with admiring photographers snapping basking, and feeding Pearl-bordered Fritillaries. All seen were males, all in perfect condition; the females were yet to emerge; this showed it was early in their flight season. This butterfly is highly dependent on weather conditions with emergence dates significantly influenced by prevailing temperatures. In warm springs, it hatches during April.
In a cool spring, this endangered butterfly will not be seen until May, and the lack of sightings at Fahee North the following day showed it to be significantly later than in several previous years, such as 2007 and 2009 when it was abundant during April. According to data from UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, it has suffered a 72% abundance decline 1978-2019 and a deeply alarming 91% distribution decline 1982-2019. These are horrifying statistics. We don’t want to see this anywhere, but in Ireland the species is in the ‘Burren Only’ category so the Burren must continue to be treasured and managed according to its ecological need for open scrub on limestone.
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is named for the seven pearls bordering the underside of the hindwing. J. Harding.
Another must-see was the Dingy Skipper, represented in the Burren by subspecies baynesi, a paler form than found elsewhere, neatly adapted to its limestone homeland. This active creature was soon apprehended and passed over for inspection. A specimen from Kildare was shown for highlight the contrast in the depth of colouring. The uniqueness of the Burren form of this spring skipper provides a further impetus towards conservation of this magnificent landscape.
Dingy Skipper, Clooncoose. J. Harding.Speckled Yellow moth, Clooncoose. J. Harding
Green-veined White (the citral perfumed wings drew much interest) Small Copper (tiny but gorgeous), Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled Wood were also viewed along with the butterfly-like Speckled Yellow moth, really abundant in Clooncoose. We were even treated to great views of an oblivious Red Fox, who couldn’t care less that he was under close observation.
Red Fox at Clooncoose. He was busy catching frogs in the grassy hollows between the limestone. J. HardingHairy Dragonfly itill(female) was very abundant on the Green Road at Clooncoose. J. Harding.Mountain Avens, Clooncoose. J. Harding
The following day’s outing at Fahee North, near the Burren Perfumery involved a walk on a Marsh Fritillary breeding area on wet grassland and an adjoining area of scrub, limestone grassland and shattered limestone pavement. The weather was dry, with some sunshine but quite cool in a brisk westerly wind.
While butterflies kept their heads down during our outing, we did see great habitat that holds important populations. We saw a Marsh Fritillary caterpillar on a leaf of its foodplant, Devil’s-bit Scabious, and several Transparent Moth caterpillars on thyme growing on a well-developed ant hill. The Transparent Burnet is an attractive day-flyer, and very abundant in the Burren but rare elsewhere in Ireland.
Transparent Burnet caterpillar on thyme and adult below on Bloody Cranesbill. J. Harding
We looked closely at the habitat and ecological needs of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary on the open scrub on the limestone adjoining the Marsh Fritillary breeding site, and why the continuum of habitat provided by a well-managed Burren is crucial to the long term survival of our rarest butterflies and moths.
Early Purple Orchid, in great abundance in the Burren this spring. J. Harding
It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend, made special by the great company in the most special landscape Ireland has to offer.
Thanks to all who attended, especially to Pranjali from Burrenbeo Trust who helped to organize these events.
One of life’s annoyances is arriving back in Ireland after a break in a sunny clime to be told by a grinning neighbour, “The weather was amazing here when you were away. It only started to rain yesterday.”
Anticipating this scenario while in Malta, I checked the weather report and forecast for Ireland online on RTE Radio. Rain, wind, thunderstorms, flooding, etc, etc! No mention of sunshine! Just lots of the wet and windy stuff.
That morning I gazed through the window of the apartment in Għajnsielem, Għawdex (Gozo, nicknamed Il-Gżira tat-tliet għoljiet, the island of the three hills), at clear skies lit by the Mediterranean sun. The smug feeling that comes from knowing that I wouldn’t be on the receiving end of a meteorological putdown and that I was feeling that glorious Vitamin D delivering sunshine on my pale skin was delicious.
Maltese Stocks Matthiola incana subsp. melitensis. The bay is Daħlet Qorrot Bay, a small inlet nestled between the northern cliffs of Gozo not far from in-Nadur, Gozo’s largest village.
