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.

East Lothian Butterflies 2019 Part 2

Continuing on from my previous post ...

Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas

The Small Copper started the year very well. The first one was recorded on 17th April and two more were seen the following day. The first generation did very well and the second generation started earlier than normal and was seen in good numbers until the middle of August, when numbers crashed. It seems that the periods of heavy rain knocked numbers down. The last Small Copper was recorded on 20th September, six weeks earlier than last year.

Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera

As with many other species in 2019 the Wall Brown appeared early and the spring generation was larger than we would normally expect. Although the summer generation was larger than the spring generation, it was closer to the average number that we have seen over the last few years.

Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus

The most exciting news of the year was the discovery of a colony of Holly Blues in Gullane. Every year for the last ten years we have had one or two records of Holly Blues. There had been a colony at Newhailes for a number of years, but I don't think they have been seen there since 2013. The other records had all been in the Gullane to North Berwick area and I always thought there must be a colony hidden in a large garden somewhere in the area. On 20th April a Holly Blue was seen near the coast in Gullane and despite careful searching of the area is wasn't seen again. However, on 3rd August another record came in from outside a garden in the village. Over the next few days several other records from the same area were reported with up to seven individuals being seen there. Nine days later another small colony was found in Gullane about 700 metres away. The last record received was from Archerfield about one and a half kilometres away.

All of these records were from quite public areas, so I doubt they are the location of the original mystery colony. It will be really interesting to see how things develop over the next few years.

Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi

The Green Hairstreak is found in a few remote colonies around East Lothian, mostly in the Lammermuir Hills. Because of this we don't get many records. The most easily reached site where they are found is Saltoun Wood, but this colony has suffered a serious decline. There had been a fire there early last year and this year we only recorded three individuals in that area. The three records we received were on 30th April, 15th May and 9th June.

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

2019 was a good year for Small Heaths. It was notable hat they did particularly well in the summer generation. The first record was on 10th May and they were seen through to the 7th September.

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

Common Blue did very well in 2019. The first record was on 24th May and I received almost double the normal number of records. As has been noted with other species, it is the year after a good season that the number of butterflies increases.

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina

Meadow Browns also did very well in 2019. I was surprised that we didn’t see more in 2018 when we had such good weather, but I realise that the number we see reflects the weather of the previous year. The first record in 2019 was on 18th June. They had quite a short season, but were seen in greater numbers than in the previous six years.

Ringlet, Aphantpopus hyperantus

The number of Ringlets recorded in 2019 was about average, but they were condensed into a shorter season than normal. The first record was on 18th June and they were initially slow to build up their numbers. However, they peaked in the middle of July and then quickly dropped away, with the last record being on the 15th August.

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

The Small Skipper has been increasing in number year on year, since it was first discovered in East Lothian in 2011. The trend continued in 2019 when we received records of 677 skippers, an increase of over 50% on the previous year. The first record was on 22nd June and they were seen in great numbers in July. They are also continuing to extend their range in East Lothian.

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja

Dark Green Fritillaries had an amazing year in 2019 with almost twice the normal number being seen. The first record was on 23rd June and they were recorded until 10th August. Dark Green Fritillaries are mostly found on coastal sites in East Lothian but can also be found in one or two remote valleys in the Lammermuir Hills.

Grayling, Hypparchia semele

Grayling are found in three locations in East Lothian. One of these is very remote cleugh in the Lammermuirs and I didn't receive any records from there this year. The other two sites are at Blindwells and Meadowmill. The Blindwells site is about to be lost to a large housing development, but thankfully the contractors have fenced off the area where the Grayling are found. However, this remains a very small area surrounded by earth moving equipment. Amazingly, on the only occasion anyone was able to visit there, they recorded 13 Graylings flying. A few hundred yards away at Meadowmill Graylings were recorded in much greater numbers than in previous years. The first record was on 26th June and records of over 400 Graylings were received.

Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxeres

Northern Brown Argus are only known to exist in four small colonies in East Lothian. They are all quite remote and isolated, so take a bit of dedication to get to. Because of this I only received one record of a Northern Brown Argus on the 20th July. I know they did very well in the Scottish Borders and I have no reason to believe that they wouldn't have done well here, too.

