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?

East Lothian Butterflies 2023 Part 2

Continuing on from my previous post..

The first Small Heath was seen on the 17th May. They weren't seen in high numbers in 2023, possibly because not as many people were recording along the coast where they are most commonly seen. Apparently, there are two generations a year, but it is difficult to separate the generations because they overlap and vary according to each site along the coast and in the hills.

2023 could certainly not be described as a Painted Lady year. I only received 46 records and it was the first year, since I started recording butterflies in the 1990s that I didn't see one myself. The first record received was on 29th May and the maximum number seen in a week was 8 in August, indicating that they had managed to breed. It is interesting that the other migratory butterfly, the Red Admiral, did so well, but not so the Painted Lady.

The first Meadow Brown was recorded on the 4th June. They had the best year since I have been collating the butterfly records with 2565 butterflies recorded. Almost every year they are our most numerous butterfly recorded.

In contrast, the Common Blue had its worst year since I have been collating the records! The first record was on the 12th June and I only received records of 252 butterflies, with the average number over the previous ten years being 465.

The Large Skipper is a fairly recent arrival in East Lothian and is still seen in relatively small numbers. The first record I received was on the 13th June and I only received a total of 17 records. They have spread their range across the county, being seen along much of the coast and the foothills of the Lammermuirs. I suspect that it often goes unrecorded, being quite tricky to identify as it whizzes between flowers.

Ringlets were another species that had a poor year. In fact the worst year in the last ten years, not counting 2020, when we were in lockdown. The first record was on the 15th June and initially they seemed to do well, but just didn't peak in July as they normally would.

The Dark Green Fritillary also didn't do well in 2023 with the number of records being about a third of what we would normally expect. The first record was on the 18th June. The caterpillars feed on various species of Violets. I wonder if these plants didn't do well the previous summer with the dry weather we experienced.

On the 21st June I went into the Lammermuirs in search of Northern Brown Argus at a well known site for them. I managed to see five, which wasn't too bad for a short visit. They are only know to occur in a few small colonies in East Lothian and there have been no records from a couple of those sites in recent years. However, they were spotted on two occasions on the Barns Ness transect, so it would seem that there is a colony there, too. Also eggs have been found in a couple of locations north of Traprain Law, so there are probably more colonies than we realise.

I saw five Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries when I was looking for Northern Brown Argus. They were the only records that I am aware of this year. It is a rare butterfly in East Lothian, which has only been recorded from a couple of sites.

The final species to be recorded in 2023 was the Grayling on 3rd July. There is a well-established colony on the pyramid at Meadowmill. I am aware of them being seen in an east Lammermuir Dean and I hear that they are often seen at the old power station site at Cockenzie. This year there was one seen at Levenhall, which is very exciting. Maybe our re-location project is going to be a success after all!

Sadly, there were no Brimstones seen in East Lothian in 2023, having had a few records in 2021 and 2022. We normally rely on the odd migrant flying in and I suspect that until we have more food plants available for them, they will not be able to maintain a presence in East Lothian.

I didn't receive any records of the Green Hairstreak in 2023. They are known to occur in a few remote locations in East Lothian, so we rarely get records of them. I saw some just over the border at Soutra, where they appeared to be doing well, so hopefully they are doing as well in their colonies in East Lothian.

Similarly, the recently discovered Purple Hairstreak occurs in a few small colonies in East Lothian. I didn't receive any records in 2023, but I am sure they would still have been at their covert colonies in the eastern Lammermuirs

There are 25 species of butterflies known to breed in East Lothian, with two or three additional species that are occasional visitors to the area. In 2023 I received 2244 ad hoc records, totalling 7737 butterflies. These were in addition to the transects, which recorded another 6025 butterflies. In addition to these, there are other places that butterflies are recorded such as iRecord, iNaturalist and the Big Butterfly Count. We are never going to get close to recording every single butterfly that is in East Lothian, but I think we have a pretty consistent recording method that gives us a good idea of what has been going on in East Lothian over the last few years.

I am very grateful to all of the Countryside Rangers and volunteers who contributed records and I am always keen for anyone else to send me details of butterflies they see in East Lothian. All of the records I receive are passed on to Butterfly Conservation.

Sierra Nevada continued

There is a meadow is just off the road at about 2,000 metres above sea level that I always visit when I go to the Sierra Nevada. It has a little stream running through it, which I expect is quite ferocious during the snow melt, but is mostly dry in the summer months. It is such an amazing spot, as there are so many butterflies in quite a small area. Again, the butterflies I saw this June were quite different from what I am used to seeing in July. There were far fewer, but they were lovely nonetheless.

Almost immediately a beautiful Knapweed Fritillary landed on a shrub in front of me. I think there must have been about ten of them in this area.

A few Iberian Scarce Swallowtails kept flying across the meadow and there must have been more than 40 Clouded Yellows.

All along the dried up stream bed there were little Lorquin’s Blues.

Despite their size they were quite aggressive, chasing off any other butterflies that dared to land too close! Here is one about to attack a Common Blue!

I normally see a lot of Marsh Fritillaries at this spot, but this year I only saw one. I also saw eight or ten Small Heaths. These had me a bit confused at first as some of them appeared to have some metallic scales on their wings.

The Queen of Spain Fritillaries here were a lot fresher than those higher up the mountains.

