ID That Butterfly

Join in with the Big Butterfly Count and read some Good News

A stunning example of a Peacock pollinating a Buddleia (also known as a butterfly bush) on my mum’s driveway in Scotland

This week I’m simply encouraging you to notice at least one butterfly and then try to identify it. Personally, I’m only really confident at identifying red admirals, peacocks and commas so I’m hoping to expand my knowledge a bit this year. If you’re lucky enough to snap a photo of a butterfly you can use a book to ID it, refer to the photos on the Butterfly Conservation website or use an app like iNaturalist to help you. If enough of you get photos I could start a butterfly thread in Substack Chat too... So so comment below if you have a photo you’d like to share!

A rather scruffy Red Admiral spotted in my local nature reserve

Here are some other butterfly activities to get involved with…

Join in with the Big Butterfly Count

If you have time, and can get out to a suitable spot, I’d also encourage you to join in with Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count. Between Friday 14th July and Sunday 6th August just choose a place to spot butterflies and moths. Watch for 15 minutes, then record which species you see (Butterfly Conservation have sheets to help you ID the species).Citizen science projects like this are really important and help assess the health of our environment.

Plant For Pollinators

If you have a garden, balcony or even space for a window box, you can plant flowers that will attract butterflies to you! Surrey Wildlife Trust has a great post listing different butterfly species and the plants that will attract them.

Jack Wallington shared a brilliant Substack newsletter recently about butterflies, which was a good reminder that if we want to encourage butterflies we also need to make our homes caterpillar friendly.. Here’s a list of caterpillar food plants.

Often people look to flowers to attract butterflies, which they do use for nectar, but if you want more butterflies you first have to feed the caterpillars. Caterpillars of many butterflies eat and overwinter in long wild grasses, cutting back everything before winter removes their home and reduces the number of butterflies next year.

- Jack Wallington from WILD WAY

DESIGNING FOR BUTTERFLIES

Do some butterfly crafting

If you have kids in your life (or if you’re just a big kid!), you might enjoy these butterfly-based creative activities from Woodland Trust.

A Holly Blue - the first blue butterflies to emerge in spring

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The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022 report revealed the alarming news that 80% of butterflies in the UK have declined since the 1970s… but rather than dwell on that sad fact, I thought I’d share some good news. I share this news not to help us bury our heads in the sand, but to show that some species can bounce back, that if we start taking notice, begin to care and do our bit (while working together), change is possible. These are stories I’ve collected while searching for stories for recent issues of The Happy Newspaper, a positive publication I am proud to edit. If you ever come across positive nature news you’d like to see included in a future issue (or here on the Nature Notice Board), please send it my way! 

Gardens Prove to be Butterfly Havens: Populations Skyrocket by 200%

Field Biologist Brian Pfeiffer Finds Little Brown Butterfly After 21-Year Search

Lupine Extinction Averted From Saving Blue Butterfly Quadruples

New Group of Butterflies Named After Lord of the Rings Villain Sauron

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