I didn't receive any records for Large Skippers in 2019, but I think they will still be out there along the foothills of the Lammermuirs. Neither did I receive any records of Small Pearl Bordered Fritillaries. They are only known from a couple of sites in East Lothian and we never get records of more than one or two in a good year! Given the prolonged period of great weather earlier in the summer I was surprised that we didn't receive any records of Clouded Yellows or any other unusual migrants.

Once again, I want to send a big thank you to everyone who sent in their records to me last year. The combined efforts of everyone creates a very good picture of how butterflies are doing in East Lothian.

East Lothian Butterflies 2016 (2)

Continued from my previous post about the butterflies recorded in East Lothian in 2016.

Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera

The first Wall Brown was recorded on 12 May and they were seen in reasonably good numbers through to 15^th September. We are now getting regular records from Bilsdean, right along the coast to North Berwick. Each year we get one or two inland records, but we don’t seem to have any inland sites where they are regularly seen year after year.

Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus

Yet again we had a single record of a Holly Blue in East Lothian. This time it was in North Berwick on 15 May. I am sure there must be a little colony of them in one of the coastal towns around there.

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

The first Small Heath seen in East Lothian in 2016 was on 15 May and they were recorded until 29 August. Numbers were a little down on previous years, but not by too much.

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

Common Blues were first seen on 8 June and regularly recorded through to 3 September. The numbers were very similar to previous years.

Ringlet, Aphantpopus hyperantus

Ringlets seemed to have a pretty good year, with numbers only a little lower than in previous years. The first record I received was on 19 June and they were seen until 17 August.

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

The first record in 2016 of a Small Skipper was on 19 June and they were seen through to the end of August. They are very well established now along the coast from Longniddry to North Berwick and at a couple of inland sites.

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina

The first Meadow Brown record was on 2 July and they were seen in good numbers through to the 30 August. They didn’t seem to be affected by the miserable summer.

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja

The first record was on 3 July and they were seen in reasonable numbers but only until early August when I received the last record of the year.

Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxeres

I only received two records of Northern Brown Argus this year on 14 July and 30 July, both from the same site in the Lammermuir Hills. There are only another three locations that I am aware of them occurring in East Lothian, and I think the poor weather prevented other sites from being checked.

Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Clossiana selene

We had a record of a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary from the usual site in the Lammermuir Hills on 14 July. There were also two records of a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary from John Muir Country Park on the 16 and 18 August. These are quite late in the season, but were recorded by different people in more or less the same area.

Grayling, Hypparchia semele

The first record was on 18 July, which is about three weeks behind the norm. They were still seen in reasonable numbers, though. I am only aware of three small sites where Graylings are found in East Lothian, so they are quite vulnerable to habitat loss.

Camberwell Beauty, Nymphalis antiopa

I heard of a very exciting record that a Camberwell Beauty had been seen feeding on a Buddleia on 26 August in a garden in Dunbar. It was seen in the same place the following day. This is the first record of this very rare migrant that I am aware of in East Lothian since 1983. I have no reason to doubt this record even though there were no further records of it having been seen elsewhere.

The other butterfly that we may have expected to see was a Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus. We had three records of them in East Lothian in 2014, but none since. There is a good colony of Large Skippers just over the border at Cockburnspath and I have no doubt that they are still in East Lothian. It is just that the weather has been very poor over the last two summers so people haven't been down to that corner of East Lothian to look for them. I will certainly make an effort to search for them in 2017.

So, all in all, it wasn't a bad year for butterflies given the weather. Most species did as well as ever, but there were worryingly few Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and Commas later in the year. I thought that this could be because the weather was poor at a critical time just after the caterpillars had hatched. However, Red Admirals and Painted Ladies did well and they would have been caterpillars around the same time.

We have found a few hibernating Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks, so hopefully their numbers will bounce back this year. Already I have received a record of a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell flying this year!

Some Borders Butterflies

I have been particularly busy this year and the weather hasn't been the best for looking for butterflies. However, I have still managed a few trips down to the Scottish Borders to look for butterflies, some of which we don't get here in East Lothian.

