Welcome to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Branch of Butterfly Conservation

Butterfly Conservation was formed by a small group of dedicated naturalists in 1968 following the alarming decline of many beautiful butterflies.  Most British butterfly species remain in decline.

We aim to halt and reverse these declines. Our vision is of a world rich in butterflies for future generations to enjoy.  We are also committed to the conservation of moths, which are close relatives of butterflies and are in rapid decline.

Butterflies are beautiful and intrinsically valuable. Together with moths, their sensitivity to environmental change makes them valuable indicators of the health of the countryside.  We are dedicated to the conservation of:

Hummingbird Hawkmoth and Painted Lady online survey with BBC Radio 4

Butterfly Conservation has developed an exciting online survey of these two migrant species in association with Radio 4’s major series World on the Move and as part of the Garden Moths Count initiative. The survey will run throughout 2008 on the Butterfly Conservation website. Anyone who sees a Hummingbird Hawkmoth or Painted Lady butterfly can use the simple but amazing interactive mapping on the website to zoom in on satellite images (down to the scale of your own garden) and log their sightings. This will enable us to track the arrival in the UK of these wonderful creatures on their journey from North Africa and southern Europe, and then to map their spread here during the summer. We are also keen to hear observations of interesting behaviour (such as courtship, mating, egg laying, plants used for nectaring, reverse migration in the autumn or hibernation) which can be recorded in a comments box in the online recording system. What we do know about the migration of these spectacular insects comes from observations over the centuries from amateur recorders, but there is still much to learn and we hope that you will help in 2008.  Sightings can be entered here...

Upcoming Events

Save Our Butterflies Week takes place during the week of 19th to 27th July 2008 and is an opportunity for Butterfly Conservation members and the general public to take part in a national recording scheme which year on year helps us to build a picture of any changes in butterfly populations over time. Why not take part and help make a difference You can take part by conducting a simple butterfly and day-flying moth count. All you have to do is pick a sunny mid-afternoon during Save Our Butterflies Week and make a count of the maximum numbers of each species of butterfly that are present on a Buddleia bush over a period of about 30 minutes. More to follow
National Moth Night (NMN) is Britain’s celebration of moths and moth recording. It was launched in 1999 and has taken place annually since then, the date varying each year in order to focus recording effort on different parts of the season. On the designated date, participants throughout the British Isles are encouraged to record the moths in their chosen location and the results are pooled into Britain’s largest survey of what species are flying around the country. So get involved with National Moth Night 2008 and find out what’s flying in your area....		Garden Moths Count is an exciting nationwide survey, in which everyone can take part, to discover which amazing moths live in our gardens. The 2008 Garden Moths Count will run from 21 June to 6 July. Find out more....
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