Профиль

Suffolk Branch is run entirely by volunteers. If we do not have enough volunteers to fulfil various roles then the Branch will cease to exist after 35 years. We now have vacancies in two key roles Branch Chair & Transect Co-ordinator Please see suffolkbutterflies.org.uk for details

If anyone doubts the profound impact of climate crisis on butterflies, look at the peak flight week of the Silver-studded Blue at Studland NNR. On average it flies 4 weeks earlier than 50 yrs ago, but first few years vs last two, its 8 weeks! Its doing well but other sp aren't @ukbms.bsky.social

Silver-studded Blue numbers tailing off quickly now on the two Studland transects. Almost identical timing as last year. With maybe 1-2 weeks to go before they finish, it looks like 2026 might even break the record for total numbers seen. @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @ukbms.bsky.social

Mad dogs and entomologists go out in the midday sun! My Wider Countryside Butterfly Monitoring @ukbms.bsky.social square on the Lulworth Army ranges was strangely quiet today. I wonder why at 30C! Feels more like August already with a few very faded Lulworth Skippers @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social

Silver-studded Blue just going past their peak on the two Studland NNR transects in Dorset today. Still a combined count of 286 isn't bad. Numbers look similar to the last 2 years, which suggests its rapid rise has plateaued @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @ukbms.bsky.social

First Grayling out on Studland Heath transect, the earliest in its 51 years! Still good numbers of Silver-studded Blue and heaths looking surprisingly green despite the hot weather @dorsetbutterflies.bsky.social @ukbms.bsky.social

📣 New paper by Mingrui Li @uniexecec.bsky.social shows systematic differences in butterfly flight period estimates from monitoring vs opportunistic data. @jonbennie.bsky.social, @davidroybrc.bsky.social, @robboyd.bsky.social @ukbms.bsky.social resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Systematic differences in phenology estimates from unstructured and structured biodiversity datasetsUnstructured and structured butterfly records produced similar estimates of temporal trends in phenology. Unstructured records showed earlier mean flight dates, earlier onsets and later ends, result...resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Its the start of week 14 of the transect season and the weather looks good. Marbled Whites exploded last week in Dorset and are having a fantastic year. Our recorders are wowed by seeing so many. Gatekeepers are just emerging so with Ringlets + Meadow Browns counting gets tricky @ukbms.bsky.social

We are halfway through the transect recording season and it’s the time when counting gets difficult with lots of Meadow Browns mingled with Ringlets and Gatekeepers. Whites are low this year so we don’t have those to contend with. See latest sightings here www.dorsetbutterflies.com/sightings/re...

Week 13 and it was a scorching 🥵 morning out on the Southbourne Butterfly Transect. Plenty of Whites about (including this Large White). A couple of fast moving Painted Lady and a equally quick Clouded Yellow and that was about it. Southbourne Dorset

It’s the start of week 11 of the transect season. Meadow Browns are surging ahead now but Small Heaths are also having a good year. But the spring season is probably over now with the last Orange-tip, Dingy and Grizzled Skippers seen @ukbms.bsky.social

Monks Wood in Cambs has a storied butterfly past. Black Hairstreak was first noted as a UK species here. Ernie Pollard developed the @ukbms.bsky.social transect design here, and it's had a transect ever since - 50+ years of data. It remains one of the best wildlife sites in the east of England.

(1/) If you would like to practice butterfly identification in a supportive environment and learn more about monitoring these colourful creatures, sign up for our FREE event at BTO Headquarters in Norfolk on Saturday 20 June: www.bto.org/our-work/eve... @btobirds.bsky.social @ukbms.bsky.social