Here are the highlights:

Between sessions of clearing the house and keeping the grass and woodlands in check I managed a quick visit to a valley just above our property in Selkirkshire on the 18th June.

I knew this was a good site for Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxerxes, but I have never seen them in such numbers. They are such lovely butterflies and I feel so lucky to have such a great site for them close to where we will be living one day.

I think I will indulge in another picture!!

Another thrill for me was the sight of a small orange butterfly - a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Boloria selene, which flew past me and then disappeared. On my way back down the valley I searched through the vegetation and was delighted to find it again. This time it posed nicely for me in the grass. I had thought I had seen one there in the past, but I wasn't 100% sure, so it was good to get a definite identification.

Six days later I took a friend down to the Berwickshire coast where we hoped to see Small Blues, Cupido minimus. Although numbers were lower than we have seen in the past it was great to see these lovely wee butterflies again.

It was quite worrying to see how dried up their food plant, Kidney Vetch, was, not because of the heat but because of the constant North-East wind coming in from the sea. However, we noticed that next to the railway the Kidney Vetch was doing much better out of the wind.

We met the Borders' butterfly recorder while we were there and he showed us where we would see Large Skippers, Ochlodes sylvanus. Despite the wind we were lucky to spot two or three. Two years ago these found their way into East Lothian, but they haven't been spotted since, possibly because the weather has been so poor.

On our walk back I was pleased to see a Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera. We have these in East Lothian, but I still haven't seen one here this year.

Two days ago on my way back down to Selkirkshire I called into a site near Melrose where I know Scotch Argus, Erebia aethiops, are found. These are a fairly scarce butterfly which are able to fly in dull, wet weather when other species are hiding away. I saw them last year flying in the rain!

They are so difficult to get pictures of, as they are very easily disturbed and when they land they always seem to go low down in the grass. I was pleased to be able to get the picture above and then delighted when I was walking back to the car to see the butterfly below feeding on a Thistle flower.

After lunch I returned to the valley above our property where I saw a lot of Small Skippers, Thymelicus sylvestris. This is another butterfly that I thought I had seen before there, but I hadn't seen it for long enough to be sure. It was great to see them in such numbers.

The Northern Brown Argus were also still flying and I saw a few Dark Green Fritillaries, Argynnis aglaja. 

To add a bit of colour there were also Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus, flying among the multitude of brown butterflies such as Meadow Browns, Ringlet and Small Heaths.

It was great to see so many different butterflies and it is really exciting to think that in a couple of years we will be living in amongst them all!

Butterflies through time (2)

Following on from my previous post I have been continuing to read up about the butterflies that have recently been recorded in East Lothian. It would seem that many of the "new species" found in East Lothian in recent years did once occur here in the past.

Grayling, Hipparchia semele

I can find very little information about the distribution of the Grayling in East Lothian. "The Butterflies of Scotland" shows some records on the east coast of East Lothian between 1900 and 1980, but it says that the Grayling has been lost from many of its inland sites. The 1970 "Provisional Atlas of the Insects of the British Isles" showed it to no longer occur here. I found a stray Grayling in East Lothian in 2001, but the first recent records of it breeding here are from 2005 at the western side of East Lothian. I have also received records of it occurring in a remote valley or "cleugh" in the Lammermuir Hills. However, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it has been around for a lot longer, unnoticed in some remote location. Certainly it has become more numerous in the few sites it is now found in the last five years.

Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria

Recorded around Edinburgh in 1811, but another species that disappeared from Edinburgh and the Lothians in the mid 1800s. By 1970 it no longer occurred in the North of England. It was first recorded back in East Lothian in 2009 having spread north up the east coast from the Scottish Borders. Since then it has continued to extended its range, now being commonly found right around the coast and in many wooded areas inland in East Lothian.

Wall Brown, Lasiommata megera

Again, it seems that this butterfly was found in much of Scotland in the early Nineteenth Century. It appears that it was reasonably common until it was wiped out after a series of cold summers from 1860. Thereafter only occurring in the south west of Scotland. It was first recorded in East Lothian again in 2010 arriving on the east coast and it has since worked its way around much of the coast.