Gozo, also known by its residents as Għawdex is the second largest of the Maltese Islands, which are the sunniest in Europe with over 3000 hours of sunshine a year. The sun shines for about 300 days each year. The winter temperatures are benign, with highs of 16-18 Celsius on many days. The average annual temperature is about 23 Celsius. In Ireland, the average is 9.4 Celsius. This is considerably lower than the average of 12.4 Celsius in Malta’s coolest month, February.
Temperatures in April this year (2023) reached around 23 Celsius, a comfortable heat. It rained once during my two-week stay. It gets hot later, with June to September regularly having temperatures in the 30s Celsius and sometimes higher. The highest temperature in 2022 was in August when 39.2 Celsius was recorded. Being surrounded by sea means the very extreme high temperatures seen on the European mainland are avoided. Rainfall is low compared with Ireland and occurs mostly during winter. Summer rain is very rare. The islands get about 600mm of precipitation per year, sometimes much less.
The inhabitants accommodate themselves to the high day-time summer temperatures by closing businesses from 11 am to 4 pm (typically). Heat can be troubling for those with an aversion to high temperatures so if that’s you, avoid visiting from June to September because you will not enjoy your stay. During these months, there is persistent heat, even at night.
Malta Opera House, Valetta. It was not rebuilt after it was destroyed by bombing on 7 April 1941. A Government survey in July 2021 found that most respondents, 56.3 per cent, said they wanted the theatre to be built to its original structure.
The islands are special for their history, culture, and extraordinary architecture. The main island’s buildings were largely reconstructed after World War II when the island was essentially flattened by Axis bombing; Field Marshal Kesselring told the German High Command that “There is nothing left to bomb.”(Holland, 2003). The formerly iconic opera house in the capital Valetta (named after the French nobleman Jean de la Valette, who is recalled in the city’s name for his incredible feat in defeating the Ottoman invasion of Malta in 1565, one of the greatest sieges ever fought in Europe) remains a bombed ruin, a memorial to the devastation wrought on the island, a major strategic target in the Mediterranean war theatre.
Jean De La Valette, Valetta. He was about 70 years old when he master-minded the resistance to the Ottoman assault. Much of the evidence for the events comes from a first-hand account written by Francisco Balbi Di Correggio, of Italian birth who wrote in Spanish and Italian. His account of the Siege, published in Spanish in 1568, has been translated into English. It is remarkably detailed and highlights the frightening ferocity of the conflict, which ended in defeat for Sultan Suleiman.
For me, the islands are of immense interest, some of them rooted in the personal, given my Maltese heritage. The islands’ biodiversity is a big draw. As with isolated islands, the biodiversity count is lower than it is on continental land masses, but some of the species have developed unique characteristics, probably by being geographically isolated for thousands of years.
There are, for example, several endemic species and subspecies (an endemic is a species or subspecies that is confined to a restricted area) as well as near-endemics present, adding interest. Its strategic importance during conflicts also applies to biodiversity; it remains strategically important as a migration stop-over for many birds and insects.
The most eye-catching butterfly is Papilio machaon melitensis, the unique endemic subspecies of the swallowtail butterfly that occurs only on the Maltese Islands. Large, elegant and powerful in flight, it is undeniably beautiful. The subspecies rank of this butterfly was established in a study carried out by the University of Munich in 1936. Karl Eller researched the species based on specimens caught in September (probably the third generation).
Eller concluded that the Maltese swallowtail has a very long forewing, that the broad dark band running along the submarginal area of the forewing is strongly wedge-shaped and that this band, continued on the hindwing, is very broad there where it almost merges with the red spot. He also noted the finely scaled veins on the hindwing upper surface and found the red flame markings on the hindwing underside to be prominent. Eller considered the swallowtails he found in Malta similar in appearance to those in Africa.
Swallowtail (male), east of Qala, Gozo. Females look similar and are usually larger.
Recently, Leraunt (2016) stated his belief that the swallowtail in Malta is in fact a different species of swallowtail, mainly found in North Africa and the Middle East: “Illustrations on the Internet of melitensis Eller from Malta convinced me that it is indeed P. saharaemelitensis Eller, 1936, stat. rev.” This view that the Saharan Swallowtail occurs in Malta was challenged by Louis Cassar (2018) of the Institute of Earth Systems at the University of Malta:
Leraut does not provide convincing evidence based, for example, on morphometric analysis (the study of shape variation of organs and organisms and its covariation with other variables) or molecular characterization to substantiate his hypothesis.
