East Lothian Butterflies 2025 part 2

For all of the winners in 2025, there have to be some losers! Unfortunately, Holly Blue numbers crashed even further than last year. This year we only recorded 22 in total. Way down on the 377 seen in 2023. I hope we are seeing the boom-and-bust pattern that is seen in England resulting from the effects of the parasitic wasps on the Holly Blue population. Only time will tell.

Small Heath numbers were down on their average and this year was the lowest count since I have been collating the records.

Other species that didn't do so well were Meadow Browns. We only saw about two thirds of the normal numbers.

And Ringlets were the same, although it was notable that some sites did better than others.

Dark Green Fritillary numbers were a little lower than average.

We recorded 41 Large Skippers in East Lothian in 2025. I am sure this must be the best year they have had here, but because we normally see so few I haven't added them to my spreadsheet. I'll sort that over the winter!

Small Skippers had a better year than average, although they have only been seen in East Lothian since 2011. Their numbers peaked in 2021 and have fluctuated since then.

Common Blues did a little better than average.

So, it seems as though many of the grassland species didn’t do so well in 2025. Could this be because they also tend to emerge later in the summer, by which time the vegetation had become very dry? This may have resulted in their caterpillars perishing. However, by the time the vegetation dried out the caterpillars would have been fairly well developed and forming chrysalises.

Could it be because of the easterly winds that hit most of the coastal sites? Many of our best grasslands are on coastal sites.

Of course, it maybe isn’t as simple as that, because the butterflies we saw in 2025 would have been laid as eggs the previous year, when the weather was less favourable.

There were quite a number of other species seen, but they tend to be found in more remote sites, so were only recorded in small numbers. These included Purple Hairstreak, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Grayling, Northern Brown Argus and Green Hairstreak.

There was great excitement when a Clouded Yellow was spotted at John Muir Country Park in August. Another was seen at Skateraw a couple of weeks later. A good number of them migrated over from the continent in 2025 and there were records from all over the UK. 

So, on the whole, 2025 turned out to be a fantastic year for butterflies. Between the ad hoc records and the transects we recorded a grand total of 17,229 butterflies.

One thing I always wonder is if we have great weather are there really more butterflies, or are people out and about more and therefore seeing more butterflies!

To round the year off I received reports of three different Peacocks being spotted in coastal towns in the middle of December. This means that for the first time I can remember we had butterflies recorded in every month of the year! Maybe a sign of climate change?

Borders Garden Butterflies 2025

The weather was fantastic here in 2025. After a very wet 2024 it was so lovely having dry and sunny weather. We didn't have the drought seen in England and we had just enough morning dew and occasional shower to keep the grass and wild flowers growing.

I record butterflies all the time when I am outside on our property, taking the dogs for a walk, or working in the woods and then I tend to keep the records from roughly twice a week. I think this gives me something that is comparable year on year, to see how butterflies are doing. And it has been amazing seeing how things have changed over the last six years since we moved here.

I have done a lot of work in that time, removing Rhododendron, having a spruce plantation felled, planting hedges, native trees and wild flowers.

The first butterflies I see each year are those that hibernate as adults. The first butterfly I saw this year was a rather sickly looking Peacock, which I think had been tricked into waking up on an unseasonably warm day at the end of February. Peacocks went on to have the best year I have known here. Strangely my perception was that there were fewer around but the figures show otherwise!

Commas also had a great year. It is great to see them doing so well.

Red Admirals also did really well, with 2025 being the second best year since we moved here.

Many of these species feed on an orange Buddleia that flowers late in the season, up until November. I often wonder what these butterflies would feed on it I hadn't planted the Buddleia.

The Whites, or Pieridae, had a great year. The first to appear was a Small White on 8th April. They went on to have a fantastic year and I recorded 164, way up on my previous best of 99.

Later that same day I saw my first Orange Tip of the year. They also had a good year, but not quite as good as last year.

