The 25th Anniversary of the Large Blue reintroduction was celebrated on 16th June 2009 at Montacute House in Somerset. Following a welcome reception, we were treated to presentations from Sir David Attenborough, Professor Jeremy Thomas (Professor of Ecology at the University at Oxford and Fellow, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology), Professor Lord May of Oxford (Past President of the Royal Society) and Dr. Helen Phillips (Chief Executive of Natural England). The event was ably chaired by Professor Debby Reynolds (Chair of the National Trust Nature Conservation Panel). The presentations were followed by a trip to a Somerset site to see the largest Large Blue colony on the planet. This report is my record of this wonderful day.
- Pete Eeles

It's taken a while (almost a year!), but a trip report from Italy in 2008 is now available! Click here to see the report, and thanks to everyone who contributed, especially Peter Davey for providing the moth report, and Dave Green and Chris Manley for contributing their photos.

Many members are reporting sightings of Painted Lady across the country - with the greatest densities in the south currently. These regular migrants have exceptional years where they can turn up almost anywhere in the British Isles - and this year is turning out to be such a year! A discussion of this phenomenon can be found in this thread of the UK Butterflies forums. You can also register your sightings on the Butterfly Conservation website.

The following updates have been made to the website and many thanks to all contributors. A full list of contributors can be found on the Contributing page.

• New photos of Brown Argus, Cardinal, Dingy Skipper, Duke of Burgundy, Green Hairstreak, Green-veined White, Grizzled Skipper, Holly Blue, Orange-tip, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Purple-shot Copper, Speckled Wood, White Admiral from various contributors.

In particular, there are new images of a spectacular Orange-tip bilateral gynandromorph - half male and half female, taken by Paul Forsdick.

Many species of butterfly have declined at alarming rates over recent decades and are good indicators of environmental change and the quality of our countryside and urban landscape. They are easy to record and identify and can be used as a barometer of many thousands of other, less well known insects. Help monitor the distribution of each butterfly species by recording your UK sightings here. Simply select the location on the map, choose the butterfly from the list below, click 'Add sighting to map' and then click on the map where you have seen it. You can delete the marker while you remain on the page.

A press release from Butterfly Conservation confirms what many had feared. According to data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, butterfly numbers have plunged to a new low after 2 consecutive years of poor summers. These fragile creatures and their habitats need our protection more than ever - so please join Butterfly Conservation if you're not already a member. The press release has also made it to a few news and press websites, including The BBC, The Guardian and The Independent.

The Spring 2009 issue of Butterfly, Butterfly Conservation's magazine is now out. As usual, plenty of excellent articles and news! Not a Butterfly Conservation member? Click here to enter the Butterfly Conservation website where you can find joining instructions.

The 2008 photography competition results are in! Click here to see the full results and congratulations to all of the winners, and thanks to all who took the time to case their votes. The overall winner is John Bogle with his photo of an Orange-tip on bluebells. John wins the publication of his choice from UK Butterflies sponsor WILDGuides.

Overall Winner: Orange-tip by John Bogle

Lynn Fomison has kindly reviewed Charles Flower's new book, "Where Have all the Flowers Gone? – Restoring Wild Flowers to the Garden and Countryside".

From the publisher: The tantalising prospect of a flower filled countryside is bound to excite those who love the countryside & mourn the passing of flower filled meadows, road verges and banks. It is likely to be appealing to moth & butterfly enthusiasts who know so well the importance of plants to these species. Chapter after chapter offers incredibly sound advice on how to create wonderful wild flower areas.

Click here to read the review.

Pete Eeles has reviewed a new software product for butterfly enthusiasts, "British Butterflies - an Interactive Guide", from BirdGuides.

From the publisher: This DVD-ROM reference guide provides comprehensive multimedia coverage of all 61 butterfly species that regularly occur in Britain and Ireland (including the recently split Réal's Wood White). This new edition contains over 200 video clips presented using the latest high-quality digital video technology and filmed by professional natural history cameraman Derek Budd. 100 beautiful still photographs have been added, all maps updated with the latest distribution data and the text species accounts revised. You can easily compare any species side by side, with simultaneous video and wonderful illustrations by Richard Lewington. There are also evocative spoken commentaries for every species by naturalist Richard Williamson.

Click here to read the review.

Lynn Fomison has kindly reviewed a new book for children, "All About Butterflies", written by Matthew Oates.