I was pleased to see some Common Blues, Polyommatus icarus, here. In most of Southern Spain they are replaced by the identical-looking Southern Blue, Polyommatus celina, but the Common Blue occurs in the Sierra Nevada, having been left behind as the climate warmed after the last Ice Age.

I spotted another little butterfly that I was surprised to see. It was a Green Hairstreak. I think I saw three different individuals. I have never seen these in the Sierra Nevada before and expected that they would occur earlier in the year.

Making up the numbers were Small Whites, Painted Ladies and Meadow Browns.

There were some Western Dappled Whites amongst them.

 I also saw a Southern Marbled Skipper.

And I had a lovely view of what I thought was a Spotted Fritillary. It wasn’t until I checked my pictures back home that I realised it was a Lesser Spotted Fritillary, Melitaea trivia, – a species I hadn’t seen before.

On each of my three previous visits to the Sierra Nevada, always in July, I have seen over 40 species of butterflies. This year, with it being earlier in the year I saw 23 species. I didn’t feel disappointed in the slightest. It would have been nice to have seen some of the rarer species higher up the mountains, but this delightful meadow was so lovely and it made up for the lack of variety I had seen earlier in the day.

Malaga, Spain - Butterflies July 2018

We are just back from two weeks' holiday in the south of Spain, at a villa where we have had three previous holidays. We had a great time, but there is not a lot new to report as far as butterflies are concerned.

This year the south of Spain had experienced a relatively cool spring and start to the summer, so I imagined that the butterflies may have benefited from more flowers and greenery. Some butterflies were seen in greater numbers than I have seen before, but others were noticeably less common.

Small Whites, Pieris rapae, are usually fairly common there and this year I saw more than usual. Quite often there would be three or four of them on the Lantana plants in the garden.

The other regular garden visitor is the Long-tailed Blue, Lampides boeticus. This year I saw more than I remember seeing in previous years. They regularly flew through the garden and showed a lot of interest in a Polygala shrub in the garden, where I have previously found their eggs.

The first time we visited this area in 2012, I remember seeing hundreds of Southern Gatekeepers, Pyronia cecilia, in shady spots. That must have been a bumper year, as I have never seen them in such numbers since. This year I would see the odd one when I was out walking, but there were very few.

Probably the most common butterfly this year was the Southern Blue, Polyommatus celina. It used to be thought that this was the same species as the identical-looking Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus, but recent genetic studies have shown it to be a separate species. They seemed particularly small this year. I wonder if this is to do with the availability of the food plant earlier in the year?

The Southern Brown Argus, Aricia cramera, also seemed to be more numerous than I have seen before.

There were one or two Wall Browns, Lasiommata megera, on the path up into the hills, but nowhere near as many as I have seen in previous years.

I was thrilled to see a Spanish Gatekeeper, Pyronia bathseba, very briefly. It is a butterfly that I have not seen previously and I couldn't understand why.  Sadly it was only a fleeting glimpse, but I saw it for long enough to be positive about its ID.

There were one or two Dusky Heaths, Coenonympha dorus, flying in the hills around the villa. In the past I saw them regularly on the tracks into the hills behind the villa. This year I only saw about six in total.

I regularly saw Geranium Bronzes, Cacyreus marshalli, flying among the Geraniums in the garden. I don't think I have seen so many of them in the past. I remember watching four of them squabbling over one particular plant and on a couple of occasions I saw them on Thyme and Lavender up in the hills. I don't think I have ever seen them outside formal gardens before.

On previous visits I saw lots of Sage Skippers, Syrinthus proto, on the wild time in the hills above the villa. This year they were notably absent, other than one sighting on the track outside the villa.

As in previous years I only saw one or two Clouded Yellows, Colias crocea.

The Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus, is a very common butterfly here in Scotland. In Southern Europe there is a different form that has less distinct markings. Previously, I have only seen two Small Heaths, but this year I regularly saw them.

Small Coppers, Lycaena phlaeas, were regularly seen feeding on Thyme in shadier areas.

I saw several Meadow Browns, Maniola jurtina, this year. In previous years I have only seen one or two.

Other butterflies that I saw, but didn't photograph were a Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus, and Lang's Short-tailed Blue, Leptotes pirithous. Previously there had been a little colony of Lang's Short-tailed Blues on a Plumbego bush in the garden, but sadly they didn't seem to be there any longer.

I visited an area next to the River Guadalhorce specifically to look for African Grass Blues, Zizeeria knysna. When I arrived there was a goat herder with his goats at the area I normally visit, so I walked upstream instead. This turned out to be a good move as there was a large area with Mint growing in it, which was covered in butterflies. I quickly managed to find some African Grass Blues.

The Southern Blues were the same size as the African Grass Blues. They would fight over choice flower heads and it was difficult to tell them apart when they were flying.

In the shade of some trees there were a few Speckled Woods, Pararge aegeria aegeria, and there were a lot of Small Whites, Small Coppers and Small Heaths in the area.

I saw a Mallow Skipper, Carcharodus alceae, there. A butterfly that I have seen quite regularly in previous years, but this was the only one I saw this year.

On our last day of the holiday I saw a Red-underwing Skipper, Spialia sertorius. Another butterfly that I had seen fairly regularly on previous visits.

It is interesting to speculate what causes some species to do better than others in a given year. We are hoping to return to this area next spring, which will be really interesting for me to see what butterflies are about then.

During the holiday I visited the Sierra Nevada mountains twice and saw an amazing number of butterflies.