Green-veined White also had a fantastic year, with me recording more than twice the number I have seen in previous years.

And Large Whites were the best of all with me seeing more than three times the previous best count.

I was thrilled to see a Speckled Wood here on the 28th of April, which suggests that they are now breeding here. The first Speckled Wood arrived here only two years ago and it is such a thrill to have them here. I recorded 140 this year with the best count being 18 one day. This is a picture of the first one I saw this year, a particularly lightly marked individual.

And one of the last Speckled Woods I saw was unusual in only having very feint marks.

2025 was one of the better years since we moved here for Small Tortoiseshells, but I only saw 23. There is concern about the decline of this species across the UK. It is quite difficult to judge how well they are doing as an individual, as if one has laid eggs on a nettle patch it can lead to there being a high number of butterflies being seen locally. The County figures give a clearer picture on how well they are doing.

On 13th June I was delighted to see a Northern Brown Argus on my area of Rockrose. This is the third time I have seen one here over the last six years and they must fly down from the colony up the valley. Northern Brown Argus are said not to be very mobile, but this butterfly must have flown over 600 metres through thick woodland. Unfortunately, it was a male, so no chance of eggs being laid on the Rockrose this year!

As has happened every year since I moved here I saw one Small Heath in my meadow. There isn't really very much suitable habitat around, and it seems strange that each year there has been just the one!

It was a great year for Large Skippers here. This year I saw 29 with my previous maximum being 7. As well as being found in the meadow they have now moved into the new woodland I have planted where they are enjoying the uncut grass.

Small Skipper also had a good year with me counting 21. Both species of Skipper have only arrived in the area in the last 7 or 8 years.

Ringlet also had a good year. I saw 396, about twice the average number. When we first moved here they were only found in a grassy area under mature trees, they then turned up in the meadow when I started managing that and now they are found in the area of new woodland.

Meadow Browns also had a good year. Their numbers had been picking up until last year, when numbers crashed. It was good to see them doing better this year.

I had thought it was a poor year for Dark Green Fritillaries, seeing only seven. However, this number was only beaten in 2020, when I saw 12.

Wall Brown. Also only arrived here in 2023. I saw four of them this year, so numbers are slowly increasing. They seemed to enjoy the sunny bank where I have removed Rhododendron.

And now for something really exciting! I was aware that there were old records of Purple Hairstreaks from the grounds of a stately home on the other side of the river from many years ago. We have a large Oak tree on a steep slope on the other side of our pond which must be at least 200 years old. I am aware that the best time to see a Purple Hairstreak is after 6 o'clock in the evening at the top of an Oak tree in a sunny position. So, since we have moved here I have spent many a summer's evening scanning the tree through binoculars.

This year, on 13th July, I saw a couple of small butterflies flying high in the tree at 8pm. Unfortunately it isn't possible to get close to the tree for a better look, but what else could they have been at that time in the evening. 

Luckily the following evening I was able to get a photograph that was good enough to confirm they were Purple Hairstreaks. I continued to see them until the 16th August with a max of 3 flying together. It would be so interesting to know how long they have been living in this old Oak. I have been observing it for years, but never seen anything before. They have certainly been found in a lot of new locations across South East Scotland, so are they expanding their range, or are more people looking for them?

I saw two Painted Ladies here this year. It doesn't sound like many, but I hadn't seen any in 2023 and 2024, so a big improvement!

As in previous years, I saw two Scotch Argus here again. It does seem strange, as we have no Purple Moor Grass, which is the food plant of their caterpillars. However, one year I did see one laying on a finer grass species. I have always been suspicious that there is a colony close by and I am seeing strays from it here. Anyway, there will be more about this in a separate post.

I only saw two Small Coppers here late this year. I don't understand why they don't do better here. There are plenty of their food plants here, but maybe it just isn't sunny enough.

So, overall it was a great year for butterflies here. No doubt the weather played a big part in this, but I would like to think that all of my efforts to create good habitat for butterflies is starting to pay off.

