2023 Annual Butterfly Report

Marbled White

Melanargia galathea

Checklist Number
59.012

Priority
Low

Classification

Family:Nymphalidae
Subfamily:Satyrinae
Genus:Melanargia
Species:galathea
Authority:(Linnaeus, 1758)

Introduction

Despite its name, the Marbled White is more closely related to the subfamily known as the "browns" that the "whites". This butterfly is unmistakable, its black and white markings distinguishing it from all other species found in the British Isles. This butterfly is found in distinct and often large colonies, south of a line between Glamorganshire in the west and North-east Yorkshire in the east, although it is not found in much of eastern England. It is absent from Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

Trends (2023)

#Individuals #Tetrads
2022 2023 Abundance Trend 2022 2023 Distribution Trend
1740221842+25%412510+23%

Records Summary

#Records #Individuals Earliest Record Latest Record
All Records61,107432,16022/05/202225/09/2003
20233,49721,84230/5/202321/8/2023

Records Details (2023)

Location Date Quantity
Earliest RecordYateley Common West transect: Section 230/5/20231
Latest RecordNoar Hill transect: Section 121/8/20231
Highest CountStockbridge Down6/7/2023304

Records Distribution (2023)

Highslide JS

Records / Recorders 25-Year Trend
(1999 - 2023)

Records by Week
(2023)

Abundance 25-Year Trend
(1999 - 2023)

Distribution 25-Year Trend
(1999 - 2023)

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.

Normalised Abundance 25-Year Trend
(1999 - 2023)

Average #Recorders: 336

Normalised Distribution 25-Year Trend
(1999 - 2023)

Average #Recorders: 336