Butterfly recording in Montgomeryshire

I have recently taken on the role of  county butterfly recorder. This blog post is a cheeky plug to try to get a few more of you recording butterflies.

Butterfly recording requires far less effort than moth recording; however, the resulting records are just as important. Butterflies are widely regarded as one of the best biological indicators due to their conspicuous role in a wide range of habitats, making them easy to record. The state of our butterflies gives us an excellent idea of the condition of our countryside and climate - this flagship group are often used as indicators by the government to assess how they are doing in protecting UK biodiversity. Nationally, butterflies are our favourite group of insects and as a result, lots of the scientific research into wildlife declines is focused on the group. 

About 29% of all the lepidoptera records submitted in the UK are of butterflies, but in our area, VC47, it is only 8% of the records.  Considering that moths are under-recorded in VC47, this shows butterflies are very under-recorded!

Whether you are able to make detailed logs of your butterfly sightings, or would just like to submit the odd casual record, please do get in contact. A photo of the individual along with the record, especially if you have seen something unusual, will make it even more valuable. There are various options for submitting your records - from brand new recording programs to good old-fashioned paper forms - please get in touch for details.

 Douglas.