Given Louis Cassar’s morphometric study of both species (all life stages), I concur with his view. Differences exist, for example, in the antennae, the size and shape of the red hindwing spot, overall size, the appearance and length of the pupal stage, egg size and larval colour and the length and colour of the osmeterium (this is an eversible forked organ concealed just behind the larva’s head that emits an unpleasant smell used to repel bird attacks). This does not mean that the Saharan Swallowtail never appears in Malta; given the nomadic habits of many swallowtails, it may occasionally migrate there from North Africa and from Lampedusa, an island about 150 km WSW of Malta where the Saharan Swallowtail was recently confirmed (Cassar et al. 2023).
Butterflies don’t care about their own taxonomic identity, but we must. Species confined to a small island group deserve study and may require protection and our appreciation as we marvel at the ability of nature to adapt to conditions that may differ significantly from those on a continent.
Maltese Wall Lizard Podaris filfolensis maltensis is very common in the Maltese Islands. It occurs in Malta as an endemic subspecies. The females are brown.
Certainly delightful, the swallowtail in the Maltese Islands appears to be successful, moving throughout the landscape and even island-hopping to seek mates and breeding sites. Netted with black veins and bands over yellow wings, the sharp blue hindwing band and flame-red spot and black tails spell sophistication. So does its behaviour. It flutters delicately above blooms while dipping its proboscis to suck nectar, then surges powerfully away, defying gravity and gale in its onward propulsion.
One of the loveliest sights is a primrose yellow swallowtail fluttering around red or purple Bougainvillea climbing on mellow yellow ochre Maltese walls.
This butterfly is oddly elusive. You can look for it for hours, be on the brink of admitting defeat and then see three at once, battling for possession of ground or pursuing a mate. The courtship is dramatic. The sexes flutter around each other before rocketing to an impressive height and then plummeting to pair on a low shrub. Territories are often held on a patch of ground containing larval foodplants and nectar sources.
Some of these are at altitude and may also function as hill-topping sites where territorial possession and mate-seeking may occur at the same time or transition to hill-topping behaviour. This is when some butterflies, especially males, fly for hours around an exposed elevated site, with little or even no clear or discernible purpose. Mates may be encountered at hill tops but in some species, this appears not to be the purpose; for example, Peacock butterflies that are in a breeding delay phase (diapause) have been seen hill-topping in the Burren.
Swallowtail larva on Fennel, Il-Majistraal, Malta.
The swallowtail in Malta breeds mainly on Fennel Foeniculum vulgare which occurs widely and is often abundant. Fennel is also a nectar source. Fringed Rue Ruta chalepensis is also used for breeding. According to online sources, the adult butterfly flies from late February until November. It passes the winter in the pupa.
When I visited in the last two weeks of April, the adults I saw were mainly very fresh specimens. I also found young caterpillars on Fennel. It is possible that I was seeing some second-generation butterflies by late April, but I am not sure. The larvae were, I presume, the offspring of the first generation and will be second-brood butterflies.
Clouded Yellow, Xlendi, Gozo.
There were many butterflies flying in April. Small White, Large White, Eastern Bath White and Clouded Yellow were busy feeding and breeding. I saw Small White laying eggs on Caper Capparis orientalis, a lovely low shrub with striking flowers, especially the violet stamens. The flower buds are edible for humans.
Three blues were busy: Lang’s Short-tailed Blue, the Long-tailed Blue and the Southern Blue, previously believed to be the Common Blue. The classic migrants, Red Admiral and Painted Lady, were out too; some of the latter were faded and tattered, and others were perfect specimens.
The Long-tailed Blue is common in Gozo and northern Malta.The Southern Blue is very abundant during July. It occurs in smaller numbers in spring.
The Wall Brown butterfly was abundant and I even saw a female on the main street in the Gozo capital, Victoria (Rabat). In Malta, none of these species needs very special habitats; they just need larval foodplants and nectar sources. I saw one Meadow Brown, on 29th April, near the coast east of Qala village. He was freshly emerged and I was excited to see it. However, the sight of what was recently a common butterfly should not typically evoke animation, but its populations on the islands are parlous:
A somewhat rare resident species that has experienced a sharp population decline in the last decade or so. The species still maintains small, fragmented populations in a couple of localities, but current trends do not bode well. (Cassar 2018)
The Meadow Brown exists in Malta as an endemic subspecies, Maniola jurtina hyperhispulla. Its extinction would therefore be especially tragic. The decline of this and other butterflies (Small Copper, Small Heath, Speckled Wood) might be linked with pollution, climate change and habitat loss, all in evidence on the islands. Chemicals are heavily used in farming to extirpate insects. Even in unfarmed land, bird trappers use persistent herbicides to remove vegetation from trapping sites. In recent years, precipitation levels have declined significantly below the average. The unrelenting building frenzy is swallowing precious land especially in Malta but also in Gozo.
