Butterflies

Wiltshire’s butterfly fauna is one of the richest in Britain with 47 species known to have bred in the county during the last 20 years. The Wood White, Large Tortoiseshell and High Brown Fritillary are now extinct. For some, such as the Adonis Blue, Duke of Burgundy and Marsh Fritillary, Wiltshire is a national stronghold and the areas of extensive semi-natural chalk grassland and several large woodlands support many of the scarcer species.

Scarce and extremely local species are the Silver-spotted Skipper, Silver-studded Blue, Pearl-bordered Fritillary and the Grayling. There are three elusive and restricted species, the Brown Hairstreak, White-letter Hairstreak and Purple Emperor.

Less common and local species, found on semi-natural grassland and in woodland, include the Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Green Hairstreak, Small Blue, Chalkhill Blue, White Admiral, Dark Green Fritillary, Silver-washed Fritillary and the Wall.

The two, usually more common immigrants, the Red Admiral and Painted Lady arrive from the continent each year and the much more irregular Clouded Yellow arrives in smaller numbers, occasionally becoming common.

To find out more, take a look at the County Recorder's butterfly pages