Ayrshire's Butterflies

This section of the web site is presents information on the butterflies of Ayrshire. It is co-hosted with the Birds of Ayrshire because many birders are also interested in butterflies (particularly the people responsible for this web site!).

The site lists all the species of butterfly recorded in the county, giving their status, distribution maps and other pertinent information. We've also included some photos of butterflies taken in Ayrshire. Use the menu on the left to select the appropriate page.

Butterfly Records

In order to keep the accounts accurate we need records of all sightings. Any records of butterflies seen in Ayrshire will be gratefully received, especially of those species that were less frequently recorded. To submit a record please include species name, date seen, numbers, locality and a 6-figure grid reference if possible, (if not a four-figure reference would be acceptable). In addition, any comments on behaviour, habitat and weather would also be very welcome. Please send sightings (by email or post) to the Ayrshire Butterfly Recorder (e-mail: butterfly@ayrshire-birding.org.uk).

For background on the importance of butterfly records please look at the Butterfly Conservation's Butterflies for the New Millennium project.

Ayrshire Butterfly Report

The Ayrshire Butterfly Report is published annually as an appendix to the Ayrshire Bird Report. The most recent reports are also available separately in PDF format by clicking on the links below. These documents require Acrobat Reader: this can be obtained free of charge from Adobe's web site.

• Butterfly Report 2005
• Butterfly Report 2004
• Butterfly Report 2003

Photo Credits

The photographs in the status section have been kindly supplied by Nicola Macintyre, Mark Ruggeri, Andrew Scott-Martin, Fraser Simpson, Kevin Waite and Fred Westcott. For three species we don't have good Ayrshire photographs and the gaps have been very kindly filled by photos supplied by Butterfly Conservation: please check copyright.