A girna, Qala, Malta. These corbelled huts were and are used for storage and probably for dwelling and resting places in the past. These can be centuries old, but it is very difficult to date these structures.
Three ‘new’ butterflies have arrived on the islands in recent years. These are the Geranium Bronze Cacyreus marshalli, Dark Grass Blue Zizeeria karsandra and Desert Babul Blue Azanus ubaldus. The first occurs naturally in South Africa and may have arrived on imported Pelargoniums while the latter two are species of hot, arid lands, essentially eremic (desert) species. The survival of these three in Malta points, possibly, to the warming, drier climate there, and must be concerning for the habitats and native species currently supported.
Large Star of Bethlehem, Il-Majistral, Malta.
All is not gloom. Maltese people are beginning to take their environment’s needs into account. A nature park covering 2.5 sq. km, Il-Majistral, was established in 2007 in the north of Malta. Malta has also declared protected areas covering about 29% of the land area and 35% of marine waters. No more bird-trapping licences are being issued, and shooting is less accepted now, but these activities continue. Some birds, like the Honey Buzzard and Marsh Harrier, are easy targets owing to their lazy, soaring flight. Further work will hopefully make shooting such species a thing of the past.
Crown Daisy Chrysanthemum coronarium (yellow) and French Honeysuckle Hedysarum coronarium, (red) Qala. The French Honeysuckle is often grown for fodder and for Honeybees.Caper, Il-Majistral, Malta. This common plant is used for breeding by Large and Small White butterflies.
There is still much to see in the Maltese countryside, especially for a person from cooler climes unused to seeing the plant and insect life in the Mediterranean.
The friendliness and openness of Maltese people is a tonic too. A welcome is rarely if ever withheld. There is a distinctive culture. Signs of the religious culture are evident everywhere with churches in every village. Crucifixes hang in public places from government buildings to insurance offices. There is less restraint in speech, with a directness rarely heard elsewhere. The village is a key part of identity, and for many people the next village, a kilometre or two away, is considered a great distance to travel.
The church of St George, Victoria. Note the clock on the left shows the wrong time. This is to confuse the devil to ensure that he does not disrupt mass.
The squares are the centre of village life, and news travels fast. During the heat of summer, most social life occurs after dark, and the village squares come to life. Children chase one another around tables and street furniture and climb into niches in the baroque churches. Safe, friendly and memorable, you will certainly experience something different.
Ta’ Pinu, Gozo’s best-known church. It is located in a rural area without a parish and is an important shrine that receives thousands of visitors from Malta and elsewhere.
If there was only one thing I could change, it is the rampant construction of apartment blocks, which I would like to see ended. After that, I would ban pesticides. But that applies to Ireland too, along with massive fertiliser inputs.
Without a better way of managing food production, the glories of our world will continue to diminish. Wherever you visit this summer, try to visit sites with high nature value. The message that nature matters might hit home the better.
The Sardinian Warbler breeds in Malta and can be seen bringing caterpillars to its nest during spring.Southern Star of Bethlehem, Qala, Gozo.Wall Brown, Il-Majistral, Malta.Egyptian Grasshopper Anacridium aegyptium, Qala, Gozo. This is a large insect and a capable flyer. Younger individuals are green, with mature specimens typically pale brown or grey.Maltese Glow-worm Lampyris pallida is endemic to the Maltese islands. The adult female lights up to attract a male at night, usually during early summer. The larva, seen here, is more often seen, during the day. This one is feeding on a snail near Qala, Gozo.
Photos J. Harding
References
Cassar, L. F. (2018). A Revision of the Butterfly Fauna (Lepidoptera Rhopalocera) of the Maltese Islands Summary. Naturalista Sicily, S. IV, XLII (1), 3–19.
