Butterfly Conservation Hampshire and
Isle of Wight Branch

Welcome to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch of Butterfly Conservation

Butterfly Conservation was formed by a small group of dedicated naturalists in 1968 following the alarming decline of many beautiful butterflies.  Most British butterfly species remain in decline.

We aim to halt and reverse these declines. Our vision is of a world rich in butterflies for future generations to enjoy.  We are also committed to the conservation of moths, which are close relatives of butterflies and are in rapid decline.

Butterflies and moths you can see now

As Spring advances into May, the number of butterflies and moths on the wing continues to grow rapidly.  There have been over 45 butterfly species and over 1200 moth species recorded in May in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.  Listed below are selections of those that can be seen this month.  Most of the moths will only be seen when attracted to light


Common Blue
Speckled Wood
Pearl-bordered Fritillary Orange-tip
Dingy Skipper
Green-veined White
Small Heath
Small White
Small Blue
Duke of Burgundy
Grizzled Skipper
Glanville Fritillary
Holly Blue
Green Hairstreak
Brown Argus
Large White
Adonis Blue
Small Copper
Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Small Tortoiseshell
Wall
Painted Lady
Marsh Fritillary
Large Skipper
Purple Hairstreak



Shuttle-shaped Dart
Treble Lines
Heart and Dart
Hebrew Character
Light Brown Apple Moth Brimstone Moth
Flame Shoulder
Common Quaker
Vine's Rustic
Pale Tussock
White Ermine
Muslin Moth
Green Carpet
Brown Silver-line
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Orange Footman
Brindled Pug
Common Pug
Speckled Yellow
Cinnabar
Nut-tree Tussock
Bright-line Brown-eye
Pale Mottled Willow
Poplar Hawk-moth
Common Marbled Carpet


Butterflies are beautiful and intrinsically valuable. Together with moths, their sensitivity to environmental change makes them valuable indicators of the health of the countryside.  We are dedicated to the conservation of:

Butterflies   Moths   Reserves

Marsh Fritillaries by Maurice Pugh

 

Merveille du Jour by Tim Norris

 

There are 46 species of butterfly occurring in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.  Of these 35 can be seen on our reserves.
More about our butterflies...
  Around 1950 species of moth have been recorded in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.  Over 600 of these on our reserves.
More about our moths...
  Butterfly Conservation has over 25 reserves across the UK, including 3 in Hampshire, Yew Hill. Magdalen Hill Down and Bentley Station Meadow.
More about our reserves...

Hummingbird Hawkmoth and Painted Lady online survey with BBC Radio 4

Hummingbird Hawkmoth by David GreenButterfly Conservation has developed an exciting online survey of these two migrant species in association with Radio 4’s major series World on the Move and as part of the Garden Moths Count initiative. The survey will run throughout 2008 on the Butterfly Conservation website. Anyone who sees a Hummingbird Hawkmoth or Painted Lady butterfly can use the simple but amazing interactive mapping on the website to zoom in on satellite images (down to the scale of your own garden) and log their sightings. Painted Lady by Robert ThompsonThis will enable us to track the arrival in the UK of these wonderful creatures on their journey from North Africa and southern Europe, and then to map their spread here during the summer. We are also keen to hear observations of interesting behaviour (such as courtship, mating, egg laying, plants used for nectaring, reverse migration in the autumn or hibernation) which can be recorded in a comments box in the online recording system. What we do know about the migration of these spectacular insects comes from observations over the centuries from amateur recorders, but there is still much to learn and we hope that you will help in 2008.  Sightings can be entered here...

Upcoming Events

Save Our Butterflies

Save Our Butterflies Week takes place during the week of 19th to 27th July 2008 and is an opportunity for Butterfly Conservation members and the general public to take part in a national recording scheme which year on year helps us to build a picture of any changes in butterfly populations over time. Why not take part and help make a difference You can take part by conducting a simple butterfly and day-flying moth count. All you have to do is pick a sunny mid-afternoon during Save Our Butterflies Week and make a count of the maximum numbers of each species of butterfly that are present on a Buddleia bush over a period of about 30 minutes.

More to follow
National Moth Night

National Moth Night (NMN) is Britain’s celebration of moths and moth recording. It was launched in 1999 and has taken place annually since then, the date varying each year in order to focus recording effort on different parts of the season. On the designated date, participants throughout the British Isles are encouraged to record the moths in their chosen location and the results are pooled into Britain’s largest survey of what species are flying around the country.

So get involved with National Moth Night 2008 and find out what’s flying in your area....

Copyright in all photographs on this website resides with the originators

Become a member

NEWS

Read Tytherley Woods April 2008 Newsletter (680 KB pdf)

Magdalen Hill Down Update, HERE...

Yew Hill update from Lynn Fomison, HERE...

Purple Emperor aficionados will be interested in this new website, see here...

Anniversary work party at Magdalen Hill Down, more...

Matthew Oates wins Lifetime Achievement award, more...

Tony Wootton sweeps the board in Annual Photographic Competition, more...

Tytherley Woods project gathers momentum, more...

Copyright Butterfly Conservation © 2005-2008 Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch
Privacy and Copyright Statement
Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity and non-profit-making company, limited by guarantee.
Registered in England No.2206468. Registered Charity No.254937.
Register office is Butterfly Conservation Manor Yard East Lulworth Wareham Dorset BH20 5QP