Butterfly Conservation - saving butterflies, moths and our environment
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saving butterflies, moths and our environment
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Sightings of Butterflies in Suffolk - 2025

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Send Us Your Sightings

The Branch is always grateful for butterfly records and a recording form can be downloaded from the Recording page. 
We are always interested in sightings of any butterflies in any location in Suffolk but we are particularly grateful for records away from the coast and information on the following species:
BAP species; Dingy Skipper, White Letter Hairstreak, Silver-studded Blue, White Admiral, Grayling, Small Heath, Wall Brown
Others; Green Hairstreak, Purple Hairstreak, Silver-washed Fritillary, Purple Emperor, Chalkhill Blue
(not Devil's Dyke)

Send Sightings by email to (please make sure you enter a subject) and they will appear below within a few days.
Clicking on the link should launch your usual email program.  If this does not seem to work just use the email address.

Please include the date, how many of each butterfly species seen, location with an ordnance survey grid reference if possible, and your name (if you want to).
If you would like to contribute to the annual survey please read the notes on the Recording page.

If you report a Brimstone this record will also be passsed to the Brimstone and Buckthorn project


Regular recorders are urged to use this sightings page to inform others of interesting sightings, but please do continue to send all your records to the county recorder, James Corton, at the end of the season.  This can be done using a simple Excel spreadsheet amd an example is on the Recording page (click here)

Date 
2026
Butterflies seen (and other relevant information).  First Sighting of Year in Bold or Bold for rarer species
For a summary of First Sightings see the Suffolk Butterflies Page - click here
Location Grid Reference Name
         
March SwT DS ES SS LS OT LW SW GvW SSW CY B WB SpW SH R MB GK MW Gr SwF MF QoSF WA PE RA PL P ST C LT CmB SC PH GH WlH BH HB SsB BA CB ChB SB LtB - Total species seen 3       (📷 photo click here) 
         
         
2 Mar Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly seen today SWT Lound Lakes   x Robert Quadling
2 Mar Male Brimstone and a Comma in our shafto road garden .  Ipswich   Steve & Anne  Green
         
February SwT DS ES SS LS OT LW SW GvW SSW CY B WB SpW SH R MB GK MW Gr SwF MF QoSF WA PE RA PL P ST C LT CmB SC PH GH WlH BH HB SsB BA CB ChB SB LtB - Total species seen 5      
         
         
         
25 Feb I saw 3 male Brimstone driving through the Moreton Hall area of Bury St Edmunds on this gloriously spring-like day. Bury St Edmunds   James Corton
25 Feb A Small Tortoiseshell was at Brundon Mill, Sudbury Sudbury   James Corton
25 Feb An obliging Comma at nearby Long Melford Country Park, which settled on my arm twice to sunbathe (📷 photo click here)  Long Melford   James Corton
25 Feb My first Brimstone of the year in my Ipswich garden Ipswich   William Plumb
25 Feb Brimstone 3 (2M 1F),  Peacock 4; Brett Vale Golf Course Raydon IP7 5LR Michael Bamford
25 Feb Today we had the first garden butterfly of the year, a Peacock, here in Wickham Market.   (📷 photo click here) Wickham Market   Rob and Kerry Reeve 
25 Feb A few Brimstone on the wing at Ickworth. Can't blame them it's lovely out Ickworth    
25 Feb One Small Tortoiseshell in our Barnby garden and one Peacock at Kessingland sluice this morning. Barnby   Peter Norfolk 
25 Feb A Peacock was seen flying in the warm sunshine at North Warren RSPB reserve today. . North Warren RSPB   Bob Turner
25 Feb My first butterfly of the year - Male Brimstone spotted flying along Aspall Road, Debenham at approx. 1pm.   Debenham   Phil Watkinson
25 Feb At the south end of the Wickham Market by-pass this morning we saw our first Brimstone of the year. Wickham Market   Rob and Kerry Reeve 
25 Feb Seen 6 Peacock Butterflies and 3 Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies  (📷 photos click here)  A Peacock was being harassed by a Small Tortoiseshell (📷 photo click here SWT Carlton Marshes   x Robert Quadling
24 Feb Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell seen SWT Carlton Marshes   x Robert Quadling
24 Feb Peacock, Lackford TL794709.   Brimstone (📷 photo click here)  , Lackford TL792710    Lackford TL7971 Arthur Rivett
24 Feb A Peacock was on the wing in our Garden at Melton this morning. Melton   Steve Fryett
24 Feb Had 2 Peacock in the garden today Lowestoft   x Chris Mutimer
24 Feb And we are off 1st Butterfly sightings for 2026. SWT Lound Lakes 1 Peacock and 1 Brimstone SWT Lound Lakes   x Robert Quadling
24 Feb SWT Carlton Marshes 1 Red Admiral. SWT Carlton Marshes   x Robert Quadling
24 Feb I saw 3 male Brimstones today in TL7472, along the track towards Cavenham Heath from Tuddenham village. Cavenham Heath  TL7472 Martin Peers
22 Feb My first butterfly this year is a Peacock at Felixstowe Dip beach huts. Felixstowe   Steve Fryett
22 Feb I saw a Brimstone in my Bury St Edmunds garden (West Road) Bury St Edmunds   Martin Peers
22 Feb I have just seen my first Brimstone of the year (Twice), Flying strongly, in fact too strongly for photo! Shimpling   Peter Byford
21 Feb I had a male Brimstone in our garden on Saturday 21st Feb. It went into/ under ivy leaves on a south-facing wall, and I fancy it stayed there overnight. I saw it again next morning, the 22nd (but not today 23rd). Beccles TM4291 Paul Douch
         
January SwT DS ES SS LS OT LW SW GvW SSW CY B WB SpW SH R MB GK MW Gr SwF MF QoSF WA PE RA PL P ST C LT CmB SC PH GH WlH BH HB SsB BA CB ChB SB LtB - Total species seen 2       (📷 photo click here) 
         
14 Jan Our first Red Admiral for 2026 in our Shafto Road garden . Ipswich   Steve & Anne Green
13 Jan Lucie discovered this Peacock inside our home today. Not sure if this counts as a first of my year sighting or even when and how it got in but it's now safely settled down in our unheated summerhouse   (📷 photo click here Lowestoft TM5393 James Corton
         

Sightings from previous years 
2012    2013    2014    2015    2016    2017    2018    2019    2020    2021    2022    2023    2024   
2025

Photographs from 2026 Sightings  (all pictures are the copyright of their owners)

 
Peacock - 📷 copyright James Corton


Brimstone - 📷 copyright Arthur Rivett


Peacock - 📷 copyright Robert Quadling


Small Tortoiseshell - 📷 copyright Robert Quadling


Peacock harassed by Small Tortoiseshell - 📷 copyright Robert Quadling


Peacock - 📷 copyright Rob Reeve


Comma - 📷 copyright James Corton


   
     
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