Butterfly and Moth Society
Covering Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Surrounding Areas
Butterfly and Moth Society
Covering Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Surrounding Areas
Basing Wood Speckled Woods and Commas. A delightful couple of hours exploring Basing Wood this afternoon. Speckled Wood is emerging nicely, with six seen. Six seemed to be the magic number, as six of each of Comma, Peacock, and Green-veined White also seen. Otherwise, male Orange-tip, male Holly Blue, male Large White, male Brimstone, and both male and female Small White also seen. [Posted by Lee Hurrell]
Dingy Skipper out at Magdalen. Three hours at Magdalen on the afternoon of the 9th in once again perfect conditions. 2 Dingy Skipper, 9 Grizzled Skipper, 2 Holly Blue, 2 Green Hairstreak, 1 male Orange-tip, 1 male and 1 female Brimstone, 1 Small White, 2 Small White, 11 Peacock, and pleasingly, 1 Small Tortoiseshell. Holly Blue and Dingy Skipper were firsts for the year. [Posted by Lee Hurrell]
Green Hairstreak, Grizzled Skipper & Dingy reported. Three hours at Magdalen this afternoon gave an incredible five firsts for the year. 5 Grizzled Skipper, 2 Green Hairstreak, 2 male Orange-tip, 5 Small White, 1 Large White - all firsts for the year. Also 18 Peacock, 18 male Brimstone, 6 female, 1 Comma 1 Green-veined White. Bumped into two colleagues who later messaged to say they'd seen a Dingy Skipper! [Posted by Lee Hurrell]
Hampage Wood & Itchen Abbas. A walk to Hampage Wood and back this morning, primarily to track down a singing Woodlark, yielded Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Orange-tip and Speckled Wood. (Woodlark still singing, but remained elusive). An afternoon in the garden was enlivened by visits from Brimstone, Green-veined White, Large White, Orange-tip, Holly Blue, Peacock and, most bizarrely, a mint-fresh Green Hairstreak, which perched briefly on a window pane before shooting off as I went for the camera. [Posted by Rupert & Sharron Broadway]
Portsdown Hill. 6th April 2025 Portsdown Hill The warm weather continues, and the butterfly numbers are getting better as the days go by. I decided to conduct a walk around my old transect route which I haven’t conducted now for several years, and I surprised how it still looks how I remember it, all be it a few more Gorse bushes which seem to be spreading. The slopes were covered with Brimstones of both sexes, along with excellent counts of Speckled Wood, and the Orange Tip has certainly responded to the warm weather. I didn’t manage the Green Hairstreak, and I was surprised that the Holly Blue didn’t appear either, with no Small Tortoiseshell either, with just a splattering of Peacocks. Cowslips here look in better condition than at Noar Hill now. The birds of prey were also absent, but I suspect most of them are concentrating on nest building and looking after young. [Posted by Ashley Whitlock]
Small tortoiseshells in decent numbers at St Clair’s Meadow Soberton. I walked the transect at St Clair’s Meadow Soberton this morning for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. It was sunny but quite windy, and the wind had a chill to it. I saw 6 Small Tortoiseshells and 5 Peacocks. They were all appearing out of the grass and undergrowth as it warmed up. There were a few distant whites across the other side of the river, but no Orange tips were seen. The cuckoo flower is out so hopefully they will be around shortly. It is still quite wet and muddy in places- wellies are still a good idea! [Posted by Claire Hartt-Palmer]
First home moth trap of the year. First home trap of the year, in Weeke, Winchester. 3 Common Quaker, 1 Nut-tree Tussock, 1 very smart Hebrew Character and a Double-striped Pug. [Posted by Lee Hurrell]
Green-veined White - my first emerged butterfly of 2025. A seven mile walk around the village of Mapledurwell yielded 5 Green-veined White, 4 Small Tortoiseshell, 10 Peacock, 4 Comma and 3 Brimstone. [Posted by Lee Hurrell]
Visit to Noar Hill. I visited Noar Hill today from around 11.30 to 14.30. Although it was pleasantly warm in the chalk pits, which were sheltered from the breeze, it was half an hour before I saw my first butterfly - a female Brimstone. There is a good spread of violets and the cowslips are coming into flower. During my visit I saw: Brimstone: 12+ Peacock: 6+ Comma: 1 Holly Blue: 1 Orange-tip: 1 Speckled Wood: 1 And half-a-dozen whites (unidentified) [Posted by Kevin Freeborn]
First Small Tortoiseshell. Given the scarcity of Small Tortoiseshells in 2024 I was both relieved and pleased to see my first of 2025 on a footpath through farmland at Itchen Down this morning - hopefully they will enjoy a better year. On returning home, my first Holly Blue of the year turned up in the garden, in addition to Brimstone, Peacock and Green-veined White. [Posted by Rupert Broadway]
Small Tortoiseshell out of hibernation. The hibernating Small Tortoiseshell in my garage (present on Tuesday, 1st April), has by this evening, (Friday, 4th April), left its overwintering site and flown. Fitting on the warmest couple of days so far this year. [Posted by Lee Hurrell]
Hillier Gardens, Braishfield. Plenty of butterflies enjoying the sunshine and plentiful nectar sources at the Hillier Gardens, Braishfield today including Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Orange-tip, Comma, Peacock and Speckled Wood. Sadly, no Small Tortoiseshell and curiously no Holly Blue in what would appear to be ideal habitat [Posted by Rupert Broadway]
HOS Presentation. I was delighted to be asked to present at the Annual Meeting of the Hampshire Ornithological Society, where I spoke on 'The Hidden World of Hampshire's Butterflies'. With approximately 430 attendees, it was one of the more significant events I've had the pleasure to support. [Posted by Peter Eeles]
