Butterfly Conservation: Highland Branch

Welcome to Highland Branch of Butterfly Conservation

Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity dedicated to the conservation of butterflies and moths.

Highland Branch membership has been on the increase in recent years and we are fortunate in having members in the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland as well as in Highland and Moray.

Branch field trip to Morrich More, Tain. Photo by Bill Slater.

Our activities include recording butterflies and moths, organising events and field trips, and publishing newsletters which you can download from this site. We welcome contributions about interesting sightings of butterflies and moths, and queries relating to identification. To get in touch, just fill in the form on the Contact us page.

Moths of the Month: January and February

In this regular feature, Roy Leverton illustrates a selection of characteristic moths to look out for in our area at different times of the year.

Dotted Border Agriopis marginata

This is a close relative of Scarce Umber, but drab in colour since fallen leaves are no longer orange. As with most late-autumn to early spring species, the female is flightless and the male is relatively inactive...
Read more...

January and February | March

October

November and December

Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS)

The Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey will continue in 2011, co-ordinated by Dr Zoë Randle.

Please visit the Surveys page for more details.

Learning more about butterflies and moths

Highland Branch Secretary Tony Mainwood, based in Golspie, is available to give talks on butterflies and moths to schools and other interested groups in places north of Inverness.

If you'd like to find out more, please get in touch with Tony. You'll find his contact details on the Committee page.

Contributions to the Branch Newsletter

Our next Branch Newsletter is due out in February 2012. We're always delighted to receive articles, snippets and photos relating to butterflies and moths in the Branch area, including the Hebrides and Northern Isles.

For a flavour of content, please check out previous issues on the Newsletter page.

Please send contributions to webmaster@highland-butterflies.org.uk

Butterfly Atlas

A few copies of 'Atlas of Butterflies in Highland and Moray', published in 2008 by Butterfly Conservation Highland Branch and Highland Biological Recording Group, are still available, and we're offering them at the reduced price of £1 plus £1 p&p...

Click on the image for further information.

Scottish Macro-moth List 2011

Roy Leverton has recently revised the Scottish Macro-moth list, and has also written an introduction.

Both documents can be downloaded from these links:

Notes on the Scottish Macro-moth List, 2011 (PDF)

Scottish Macro-moth list, revised February 2011 (Spreadsheet, .xls file)

Moths of Caithness

This new website has been launched to make available information about the status and distribution of moths in Caithness so as to encourage greater interest in the recording of moths in the County.

Please visit the site at: www.caithnessmoths.org.uk