Climates To Travel World Climate Guide (2023). Available at: https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/malta (Accessed 06 May 2023)
Holland, James (2003). Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940–1943. London: Miramax Books.
Ireland’s Blue Book (2023). Available at: https://www.irelands-blue-book.ie/IrishWeather.html#:~:text=Temperature%3A,C%20(60.3%20%C2%B0F (Accessed 05 May 2023)
Papilio machaon subsp. melitensis Eller, 1936 in GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-05-06.
Weber, Hans and Kendzior, Bernd (2006). Flora of the Maltese Islands A Field Guide. Marburg: Margraf Publishers.
Because butterflies are so loved and well-studied, there is good evidence of what butterfly species occurred in Europe, Britain, and Ireland over the past 100 years and further back, and the species that have flourished, declined, were gained, and lost.
For many countries in Western and Central Europe, the story is certainly very worrying. The countries that border the Mediterranean and those in the far north of Europe have suffered less decline and loss, but these areas are not without challenges that affect butterfly populations.
Since the early years of the 20th century, England has lost the Mazarine Blue (possibly c.1903 but may have disappeared in c. 1865), Black-veined White (1923), Large Tortoiseshell (c.1950), Large Blue (1979), and Chequered Skipper (1975). The Large Copper was lost c. 1864, due entirely to habitat destruction.
Large Copper is a beautiful species that can be used to publicise the need for conservation practices. This butterfly was lost from England when the fens were drained. The upperside can be seen below. Photos J. Harding.
In the UK, the Duke of Burgundy, High Brown Fritillary, and Heath Fritillary are in serious trouble and the High Brown Fritillary, in very deep trouble, may be lost. Several other species are falling in abundance and distribution there, including the Marsh Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, and Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Just to take the statistics for one butterfly, the Wood White. This elegant, dainty creature has fallen by 82% in its population and 76% in its distribution during the period 1979-2019.
Wood White, ranked near threatened in Ireland, relies on wooded habitat on carboniferous limestone that is being destroyed, especially in areas outside the Burren, such as around Lough Corrib, County Galway. J. Harding
You will see from the dates that butterfly declines and losses have been taking place in England for a long time. The situation is also very depressing in parts of central Europe. The northern Belgian province of Flanders has seen steep losses. 20 butterflies have become extinct (29% of its species list), and between 1992 and 2007 overall numbers declined by around 30%. A study published in the early 2000s found that 18 species (28% of its list) were threatened with extinction. In the Netherlands, 20% of species have become extinct, and since 1990 overall numbers in the country declined by 50%. Denmark and the Czech Republic are in the same sorry category of loss and decline suffered by Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Black-veined White is now extinct in the Netherlands.
Just to give an indication of how grave the situation in the Netherlands is, consider the fact that the Silver-washed Fritillary, thriving in Ireland and rising in abundance in England is in deep trouble there. The Dingy Skipper, holding steady in the UK and Ireland, is very rare in the Netherlands. The Marsh Fritillary is now extinct in the Netherlands.
The Silver-washed Fritillary thrives in Ireland’s woods especially where native trees exist. This butterfly is in trouble in the Netherlands. Photo J. Harding
Countries in Europe were ranked in 2019 in the Journal of Insect Conservation according to their butterfly red lists where species are ranked under threat categories. There are five rankings, excluding countries that lack data.
The next group of countries is in a loss category below that occupied by Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. These are Germany, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and the UK.
Ireland is ranked in the next group of countries; we are mid-table for losses, along with countries such as Ukraine, Switzerland, Hungary and Finland.
The two countries that fare the best, with the lowest declines, are Spain and Italy.
Chris Van Swaay, one of Europe’s most eminent butterfly experts, explains the declines in the Netherlands.
“Before 1950 or so, grasslands in the Netherlands very much resembled what we now only have left in some nature reserves – they were wet, they had lots of flowers, were lightly grazed and mown only once or twice a year. This was very low-intensity farming.
“In two decades after the 1950s, the countryside was rebuilt – land was drained and planted with one species of grass, large amounts of fertiliser was put on the land, and it was mown six times a year. There is no room for butterflies except on road verges and nature reserves. The countryside is more or less empty.”