21 species of butterflies were recorded here this year, one of them a species I haven't seen here before and a couple of them species that generally remain in isolated colonies, but which have somehow found themselves here. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens over the next few years.

Butterfly Bonanza

On Tuesday I went for a walk up to the wee valley above our house to look for butterflies. The last couple of weeks had been a little rainy and cloudy and there always seemed to be wind blowing from one direction or the other. However, on Tuesday it was beautifully sunny, 18 degrees with a slight southerly breeze.

Not far from the gate out of the woodland is a clump of Thyme, which is always popular with butterflies. When I arrived there were two Small Skippers, a Ringlet and a Northern Brown Argus on it.

Almost every Marsh Thistle flower had one or more Small Skipper on them.

If not they would likely be occupied by Ringlets.

In the short walk, of about 500 metres up the valley I counted 373 Ringlets and 199 Small Skippers. This clump of thistles had four Small Skippers, a Meadow Brown and it wasn't until I looked at the picture once I was back home that I noticed a Northern Brown Argus on the flower on the left.

There were two lovely fresh-looking Common Blues.

I counted 23 Small Heaths and 71 Meadow Browns.

There were at least 22 Dark Green Fritillaries around, although they were flying backwards and forwards, so there could have been more. I struggled to get a picture of one without another butterfly photo bombing my shot. The pictures below were all taken within 14 seconds. First a Meadow Brown tried to get in on the act.

Then a Small Skipper joined in.

And then a different Small Skipper landed just below it!

This female Dark Green Fritillary was accompanied by two Small Skippers.

This male seemed to have more extensive dark markings than normal.

I saw a total of seven Northern Brown Argus. They were all quite worn-looking, having been out a couple of weeks earlier than normal.

It was amazing seeing so many butterflies in this special valley. I have been visiting it for about 20 years and I have been watching it slowly evolve since grazing has stopped and trees have been planted. Some species, such as the Northern Brown Argus have not been so numerous in recent years, most likely because their larval food plant, Rockrose, is becoming a bit swamped by other vegetation. But other species, such as the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Small Skipper have increased considerably.

Just as I was leaving I thought I should check out the clump of Thyme again and this time there were six Ringlets and a Small Skipper!

Three year garden butterflies

It has been almost three years since we moved to our house in the Scottish Borders. We have actually owned the house since 2016, but only popped down at weekends while we were having building work done. We finally moved in two days before lockdown for the Covid pandemic, which means I have been mostly working from home, allowing me pop out at lunchtime to look for butterflies.

I have a set lunchtime dog walk, past all the best butterfly spots and around a little path through my meadow and each day I walk the route I keep a note of the butterflies I have seen.

I have just had a look at all of my sightings over the last three years to see if there are any increases in butterfly numbers, which may be a result of the work I have done to try to enhance the place for butterflies.

I have seen 19 different species of butterflies here, which I am very pleased about. The numbers of some of the more common species seem to fluctuate quite a bit, so don't really show anything. Each year I have seen good numbers of Orange Tips and 2022 was a particularly good year for Green-veined Whites. Small White had a really poor year in 2020, a great year in 2021 and an average year last year! Large Whites tend to be seen in much smaller numbers than the other whites, but they had a particularly good year in 2021. I am expecting to see a good number this year, as I planted nasturtiums last year and the house is currently covered in Large White chrysalises!

Ringlet and Meadow Brown numbers have increased year on year. Possibly these grassland species are benefiting from the management of the meadow area and I have seen them in the area that had been a spruce plantation, so they are certainly benefiting from the grass that is growing amongst the young broad leaves there.

The other grassland species, the Small Heath, hasn't done so well. Each year I have only seen one or two  here. It seems strange, as they are really common in the valley above the house and I would have thought the habitats here are perfect for them.

The number of Small Tortoiseshells has gone up and down. 2021 was particularly good, but numbers dropped back down last year. I think the cool and cloudy spring didn't help them this year. In the past I have found several groups of caterpillars on nettles, but I didn't find any this spring.

