Welcome to the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation
Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity dedicated to the conservation of butterflies and moths

Join Butterfly Conservation - click here to go to the National Butterfly Conservation website to join.

Events for 2019 are now published.  See the Events page for full details.

Next Local Events -

Thursday 20th June -
'Black Holes' in NE Suffolk
Help complete Black Holes and under-recorded areas to the SW of Halesworth

Meet:   Provisional meeting point is Walpole green in village centre, but contact Peter Maddison to confirm details.
Grid ref:   TM364745
Time:   10.00am - 2.30pm
Contact:   Peter Maddison      01473 736607


Saturday 29th June - Landseer Park Summer Butterfly walk.  
Come and see the vast array of butterflies among the flower rich meadows

Meet: Landseer Park car park.
Grid ref: TM176425
Start; 10.00 am   Finish; 12.00 mid-day
Contact: David Dowding & Adrian Richards  07963197221

Distribution Maps for 2014 to 2018

The latest distribution maps for Suffolk butterflies have now been produced by Bill Stone the Suffolk Butterfly Recorder.  The maps are based on results received during 2014 to 2018 from several sources including those shown on the Sightings Page of this website.  For anyone who has the maps produced 15 years ago* they show significant differences for some species.  For example the Wall is now almost entirely restricted to the coast and the Silver-washed Fritillary was not present in Suffolk.

To see the maps click here

2019 is the final year of the Butterflies for the New Millennium (BNM) recording scheme so every sighting received will contribute to the new Butterfly Atlas which will be produced by Butterfly Conservation.

You can see the UK distibution maps for the most recent five-year survey of the Butterflies for the New Millennium (BNM) recording scheme (2010-2014).  Click here to download the Atlas of UK Butterflies 2010-2014 in pdf format (11 MB).

*The Millennium Atlas of Suffolk Butterflies, 2001, by Richard Stewart. Published by Suffolk Naturalists'Society. £5 from SNS [You can order from Ipswich Museum by phone, 01473 433547].

Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS)

The WCBS is a national scheme which complements the transects of the UK BMS with mini transects walked in squares randomly selected by the BTO computer.  Volunteers from Butterfly Conservation and the BTO need to walk just twice per year in July and August (with an optional spring walk if you wish).  This means that the commitment is not heavy.

The Wider Countryside Butterfly Scheme (WCBS) Report 2018 has been published.  Click here to download a copy in pdf format.

Over the past nine years volunteers have monitored butterflies in a selection of 1 km squares.  In July and August 2017, on two walks along fixed routes, 774 squares were surveyed nationally, 39 squares in Suffolk.  The Report is an interesting read showing not only the results of butterfly species numbers and analysis,  but also a guide to some day-flying moths which recorders are encouraged to include.    If you have not previously been part of the scheme but would like to become involved in 2018 contact Twm Wade at the email address below.

We have 11 squares in need of a volunteer.  For details of the squares click here for the WCBS page

OS Grid Reference	Town/Parish	Post Code
TL8164	Westley	IP33 3RB
TL8381	Thetford (west)	IP24 3ST
TL9248	Lavenham	CO10 9PE
TL9462	Beyton	IP30 9AH
TL9479	Coney Weston	IP31 1HL
TL9577	Coney Weston	IP31 1DL
TM0378	Redgrave	IP22 1SA
TM1233	Brantham	CO11 1PT
TM1944	Ipswich (Hospital and Copleston High School)	IP4 5PD
TM3180	St James, South Elmham and Metfield	IP19 0HT
TM3568	Peasenhall	IP17 2NQ

Email our WCBS co-ordinator, Twm Wade to volunteer for one of these squares

Download reports by clicking on the following years

2015    2016    2017    2018

BMS - Butterfly Monitoring Scheme
BTO - British Trust for Ornithology

UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

Some interesting information here.  The 10 year trend shows a 31% decline in the Purple Emperor despite an increase in Suffolk.  The Marbled White has had a 111% increase but still not crossing the border into Suffolk.


Click here  to access the 2018 Summary of Changes table for the UK. The table includes trend estimates for 57 species regularly recorded in the UK and for which sufficient data is available.

Click here  to access the 2018 Country-level Summary of Changes tables for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The tables include trend estimates for all species regularly recorded in the respective countries and for which sufficient data is available

40 year slump for UK Butterflies

More than three-quarters of the UK’s butterflies have declined in the last 40 years with some common species suffering significant slumps, a major scientific study has revealed.  A number of widespread species such as the Wall, Essex Skipper and Small Heath now rank amongst the most severely declining butterflies in the UK. 

The findings also reveal that intensive conservation efforts have started to turn around the fortunes of some of the UK’s most endangered butterflies. During the last 10 years the numbers of the threatened Duke of Burgundy have increased by 67% and the Pearl-bordered Fritillary has experienced a 45% rise in abundance.  Dingy Skipper and Silver-studded Blue have shown 21% and 19% increases in occurrence respectively and even the UK’s most endangered butterfly, the High Brown Fritillary, has been relatively stable in the last decade.

But despite breakthroughs with some threatened butterflies the report revealed that other species continue to struggle.  The long-term decline of the Wood White, White Admiral and Marsh Fritillary show few signs of stopping. 

Download in pdf format the full 'State of UK Butterflies 2015' report here

Do we have your email address? It will help us to communicate changes to events (as above) if we have your email address. Please email your name to using your normal email address and email address as the subject.  This can then be added to our membership list.

Follow us on Twitter.  But still send your sightings to

When to See Butterflies. 

The Suffolk Butterflies page lists the butterflies that can be seen in Suffolk, shows when you can expect to see them and the foodplants upon which their caterpillars feed.
We can also help if you would like advice about making your garden more attractive to butterflies

See the News page for dates of First Sightings

Like much of the UK, Suffolk's countryside and wildlife are under increasing pressure.  It's a situation that is unlikely to improve in the forseeable future and there's never been a more urgent need to understand and conserve our butterfly fauna.  The county has a gently undulating landscape of surprising contrasts, defying the stereotype of "flat East Anglia and its arable prairies".  The unspoilt coast, intimate river valleys and, especially, the Sandlings heaths and Brecks ensure that Suffolk retains a more varied butterfly fauna than might be expected.

Some recommended books are listed here

 Butterfly Records.

The Branch is always grateful for butterfly records and a recording form can be downloaded from the recording page of this website.
We would be particularly grateful for records away from the coast and information on the following species:
Dingy Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Purple Hairstreak, White Letter Hairstreak, Silver-studded Blue, Wall Brown, White Admiral, Silver-washed Fritillary, Grayling and Small Heath.

email your sightings to us at

Recent Sightings can be viewed here

Conservation and Recording

Brimstone - about the Brimstone and Buckthorn project
Help us to record Brimstone butterflies in Suffolk

Silver-studded Blue - links to more information
Translocation to Blaxhall Common - 2012 Update
Ecological Survey of Selected Silver-studded Blue Sites in 2009

Silver-Washed Fritillary - link for more information
Silver-washed Fritillary returns to Suffolk

Purple Emperor - link for more information

Ipswich Heaths Project - a new project, aimed at restoring lowland heathland habitat of 300 hectares on 14 sites in Ipswich, has been awarded a Wren Biodiversity Action Fund grant of over £100,000.  More details here