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

There are a couple of dubious records of the Small Skipper occurring in Scotland, but it is thought these could be mis-identification. The first records of the Small Skipper in East Lothian were from the Aberlady area in 2011. Since then it has slowly spread westwards along the coast as far as Levenhall and in 2014 it was also found at a couple of inland sites. There seems to be no obvious pattern to where they have been found here. It could be that, unlike many other species, they have come around the western side of the Lammermuir Hills.

There are three more species of butterflies that have recently been found in East Lothian. I will put details of them in my next post.

East Lothian Butterflies 2014

The winter of 2013/14 was the mildest I can remember. For the first time in my lifetime we didn't have any snow here and the Geraniums in our window boxes survived the winter because of the lack of a serious frost. Whether this was beneficial to the butterflies is difficult to determine.

We had a reasonably good spring and the early months of summer were warm and sunny. However, August and September were much cooler than normal and rather grey. This, I think, did have an impact on the butterflies.

Our first frost was at the beginning of October, but winter didn't really arrive until the beginning of December.

2014 was the best year I can remember for butterflies in East Lothian. Many species were seen in much higher numbers than normal. Two new species were recorded here and other species expanded their range.

Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae

The first butterfly recorded in East Lothian in 2014 was a Small Tortoiseshell that I found on the pavement near where I work on 28th February. I picked it up and put it on a flower in the sun! Small Tortoiseshells continued to be recorded in good numbers through to 10th November.

Small Tortoiseshell

Peacock, Aglais io

The first East Lothian Peacock was seen on 6th March. They did very well this year with the adults being recorded through to early June. Then in the third week in July the new generation emerged and an enormous number of Peacocks were recorded throughout East Lothian. Their number reduced quite rapidly, probably not helped by the cool weather in the second half of the summer. The last records of butterflies I received in 2014 were both Peacocks flying on 30th November.

Peacock

Comma, Polygonia c-album

The first Comma was recorded here on 11th March and they went on to do very well this year. They were first recorded in East Lothian in 2004, but normally only one or two are seen at a time. In 2014 they were seen regularly and in July when the second generation appeared they did particularly well. On one occasion I saw six on the Buddleia in my garden.

Comma

Small White, Pieris rapae

The first record of a Small White this year was on 5th April. The great thing about having so many people contributing sightings is that we could see a clear division between the spring generation and the summer generation. The spring Small Whites were seen until the middle of June. The summer generation started to appear in the middle of July and continued through to 26th September.

Green-veined White, Pieris napi

The first record of a Green-veined White was on my transect on 11th April. Green-veined Whites are very common here and this year was particularly good for them. The two generations follow a very similar pattern to the Small White.

Green-veined White

Orange Tip, Anthocharis cardamines

The first Orange Tip seen this year was on 14th May. Thereafter they were seen in good numbers until the end of May. I was pleased to see that they had recovered after a poor year in 2013, which was a knock-on from the flooding we had in 2012.

Orange Tip

Large White, Pieris brassicae

The first Large White was seen on 18th April. Generally we don’t see Large Whites in great numbers here, however in 2014 they were seen in good numbers. The summer 2013 generation was higher than normal and I remember seeing a lot of caterpillars later in the year. However, the caterpillars that hatched in 2014 may not have done so well. Those that hatched in August on the Nasturtiums in our garden perished in the cooler than normal weather. It will be interesting to see how many Large White butterflies emerge in 2015.

Large White

Speckled Wood, Pararge aegeria

Speckled Woods were first recorded in East Lothian in 2009. Since then they have spread across much of East Lothian. 2014 saw them continue to expand their range along the River Tyne to Haddington, right along the coast and further inland. If they continue like this they will be found all over East Lothian in 2015. The first record of a Speckled Wood this year was on 20th April and they were seen through to 18th October. In one small woodland near Aberlady they were seen in their hundreds, quite unlike anything I have seen before anywhere.

Speckled Wood

Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui

The first Painted Lady was recorded on 4th May. There were a few more records throughout the year, but they didn't reach East Lothian in any great quantity. I imagine the wet summer in Europe didn't help, as these butterflies migrate, through a few generations, from north Africa.

Small Copper, Lyceana phlaeas

The first Small Copper this year was recorded on 6th May. They continued to do well, being seen in good numbers through to the 2nd October.

