Annual overview of butterflies reported to the Dorset branch website*
Number of species records by date seen. Scroll right for key.
Total adult butterflies reported by species.
Tip: Hover over or click truncated bars to display totals.Earliest dates on which adult butterflies were reported to the website.
| Species | Date |
|---|---|
| Adonis Blue | 2026-04-29 |
| Brimstone | 2026-01-04 |
| Brown Argus | 2026-04-29 |
| Brown Hairstreak | 2026-07-04 |
| Chalkhill Blue | 2026-07-07 |
| Clouded Yellow | 2026-04-06 |
| Comma | 2026-02-22 |
| Common Blue | 2026-04-27 |
| Dark Green Fritillary | 2026-06-13 |
| Dingy Skipper | 2026-04-18 |
| Duke of Burgundy | 2026-04-30 |
| Essex Skipper | 2026-06-18 |
| Gatekeeper | 2026-06-13 |
| Glanville Fritillary | 2026-05-03 |
| Grayling | 2026-06-27 |
| Green Hairstreak | 2026-04-08 |
| Green-veined White | 2026-03-31 |
| Grizzled Skipper | 2026-04-08 |
| Holly Blue | 2026-03-18 |
| Large Skipper | 2026-05-08 |
| Large Tortoiseshell | 2026-03-03 |
| Large White | 2026-04-02 |
| Long-tailed Blue | 2026-07-06 |
| Lulworth Skipper | 2026-05-07 |
| Marbled White | 2026-05-29 |
| Marsh Fritillary | 2026-05-01 |
| Meadow Brown | 2026-05-22 |
| Orange Tip | 2026-03-22 |
| Painted Lady | 2026-04-07 |
| Peacock | 2026-01-16 |
| Purple Emperor | 2026-07-01 |
| Purple Hairstreak | 2026-06-08 |
| Red Admiral | 2026-01-16 |
| Ringlet | 2026-06-05 |
| Silver-studded Blue | 2026-05-24 |
| Silver-washed Fritillary | 2026-06-13 |
| Small Blue | 2026-04-25 |
| Small Copper | 2026-04-12 |
| Small Heath | 2026-04-23 |
| Small Skipper | 2026-05-30 |
| Small Tortoiseshell | 2026-02-24 |
| Small White | 2026-03-18 |
| Speckled Wood | 2026-03-18 |
| Wall Brown | 2026-04-05 |
| White Admiral | 2026-05-30 |
| White-letter Hairstreak | 2026-06-13 |
| Wood White | 2026-04-23 |
Duration between earliest and latest reported sightings of adult butterflies.
Seen a butterfly? Report a sighting
*Note: The charts shown on this page are drawn only from casual sightings submitted to this website. They are therefore not statistically significant, but do serve as an indication of what’s going on in the Dorset butterfly world. The records from this website will be added to a lot more data collected throughout the year, and used to compile the five-yearly Butterfly Atlases for Dorset and the UK.
