Hampshire and Isle of Wight Butterfly and Moth Society
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Butterfly and Moth Society
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Subfamily: | Satyrinae |
| Genus: | Aphantopus |
| Species: | hyperantus |
| Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
This is a relatively-common butterfly that is unmistakable when seen at rest - the rings on the hindwings giving this butterfly its common name. The uppersides are a uniform chocolate brown that distinguish this butterfly from the closely-related Meadow Brown. Despite this uniformity, a newly-emerged adult is a surprisingly beautiful insect, the velvety wings providing a striking contrast with the delicate white fringes found on the wing edges. The dark colouring also allows this butterfly to quickly warm up - this butterfly being one of the few that flies on overcast days.
Variation in this butterfly is primarily focused on the rings on the hindwings, the lanceolata aberration being particularly striking, where the rings are elongated to form teardrops. Other aberrations occur where the rings are greatly reduced or completely absent. Huggins (1959) also describes a form in Kerry, Ireland, that is of normal size until 600 feet, when it starts to be replaced by a dwarf form that, at 1,000 feet, takes over completely.
This butterfly can be found throughout most of the British Isles, south of a line between the South Ebudes in the west and Banffshire in the east. It is also absent from the western parts of northern England, north-west of the Midlands, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. This butterfly forms discrete colonies where numbers vary from a few dozen to several thousand.
| #Individuals | #Tetrads | 2023 | 2024 | Abundance Trend | 2023 | 2024 | Distribution Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13729 | 13106 | -4% | 496 | 480 | -3% |
| #Records | #Individuals | Earliest Record | Latest Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Records | 66,273 | 418,810 | 24/05/2016 | 11/10/2011 |
| 2024 | 3,379 | 13,106 | 12/6/2024 | 28/8/2024 |
| Location | Date | Quantity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earliest Record | Roe Inclosure | 12/6/2024 | 1 |
| Latest Record | Warsash | 28/8/2024 | 1 |
| Highest Count | Harewood Forest | 4/7/2024 | 250 |
One of the issues with 'raw' trend data is that there is inherent bias based on the number of recorders. For example, the number of individuals and populated tetrads recorded are likely to increase if there is an increase in the number of recorders. In order to remove this bias, the normalised trends use data that has been recalculated using the average number of recorders over the trend period. This normalisation gives a much better picture of the true trends.
Average #Recorders: 373.48
Average #Recorders: 373.48