Small Copper

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta

The first Red Admiral we saw this year was on May 8th. This was a particularly good year for them, particularly once the second generation started to appear in August. They were seen until the 29th November.

Wall Brown, Lamiommata megera

Wall Browns were first recorded in East Lothian in 2010. They have continued to spread slowly along the coast and to a couple of inland sites. The first Wall Brown this year was recorded on 9th May and they were seen through to 5th September. On 21st May I saw a male Wall Brown near Haddington, a long way from any other colonies. Despite checking the area regularly for the next few weeks I didn't see any more in that area.

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

The first Small Heath was recorded on 21st May. It is a common butterfly along the coast in East Lothian and it is also found in the Lammermuir Hills. This year they appeared to do exceptionally well.

Small Heath

Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi

On 30th May a Green Hairstreak was reported to me just outside East Lothian. The following day I found some, again within feet of the East Lothian border. However, as butterfly records still use the old Vice County areas both of these records turned out to be East Lothian records. There are old records of Green Hairstreak in other areas in East Lothian, but despite looking for them, I have never seen them there. Now I know what habitats they like I will need to spend some time looking for them this year.

Green Hairstreak

Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus

The first Common Blue was recorded on 1st June. They did really well this year and were seen in good numbers. They were seen through to 19th August.

Common Blue

Northern Brown Argus, Aricia artaxerxes

There are only four colonies of Northern Brown Argus in East Lothian that I am aware of. Three of them are very small, only a few feet across. The first record of a Northern Brown Argus was on 11th June. They did really well this year, with good numbers being seen at the main site. The other sites are perilously clinging on, but work is being done to try to ensure their future survival.

Northern Brown Argus

Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus

Ringlets bounced back in 2014 after a poor previous year. They were first recorded on 14th June and continued in very good numbers until 9th August, which is very late here.

Grayling, Hipparchia semele

Graylings appear to only occur at three sites in East Lothian. Unfortunately one of these sites is earmarked for development, so may soon be lost. 2014 was a good year for Grayling. The first record was on 16th June and they were seen through to 24th July.

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina

The first Meadow Brown was seen on 16th June. Again, they did really well, being seen in good numbers right through to the end of August. I also saw a very ragged individual on 5th September.

Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaja

Dark Green Fritillaries are never seen in great numbers here. They mainly occur along the coast and in the Lammermuir Hills. The first record for 2014 was on 16th June. Numbers on the coast were about average, but they seemed to do well in the Lammermuirs.

Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus

The most exciting news this year was the arrival of Large Skippers into East Lothian. They have been expanding their range in the Scottish Borders for a number of years and in June they were found just over the border within sight of East Lothian. Despite searching suitable sites on our side of the border we weren't able to find any here. However, on 19th June I received a report that one had been found a couple of miles inside East Lothian. Six days later I was walking along a road verge and spotted one right in front of me. This is the same area that Wall Browns and Speckled Woods first entered East Lothian, so I am looking forward to hearing about Large Skippers working their way along the coast.

Large Skipper

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

Small Skippers were first seen in East Lothian in 2011 at Aberlady. A couple more were seen in 2012 and in 2013 they had increased considerably. In 2014 they not only increased in numbers again, but they were also seen at a number of sites, quite far apart. They seem to have spread right along the coast to Levenhall and were found at a couple of inland sites. They were seen between 30th June and 5th August.

Small Skipper

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Boloria selene

I found Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries for the first time in East Lothian last year. As far as I am aware they only occur at one site. They were seen there again this year on 11th July and again a few days later.

So, 2014 was another great year for butterflies in East Lothian. Two more new species were recorded and I wonder how long we can continue to find new species here! The sad news was that I didn't receive any reports of Holly Blue this year. It would be sad if they have died out here, having been seen at a few sites in 2012.

Now that I am receiving records from the Ranger Service and about 15 volunteers, we are beginning to build up a really good picture of how butterflies are doing here. There is a lot to look forward to in 2015. It will be interesting to see if Large Skippers increase in numbers or extend further into East Lothian. Now that I know what sort of habitat Green Hairstreaks like I am going to check out some of the areas where they used to occur. I wonder if there will be any more new species this year!