However, the Peacock, which has a similar life cycle to the Small Tortoiseshell did really well in both 2021 and 2022. I did find a couple of groups of caterpillars, so they were possibly more successful breeding. In 2019 I recorded 48 Peacocks, in 2020 99 Peacocks, 2021 I saw 196 and last year I recorded 192 Peacocks. Maybe the numbers reflect how my Buddleia bushes have grown over the last four years.

Red Admirals have been remarkably consistent and I have seen almost the same number each of the last three years. In late summer the Buddleia bushes are covered with them and they remain here long after the first frosts.

Commas are not considered a common butterfly in Southern Scotland, but their numbers have increased year on year here. Since 2018 the numbers I have seen each year were 9, 20, 25, 38 and 58. It is lovely to see them doing so well and I hope their numbers continue to increase.

The number of Painted Ladies varies considerably, as it does all over the country. Last year was the best year I have seen here, with 11 sightings, but in 2021 I didn't see any at all.

In 2020 I was happy to see 13 Dark Green Fritillaries feeding on thistles in my meadow. I thought that my new cutting regime was really paying off, but in 2021 I only saw 3 and last year only 5, despite there being really good numbers on the hill above the house.

I was really excited in 2020 to see a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary in the meadow. Unfortunately, I didn't see any here in 2021, but last year I saw another here for a few days. There are good numbers in the valley above our house and we have a lot of violets growing in our woodland, so I am hopeful I may continue to see them here in future years.

I am really pleased that the number of Small Coppers I have seen has increased over the last three years. In 2020 I only saw 1, in 2021 I saw 8 and last year I saw 17. I don't really understand why I don't see more as the place is covered in Common Sorrel and Dock Leaf. Maybe their numbers will continue to increase.

I saw one Large Skipper zipping around the meadow in 2020 and another in 2022. I have seen them in the valley above the house, but only one or two.

I didn't see any Small Skippers in 2020, but I was excited to see 7 in 2021 and 17 last year. I am hoping that they will like the way I am managing the meadow, but I am always a bit worried that I may be destroying their eggs when I cut the vegetation in the autumn. There are areas that I leave uncut in the hope that it will help.

I have been amazed that every year since 2019 I have seen a Scotch Argus on our land. A couple of years I have recorded 2, but I can't be sure they were different individuals. Strangely, we don't have any Purple Moor Grass here, but I have seen one egg laying on another species of grass. The other strange thing is that there are no records of any Scotch Argus anywhere near. I can only assume that there is a colony somewhere nearby that hasn't been recorded.

The other really exciting record has been Northern Brown Argus. I saw one in 2020 and another here in 2022. There is a good colony in the valley about 800 metres above the house, but I have always understood that Northern Brown Argus don't travel any distance. Even more exciting last year was that I found Northern Brown Argus eggs on the Rockrose that I have planted on a little bank near the house. I am really looking forward to seeing if I now have my own little colony here and I am already planning to extend the area of Rockrose.

There are two species of butterfly that I watched arrive and spread across East Lothian when we lived there. Speckled Woods arrived in 2010 and are now a really common site across the county. Wall Browns arrived in 2011 and they have also spread right along the coast and along river valleys and are now seen regularly. It has always seemed odd not having either species here, but being further from the coast, we have a shorter season, so they haven't made their way here yet. However, last year Speckled Woods were recorded about three miles from here and there was a Wall Brown seen in the village less than a mile from here. So, both species are spreading in this direction and I live in hope that I may see them later in 2023.

There has also been a lot of excitement here in the Borders with more and more sightings of White-letter Hairstreaks and Purple Hairstreaks, particularly in the east of the county. White-letter Hairstreaks are heading along the river valleys in this direction and there used to be a colony of Purple Hairstreaks just the other side of the valley from here. So, there is much to look forward to.