The reasons for the declines in Europe, Britain and Ireland are quite similar and often the same. Modern farming methods are the greatest causes of decline and loss. These methods have caused massive habitat loss and degradation with large areas of our land mass devoted to production of one crop species with no room for any other plant. In areas where this has not happened, traditional farming methods that maintained biodiversity have fallen out of use, creating successional changes that have lost us heathlands and grasslands, while the cessation of traditional woodland management has changed woodlands, resulting in closed canopies and darker woods unsuitable for many woodland species.
The loss of habitats for other reasons, such as building, afforestation, land drainage, and peat mining has also contributed to losses.
More recently, the concern is growing about the impact of chemical pollution, which can damage habitats that are not directly affected by changes in farming practices or habitat destruction. The deposition of nitrogen from the air is believed to be responsible for changing the character and chemical content of vegetation, making the habitat and foodplant unsuitable for butterflies. This is a sinister threat because it can affect populations that occur a long distance from industry and intensive farming. It is also difficult to address, requiring, probably, a geographical-scale response, not simply a local or national strategy to reduce air pollution.
Climate change is a further challenge; this is complex because some species are beneficiaries of a warming climate, while others suffer. Cold-adapted species are driven further north or uphill, and warmth-loving species are extending their range northwards. A mismatch between the development of vegetation and emergence or breeding times may be driving declines in some areas. For example, increasing dryness and heat in the Mediterranean region may deprive some species of nectar and foodplants. Extreme climate events associated with climate change can have dramatic and sudden impacts. The Green-veined White’s abundance in many areas of Ireland crashed in 2019 following the drought in 2018.
The Small Copper is under threat in some hot, dry areas in the Mediterranean, with increasing aridity meaning its food is becoming scarce or unavailable. Elsewhere, the chemical inputs being absorbed by its foodplants in intensively farmed grassland is poisoning its larvae. Photo J. Harding
How do we deal with the threats to our butterflies?
We need policies and actions that reverse the damage described above.
Greening our urban and suburban spaces by allowing vegetation to grow and planting native plants from local seed will help. Avoid tidiness; relax management in gardens, parks, verges, and the grounds of businesses. Do not use chemicals in these areas.
Reserves will not save butterflies unless they are large and managed. Many protected areas are too small and are often badly managed and being damaged. Landscapes must be protected, and these must contain a range of habitats. A good example of where this is done is the Burren in Counties Clare and Galway.
Pollution must be tackled. Massive chemical inputs in agriculture and reseeding grassland is destroying nature in general. Monoculture grasslands should be replaced with multi-species swards generated by allowing the seed bank in the soil to germinate. In areas where intensive farming is needed, ‘wild’ land must be incorporated into the landscape, typically as unfarmed extended field margins adjoining hedgerows and wood edges.
Woodlands containing native trees grown by allowing woods to extend naturally would add habitat diversity, as would maintaining wide rides allowing light in the woods. New woods must not be grown on high nature value semi-natural grassland, heaths, and bogs. New woods should be planted on intensively managed farmland. Scrub must be allowed to develop at the margins of woods rather than having a sharp edge where woodland transitions directly to open grassland.
Encourage a love of nature in everyone. Most focus is on youth education, naturally, but highlighting the intrinsic importance and wonder of nature should be promoted at all levels of the population. Participate in citizen science monitoring of butterfly populations to help to build knowledge of the status of butterfly populations. Getting involved in conservation organisations is important because these do important practical conservation, monitoring and education. These organisations help to influence policy in favour of caring for our environment.
Most of our countryside looks the way it does because it is heavily plied with chemicals. Fields of uniform, sharply green sward without flowers is not the ‘natural way.’ Fertilisers exclude flowers by promoting accelerated grass growth and in some cases, by providing a chemistry that kills flowers. Herbicides kill any flowers that remain. There is certainly no need for our gardens, parks, and hedge margins to look like this. Make sure your patch doesn’t.
References
Maes, D., Verovnik, R., Wiemers, M. et al. Integrating national Red Lists for prioritising conservation actions for European butterflies. J Insect Conserv23, 301–330 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00127-z
Warren, M.S., Maes, D., van Swaay, Chris A M, Goffart, P., Van Dyck, H., Bourn, N.A.D., Wynhoff, I., Hoare, D. & Ellis, S. 2021, “The decline of butterflies in Europe: Problems, significance, and possible solutions”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – PNAS, vol. 118, no. 2.
Thomas, J. and Lewington, R. (2014) The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland. (Revised edition) British Wildlife Publishing, Dorset.
