Garden Butterfly Review 2023

12 Species were recorded in the garden during 2023, which is below the average of 13.05 taken from the last 21 years. 

 The Red Admiral had a particularly good year and was recorded in 7 of the 12 months, the first being 27th March and the last 4th November. 

 The shock of the year was a sighting over a couple of days of a Brown Hairstreak. This was seen on the 28th July and is a first for the garden. See the photograph above. 

 On a more negative note, there were no sightings of a Small Tortoishell. 

 As expected July was the busiest month with 9 species seen. The first species of the year was a Brimstone on the 15th February and the last species of the year was a Red Admiral on the 4th November.

Garden Moth Review 2023

7 new Species were recorded in the garden this year, giving a total of 353.

The highlight being a Clifden Nonpareil seen on the 10th October. Photograph above.

The number of Species seen this year was down somewhat compared to last year. This was in contrast to the number of individuals which was up by more than a hundred. The trap was not put out as many times overall, but it was at least out monthly. Data follows:

2022 = Species 103. Individuals 306. Trap Out 15 times.

2023 = Species 88.   Individuals 401. Trap Out 12 times.

Averages over 13 years:

Species 93.85. Individuals 379. Trap Out 12.54.

The most numerous Moth this year was Heart and Dart seen 37 times. This was quite an increase on last year where it was seen 11 times. The big shock was the Box-tree Moth. This was the 3rd most numerous with 25 individuals. Willow Beauty had a good year with a count of 12 (record) making it the joint 9th most numerous.

Overall since 2005, the Light Brown Apple Moth is still the most common one in my garden with a count of 458.