From the publisher: All About Butterflies is the perfect children’s guide to the fascinating world of butterflies. Leading butterfly specialist Matthew Oates provides a clear and concise guide to over 56 species of British and European butterfly, aimed at 8–12 year olds. Features an introduction explaining definitions, butterfly life cycles, key facts and info about butterflies, and all you need to know to become a butterfly expert. Beautiful artworks bring alive the amazing and colourful world of butterflies. Butterflies are grouped by family to help identification. Each entry gives essential info on when and where to look for the species, how to identify it, and what its caterpillar eats, as well as amazing and little known facts about it. Includes ‘Difficult words’ section to explain scientific terms.

Click here to read the review.

I was delighted to receive an invitation to the Butterfly Conservation open day on 6th September 2008, held at Butterfly Conservation's HQ in Lulworth, where Jim Knight MP, and Schools Minister, officially launched the "Learn" section of the BC website. This aspect of the website is an extremely valuable resource for both teachers and children, is linked to the National Curriculum, and contains a number of educationally-oriented games. Just click on the Learn tab on the BC website to see more. Click here to read more.

I first met David, by chance, in June 2007 at Collard Hill, the Large Blue open access site. David’s reputation had preceded him and I was more-than-aware of David’s pivotal role in the reintroduction of the Large Blue butterfly to our shores. After that initial meeting, we agreed that it would be good to meet up sometime for a longer chat.

And so it was to be. David kindly showed me around several Large Blue reintroduction sites in Somerset in June 2008, where I learned a great deal about the reintroduction programme and the ecology of the Large Blue butterfly. We also sat down for lunch where I got the chance to ask David some burning questions. Click here to read the interview. - Pete Eeles

The new-look forums were implemented at the start of the year and now, at last, I'm pleased to say that the new blog system is up and running. All existing blogs have been migrated. A blog is a "web log" where registered users can, in essence, keep a diary of their exploits for others to see and comment on. Click here to see the various blogs.

A new book, Nomads of the Wind, which is focused on the story of the migration of the Monarch butterfly, is released on 1st April. Click here to see a summary and review. From the flyer:

Perhaps the most incredible feat of all is the 2,000 mile migration of the Monarch butterfly. Once a year millions of a special long-living generation of Monarchs migrate from the north-eastern United States and southern Canada to the Oyamel fir forests of Mexico, where they survive the winter. But then, as soon as they feel the first warmth of spring they all set out on the return journey through the Rio Grande and Texas, procreating on the way, until the second and third generations arrive back at the Great Lakes to start the cycle all over again. Award-winning nature photographer Ingo Arndt has followed them on their journey while the accompanying informative text by Claus-Peter Lieckfeld and Peter Huemer explains the latest research on the migration and describes in detail the transformation from caterpillar to magnificently coloured butterfly.

Butterfly World’s £25m project plans to help reverse 76% decline in UK butterfly species.

Sir David Attenborough is marking the start of construction on Butterfly World, just off the M25 near St.Albans, a world-class pioneering project, with a stark conservation warning: “More than three quarters of British butterfly species have declined in the last 20 years, some of them very rapidly. That is worrying, not least because these declines indicate an underlying deterioration of the environment as a whole. For the sake of future generations we must take action now.”.

Click here to read the full press release.

I'm delighted to announce the publication of Adrian Riley's new book, British and Irish Butterflies. Click here to see a summary and review. From the flyer:

This lavishly illustrated butterfly book is the first to cover all the adult forms found in the British Isles, including sub-species, written by a highly experienced lepidopterist. The clear directions and field tips, with added OS grid references, will assist you in finding the butterflies and also in identifying them in their habitats, guided by details of behaviour and morphology. The text is complemented with over 270 photographs of living specimens of all the taxa in full colour. This volume is supported by Butterfly Conservation in their efforts to protect the butterfly fauna of these islands, whilst at the same time, encouraging greater public awareness of their existence and beauty.

This update sees the introduction of the UK Butterflies stock photo library, which can be accessed from the Photography menu. This facility will allow photos in the library to be more-easily made available. Photos are free-of-charge to charitable and non-profit organisations. All funds generated from the stock photos will contribute to the running of the UK Butterflies website, with all profits going to Butterfly Conservation. If you'd like to consider contributing your photos then please read the contributing guidelines. My thanks to the first photographers to contribute their photos - Gary Richardson and Lisa Baker-Richardson. The library has already received its first reference from St Bridget's Primary School, Glasgow.