Coronavirus Update
Please note that all Butterfly Conservation Warwickshire events, committee meetings and work parties are now cancelled with immediate effect until further notice.
You can still submit your garden butterfly and day-flying moth sightings via our online recording system.
For more information about Coronavirus visit UK Government Coronavirus (COVID-19) or National Health Service Coronavirus Advice for everyone webpage.
Update 14th May 2020
As a result of the Government’s change in restrictions on outdoor activities in England, Butterfly Conservation has revised it's guidance to recorders. Please read the two guidance documents below for further information.
IMPORTANT! The situation remains unchanged regarding recording and monitoring in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, in keeping with the guidance issued by the relevant devolved administrations.
Welcome to Butterfly Conservation Warwickshire
The Warwickshire branch of Butterfly Conservation works in partnership with land owners, local authorities, conservation bodies, businesses and the local community to raise awareness about the threats facing our butterflies, moths, their habitats and our natural environment. We provide advice and practical help on how to protect these and other threatened wildlife in the region. We challenge local authorities and business to ensure they consider the natural world upon which we all depend when making decisions about planning applications and land use.
Several butterflies in the region such as the Small Blue, Wood White and Dark Green Fritillary are particularly vulnerable due to habitat loss and population fragmentation resulting in small isolated colonies which become increasingly susceptible to local or regional extinction.
Warwickshire also hosts a wide variety of moths including species such as Sciota hostilis which is found nowhere else in the country.
Become a member today and help us save butterflies, moths and their habitats in Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. The branch currently has 580* members. (*Updated 08-07-2020).
Submit your butterfly and day-flying moth records
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Annual Report 2019 now available
This year's Annual Report is now available to download via your Gatekeeper Account. It includes butterfly and moth survey data collected by hundreds of volunteers and enthusiasts during 2019.
Note: Due to Coronavirus, our print suppliers are not operating at present. Warwickshire Branch Members will receive their hard copy of the 2019 Annual Report as soon as possible. In the meantime, branch members that have opted to receive communications via email will shortly receive a mini e-newsletter containing a link to download your digital copy of the annual report. Alternatively, if you have a Gatekeeper Account, you can download your digital copy from your Gatekeeper page.
Updated 27-03-2020
Returning the Chalk Hill Blue to Warwickshire
The Chalk Hill Blue has not been a resident species in Warwickshire since the 19th century but in recent years, individual butterflies have been sighted in the south of the county. Conservation measures in neighbouring Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire have enabled the Chalk Hill Blue to recover some of its former range, meaning that colonies are now found very close to the Warwickshire border.
This innovative project will restore the threatened Chalk Hill Blue butterfly to Warwickshire after an absence of over 100 years.
First Sightings 2020
24-06-2020 Gatekeeper
23-06-2020 Essex Skipper
22-06-2020 Purple Emperor
09-06-2020 Marbled White
09-06-2020 Silver Washed Fritillary
09-06-2020 Purple Hairstreak
09-06-2020 Clouded Yellow
08-06-2020 White Letter Hairstreak
06-06-2020 Ringlet
01-06-2020 Small Skipper
31-05-2020 White Admiral
26-05-2020 Meadow Brown
26-05-2020 Dark Green Fritillary
21-05-2020 Large Skipper
06-05-2020 Small Blue
06-05-2020 Wood White
05-05-2020 Brown Argus
04-05-2020 Common Blue
02-05-2020 Small Heath
23-04-2020 Small Copper
21-04-2020 Dingy Skipper
21-04-2020 Grizzled Skipper
08-04-2020 Painted Lady
08-04-2020 Speckled Wood
07-04-2020 Green Hairstreak
05-04-2020 Green Veined White
25-03-2020 Holly Blue
24-03-2020 Orange Tip
24-03-2020 Large White
23-03-2020 Small White
08-02-2020 Brimstone
05-02-2020 Comma
08-01-2020 Small Tortoiseshell
08-01-2020 Peacock
04-01-2020 Red Admiral
Latest Records
06-11-2020 at Scots Lane, Coundon, Coventry. by Brendan Neary.
19-09-2020 at Lime Avenue, Lillington by Richard Dinsdale.
08-07-2020 at Grove Rd, Knowle by Liz Brace.
08-07-2020 at Shakespeare Street, Coventry by Martin Love.
07-07-2020 at Grove Rd, Knowle by Liz Brace.
07-07-2020 at Ryton Wood Meadows by Mike Slater.
07-07-2020 at Ratley Lower Recreation Ground by Rachel Ryan.
07-07-2020 at Leaf Lane Meadow by John Coakley.
07-07-2020 at Leaf Lane Meadow . Section 1 by John Coakley.
06-07-2020 at Oversley Wood by John Carter.
On the wing in July
Latest News
Holy Grail of moth recording reappears in Britain
26th September 2019
Numerous recent sightings of a moth that became extinct in the UK in the 1960s, s... moreMediterranean Blue Butterfly Invades Britain
29th August 2019
Climate change is causing a striking butterfly from southern Europe to appear in ... moreButterflies bounce back in heatwave summer
8th April 2019
UK butterflies bounced back in 2018 following a string of poor years, thanks in p... moreMORE NEWSCanal adoption great for butterflies.
20th December 2017
The branch has adopted a stretch of waterway and it's making a positive impact fo... more
Amazing Volunteers
VOLUNTEERThanks to our amazing volunteer butterfly recorders here in Warwickshire, we recieved a total of 36,200 records in 2018 from 582 of our 620 tetrads (2km2). This represents an amazing 94% coverage of our region with an average of 11.5 species recorded per tetrad.
Watch Out For Tigers
SCARLET TIGERThe Scarlet Tiger (Callimorpha dominula) had a fantastic year in 2018. Record numbers of larvae were noted in the spring. Surprisingly larvae were found feeding on Wych Elm beside the car park at Charlecote Nursery, a new larval foodplant for Scarlet Tiger in the UK (M. Halsey, D.C.G. Brown).