Butterfly and moth surveys: how you can become involved

The aim of butterfly and moth surveys is not just to record the presence of butterflies or moths but also to learn more about the habitats and ecology of each species and to get information on the condition of the site so that Butterfly Conservation can implement appropriate management if required.  Current schemes are detailed below.

Monitoring under-recorded butterfly populations in the Highlands – can you help?

The aim of butterfly and moth surveys is not just to record the presence of butterflies or moths but also to learn more about the habitats and ecology of each species and to get information on the condition of the site so that Butterfly Conservation can implement appropriate management if required. Current monitoring schemes are listed below.

Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey

The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) is a UK-wide project looking at changes in the populations of the commoner butterfly species. Before the WCBS was set up, systematic butterfly-monitoring was often restricted to nature reserves or other good butterfly areas. While this was very useful for monitoring the rarer species found at these sites, the results of such monitoring did not produce results representative of the countryside as a whole. The WCBS was devised with the intent to rectify this discrepancy, which it does by choosing survey sites at random.

Hundreds of one-kilometre squares have been randomly chosen across the country, each one waiting to be surveyed just twice a year by willing volunteers. Here in Highland Branch (i.e. Highland, Moray, Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides) we have 80 of these squares... and many have not yet been surveyed at all! Who knows what unusual butterflies might be hiding in these unexplored sites? Could you be the intrepid surveyor willing to go where no butterfly recorder has gone before? Or are you a seasoned WCBS-er wanting to continue with your existing site (or even to try a different one!)? Whichever description suits you best, please email the WCBS officer at @email

Monitoring under-recorded butterfly populations in the Highlands

Butterfly Conservation recently reviewed what standardised monitoring of butterflies was taking place across the UK (as opposed to casual sightings) in order to identify possible gaps in coverage at a regional level.

The findings for BC Highland branch area were as follows:

  • More “all species” transects need to be set up under the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS).
  • More 1km squares need to be sampled as part of the Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS).

The following priority species are under-monitored:

Marsh Fritillary

Chequered Skipper

Grayling

Large Heath

Mountain Ringlet

Northern Brown Argus

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.

    For these species, recommended monitoring is by single species transects or timed counts. For Marsh Fritillary, counting of larval webs is also an option.  If you'd like to help out by taking on a WCBS square, please see the information above.  If you'd like to find out more about transects and targeted monitoring, please visit the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme website, https://ukbms.org/

    Garden Moth Scheme

    The Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) runs for 36 weeks from the beginning of March to early November, with people recording the numbers of around 300 species of the more common moths in their gardens once a week throughout this period. There is also a winter scheme covering the 16 or 17 weeks between the end of one summer scheme and the start of the next.  The scheme started in the Midlands in 2003 and currently has recorders from the Channel Islands as far north as Golspie.  Currently the GMS website is being revamped so is unavailable, but if you'd like to find out more, please contact Audrey Turner, the Scottish co-ordinator at @email